Annexation is not a dirty word

Israel, though the tiniest among nations, continues to occupy the spotlight of the world’s media and the self-righteous indignation of leftist-funded NGOs and human rights groups that seem blind and deaf to the activities of Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Myanmar.

This season’s hot topic is ‘annexation’ of Israel’s eastern border – the Jordan Valley – and the application of Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements in the West Bank territories whose real names are Judea and Samaria.

Annexation is not something new to the world. Practically the whole of the European continent has evolved through annexation at one time or another, most recently with Russian annexation of Crimea. That never belonged to Russia any more than Texas, Puerto Rico or Guam belonged to the United States before they were annexed.  The same goes for Indonesia’s annexation of East Timor and Turkey’s de facto annexation of Northern Cyprus.

Annexation means effectively taking land that it not yours. The West Bank and Jordan Valley were always ours. Our title deeds are the Bible and the mandate of the League of Nations to re-establish our Jewish national home in all of Palestine, on both sides of the River Jordan. It was Britain which ‘annexed’ all of the East Bank territory out of their mandate to gift to the Hashemite Sheikhdom to establish the Kingdom of Transjordan. Then, after joining with four other Arab states to suffocate the nascent State of Israel in its cradle, the Hashemites annexed the West Bank and Jerusalem to form greater Jordan.

So, all we are doing right now is taking back what belonged to us, biblically, politically and legally. It might be a bit like Ukraine taking Crimea back from Russia were it not for the fact that our title to Judea, Samaria and beyond runs a few thousand years longer than Ukraine’s own title to Crimea.

So we say to our followers, annexation is not a dirty word in this context. Our people have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Instead we should take immense pride in finally righting the wrongdoing of the British Mandate and revoking the fakery of Palestinian Arab claims to our national homeland whose towns and villages they cynically renamed as part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s nefarious scheme to rewrite Jewish history.

And we say to the Board of Deputies of British Jews: stay the hell out of the annexation issue!

Years ago, in fierce opposition to West Bank settlements, a former grandee of the Board  declared: the Board must not be an extension of the Israeli embassy.  Well, I heartily agree!

So Deputies – stay out of Israeli politics, and stick to UK domestic issues in your official role.