ENDING UK LAWFARE AGAINST ISRAELIS

by David Frum

Israeli politicians and soldiers have repeatedly been threatened with arrest in the United Kingdom in recent years because pro-Palestinian activists have exploited a law allowing foreign visitors to be detained for alleged human rights violations anywhere in the world. As I discuss in my column at The Week, a law which has strained Anglo-Israeli relations — and embarrassed successive British governments — finally seems likely to be amended.

Doron Almog is a true hero of democracy and human rights. In 1976, Almog parachuted onto the runway at Uganda’s Entebbe airport, marking the way for the Israeli commandos who rescued 256 hostages aboard a hijacked Air France jetliner. During the operation he led the assault on the airfield's control tower.





Almog officered the airlift that rescued 6,000 Falasha Jews from Ethiopia in the 1980s. As head of Israel’s southern command from 2000-2003, he defeated every attempt by terrorists to infiltrate into Israel from Gaza. Almog lost five members of his family to a suicide bomber in Haifa in 2003. After the death of his own mentally handicapped son, he founded a charity to provide services to the severely disabled in southern Israel.

In the fall of 2005, Almog visited the United Kingdom on a fundraising mission for his charity. On landing, he was informed that British police officers were waiting to arrest him. A pro-Palestinian British lawyer had sworn out a complaint against Almog for his anti-terrorist work on the southern front. Under British law, any foreign visitor to Britain can be accused of human rights violations by any private person in Britain, and brought before a British court to answer for actions anywhere on earth.

Almog remained on the plane and returned to Israel without disembarking. He was the first Israeli to be attacked in British court in this way, but not the last. In the years since 2005, pro-Palestinian activists have repeatedly attempted to use British law as a weapon against Israelis, most recently against former foreign minister Tzipi Livni in December, 2009.

Read the rest of Dave's column HERE


David Frum is editor of FrumForum




Today's Bird HERE

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, THE MAN

Benjamin Netanyahu is the first and only Israeli prime minister born in Israel after the State of Israel's founding in 1948.

"Bibi" (a nickname of his youth) was raised in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, where he attended and graduated from the Cheltenham High School. To this day, he speaks English with an American accent. In 1967 after he graduated from high school, Netanyahu returned to Israel to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

Netanyahu served as a combat soldier and a commander in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit, taking part in many missions including a hostage rescue mission of the hijacked Sabena Flight 571 in May 1972; during the course of which he was wounded by friendly fire. Shortly thereafter he left the army with the rank of captain.


With the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Netanyahu returned to Israel, joining the IDF forces battling at the Suez Canal and in the Golan Heights. After the war Netanyahu returned to complete his studies in the United States.


Benjamin Netanyahu, Combat Veteran


After the war Netanyahu returned to the United States, studied and earned a B.S. degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975, an M.S. degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1977, and studied political science at Harvard University.

Netanyahu served as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988, member of the Likud Party, and was Prime Minister from June 1996 to July 1999. In Ariel Sharon's governments Netanyahu was Foreign Minister (2002–2003) and Finance Minister (2003–August 2005), but he departed over disagreements regarding the Gaza Disengagement Plan. Following the February 2009 parliamentary election, Netanyahu became Prime Minister of a coalition government. He is the brother of Israeli Special Forces commander Yonatan Netanyahu, who died during a hostage rescue mission, and Iddo Netanyahu, an Israeli author and playwright.

Lt. Col Yonatan Netanyahu (13 March 1946 - 4 July 1976), Israeli Special Forces

"Yani" - the older brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin - was killed leading the raid to rescue hostages at Entebbe Airport, Uganda. A Harvard University graduate, he was wounded in the 1967 Six Day War and performed great acts of heroism in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. As head of Israel's elite Sayaret Matkal unit, he was assigned the task of putting together the rescue of 103 Jewish hostages from a hijacked Air France plane being held by German and Arab terrorists at Entebbe Airport. Flying for 12 hours under enemy radar, the task force landed, rescued the hostages and were airborne in 90 minutes. During a fire-fight with Ugandan army regulars, Netanyahu was shot in the back by a sniper in the air traffic tower. After his death it was revealed that he was an agent for the Mossad as well.

Yani is buried in Mount Herzl Military Cemetary in Jerusalem.

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