The attempt by pro-Palestinian groups in the UK to legally apprehend Israeli politician Tzipi Livni has caused outrage in the Zionist world and corporate press. The Jerusalem Post helpfully provides a summary (and note the outrage that an Israeli, or by implication any Western leader, would ever need to answer for their actions):
Senior Israeli diplomatic officials told counterparts in the British Foreign Office Wednesday that Israel would issue directives to the country’s political and military leaders to stop going to Britain if parliament did not take action to close the legal loophole that enabled an arrest warrant to be issued against Kadima head Tzipi Livni last weekend.
The warning came even as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown phoned Livni and, according to Livni’s office, said he was “completely opposed” to the issuing of the arrest warrant, and that she would be welcome in Britain anytime.
Brown – like Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who called Livni the day before – promised to work to change the legal situation that has led to the harassment of Israeli leaders in Britain.
A British judge issued the arrest warrant against Livni last weekend, thinking she was in the country attending a JNF event. Livni canceled her participation prior to the event, citing scheduling problems.
The Times and Daily Telegraph, British newspapers generally supportive of Israel, both penned sympathetic editorials in Wednesday’s paper. The Independent and The Guardian, which have been known to be vicious in their criticism, did not comment Wednesday on the matter.
Under the headline “Abuse of process,” the Times wrote that “the campaign for legal targeting of Israeli leaders is not merely frivolous; it is repugnant. It risks damaging Britain’s relations with an ally, undermines the government’s moral authority in promoting a two-state settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and brings the legal system into disrepute.”
The paper wrote that the campaign in Gaza was not a crime against humanity; “it was a chapter in Israel’s history of trying to stop violence against its own civilians, which is a prerequisite of achieving the two-state resolution that [Defense Minister] Mr. [Ehud] Barak and Ms. Livni have worked for. You cannot reasonably criticize Israel’s military tactics without understanding Israel’s security needs.”
The Telegraph opined that Livni’s decision to cancel a visit to London because of fears that she might be arrested had “not done much to enhance Britain’s international reputation for fair dealing.”
In its eagerness to placate Islamic radicals, the paper wrote, “the Foreign Office is more inclined to indulge Arab leaders who advocate terrorism than Israelis who seek to uphold the values of the region’s only democratic state.