tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844367946876032905.post7495538688194411033..comments2023-10-03T23:58:17.279+11:00Comments on Middle East Reality Check: What's Behind the Patel Affair?MERChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14500573372528287733noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844367946876032905.post-77882735376834057012017-11-11T12:47:27.036+11:002017-11-11T12:47:27.036+11:00I take your point Michael but "freelancing&qu...I take your point Michael but "freelancing" by disobeying standard ministerial code seems not to be a way to shore up support by your colleagues - a prerequisite for PM. Moreover, the (Zionist) Jewish Chronicle has just landed May and Johnson in the toilet over this. Patel garnered no support from her colleagues or her department. Perhaps Jewish money is more important than collegial support but if that is indeed the case, Britain is a lost cause. May is only there because no potential competitor will do Brexit - it's a precarious situation. If Israel is seen as pushing her over the cliff, support for it will tank in the UK, no matter what Britain thinks about May. Already there is a significant division among British Jews about Israel. Israel is in trouble for involvement by its embassy staff in plots against senior politicians in the UK. Surely it cannot be seen to be involved in further plots so soon. And then I keep coming back to the question, "Why the tweet?" Is Lapid so naive? Grapplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14967100340986309879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844367946876032905.post-4724178688123175422017-11-10T22:50:32.316+11:002017-11-10T22:50:32.316+11:00Another thought: Patel freelances to win Israeli a...Another thought: Patel freelances to win Israeli and UK Jewish support/money for a leadership challenge. In return she uses the UK foreign aid budget to pressure poor countries to support Israel at the UN etc and Israel ends up with the British PM in their pocket. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844367946876032905.post-75599616662148700062017-11-10T22:02:33.459+11:002017-11-10T22:02:33.459+11:00While the Guardian is a basket case terms of journ...While the Guardian is a basket case terms of journalism and editorials, its commenters are more sane:<br /><br />https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/09/so-many-unanswered-questions-from-the-priti-patel-saga<br /><br />The one by Meadowcroft starts to ask the right questions but doesn't go quite far enough. Indeed May might or might not have known about the visit, but the real question is "Who outed her and why?" Was it really a stupid Opposition Leader (Yair Lapid) who tweeted a photo of a meeting with Patel? If so, it suggests a lack of awareness of the current fragility of support for Israel in the West, and especially in the UK. <br /><br />Grapplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14967100340986309879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844367946876032905.post-62495831460812548682017-11-10T17:40:43.197+11:002017-11-10T17:40:43.197+11:00Something is afoot, the pretext will be Hezbollah ...Something is afoot, the pretext will be Hezbollah and Lebanon, but the real target is Iran.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844367946876032905.post-6855603723363222232017-11-10T12:17:18.544+11:002017-11-10T12:17:18.544+11:00Good piece on this topic by Asa Winstanley at Elec...Good piece on this topic by Asa Winstanley at Electronic Intifada:<br /><br />https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/uk-minister-priti-patel-secretly-urged-aid-al-qaida-israel<br /><br />Grapplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14967100340986309879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844367946876032905.post-1014928585684503102017-11-10T09:31:46.295+11:002017-11-10T09:31:46.295+11:00Really interesting article by Cook. This is a dram...Really interesting article by Cook. This is a drama worthy of House of Cards. Who is outing whom and why? Why would Israeli officials issue tweets of meetings with Patel - didn't she tell them it was off the record? It seems that she might have been chosen as the scapegoat. Or did hubris overwhelm caution? Grapplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14967100340986309879noreply@blogger.com