Israel Matzav: Britain's lost moral compass

Britain's lost moral compass

A Jerusalem Post editorial quotes the Times of London claiming that Britain's absurd universal jurisdiction law has not been changed as a result of the al-Mabhouh forged passports incident. Tzipi Livni (pictured) was only the latest Israeli to find herself threatened with arrest in London without the involvement of a public prosecutor.

One British newspaper has intimated that Israel’s purported forgery of British passports is connected to the delay in revamping what Miliband called the “unusual feature of the [legal] system in England and Wales.”

“Israel does not help its cause when it demands respect for its own citizens abroad but shows no regard for the rights or future security of British passport holders overseas,” argued the Times, which is largely sympathetic to Israel’s challenges, in an editorial shortly after the Dubai incident.

The paper, like the British government, it would appear, has its good guys and bad guys confused. Intelligence activities designed to protect citizens’ lives, even if they cross certain diplomatic frameworks, merit a sensible public response founded in moral support. Those who would manipulate the law to secure the unwarrented prosecutions of Israeli political and military leaders should be stopped.

Britain truly has lost the plot if Dubai and the passport imbroglio have had anything to do with the British government’s failure to amend a legal system that does not distinguish between representatives of terror organizations (both the US and the European Union list Hamas as a terror group) and the political leaders of democracies and their military personnel.

But even if there is no link, the fact is that Britain is dragging its feet over closing an untenable loophole in its law. Meanwhile, it is working hard to castigate Israel for the alleged “identity theft” that led to the termination of a man who bragged about killing civilians.

Britain's lost moral compass may be found in the increased number of Muslim voters. The same thing is going on in other European countries as well. Soon, the "West" will consist of the United States, Canada, Israel and possibly Australia. Europe will have returned to the 8th century.

What could go wrong?

Israel Matzav: Britain's lost moral compass