Open Letter to Britain’s (allegedly) next Prime Minister

Dear Mr Milliband (forgive me if I don’t call you Ed)

Having digested the news of the death of Lt Hadar Goldin, killed by terrorists after an apparently mutually agreed ceasefire had yet again been negated by Hamas, I had the pleasure of seeing your comment that David Cameron was “wrong not to have opposed Israel’s incursion into Gaza”.

Well I must congratulate you. With one master stroke you have shored up the Muslim vote, the Jew-haters vote, and all the radical elements in your Party who backed you for the leadership must be Kvelling (as you probably didn’t learn Yiddish at your bubbe’s knee, that translates as “very pleased”).  Likewise the shades of Clement Attlee and Ernie Bevin will be delighted that you have rescued your Party from any warm feelings for Israel that were evident in Harold Wilson, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Oh sorry, I forgot. You are a supporter of Israel.  Or should I say a supporter of Israel but…..

Now I realise that you are a busy man, very concerned about your image and finding clever things to say at Question Time on Wednesdays. Perhaps you only had a few fleeting moments to look at the awful and horrible pictures of dead children in Gaza – which give no pleasure to anyone in Israel, take my word – to understand just what the incursion was all about.

Could I take a few moments of your time to point out a few salient facts:

• In the past three weeks 3,127 rockets have fallen on Israel, every one intended to cause maximum damage and death. They are still falling as I write this letter but the majority of rocket launchers and much of Hamas’s deadly stock seems to have been put out of commission. This could not have happened without a land invasion.
• The IDF have destroyed over thirty tunnels, each built with the cement and materials intended for schools, hospitals and clinics. These could not have been removed without a land invasion.
• Egypt proposed a ceasefire prior to a single Israeli soldier entering Gaza. Israel accepted it – Hamas turned it down.  Previously Israel had offered “quiet for quiet” – Hamas sent more rockets.
• There is evidence galore – even on Al Jazeera America – that rocket launching sites have been placed in the heart of the community – near or in hospitals, schools, clinics, mosques and sometimes in private homes.  It has taken time and immense courage to deal with these.
• And finally, why don’t you do Hamas the decency and believe what they say?  Their Charter makes it quite clear that they see no place for Israel anywhere. To them Tel Aviv is as much a settlement as Ariel. (They aren’t too keen on Jews generally either – are you still feeling comfortable?)

So I must ask you – as our so called supporter – what would you have us do?  Sit in our shelters indefinitely while the rockets pour down?  Wait in horror in case the trapdoor in the kindergarten or the kibbutz dining room opens up to a horde of unwelcome visitors, keen and eager to capture and kill?   Perhaps you haven’t been briefed about Hamas’s planned New Year gift to Israel -the entry of 2,000 terrorists in every kibbutz and village on the Gaza periphery and a consequential massacre that would have made 9/11 seem like a picnic.

I agree that Israel has committed a terrible error. Yet again we have forfeited the good will of the world. But faced with the alternative of either being everyone’s pal or surviving, I know where I stand.

So if that is the level of your support Mr Prime Minister designate I suggest you shove it in your ballot box.

Unadmiringly yours

Alan Gold