"Peter Mandelson, who one Israeli diplomat insisted
had been 'extremely friendly' towards Israel"
"Foreign Secretary David Miliband (according to his Rosh
Hashanah message now officially one of 'us')"
"Dr Howells [...] a staunch friend of Israel,
as is Europe Minister Jim Murphy"
"Caroline Flint, is also a keen supporter of Israel"
"Mr Lewis who is deeply involved in [Jewish]
community affairs and is a former vice-chairman of Labour Friends
of Israel (LFI)"
By Anshel Pfeffer
The Jewish Chronicle, October 7, 2008
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's reshuffle this week yielded a
mixed bag as far as Jewish and Israeli interests were concerned,
with some appointments greeted with quiet satisfaction and others
with mild concern.
Aside from obvious comments on the surprise return of Peter
Mandelson, who one Israeli diplomat insisted had been "extremely
friendly" towards Israel as the EU's trade commissioner, the
appointment which drew the most response was that of Sadiq Khan as
the new minister for Community Cohesion.
As they will have to work with him closely in the next few
months, none of the community leaders who spoke to the JC was
willing to be quoted. But they admitted to a certain degree of
concern at the arrival of the MP who had fought as a solicitor for
antisemitic preacher, Louis Farrakhan to be allowed to enter the
UK; who was probed by MI5 for his alleged ties to suspected
terrorists; and is a regular participant in events organised by
the Muslim Council of Britain.
Mr Khan will be in charge, among other things, of implementing
the recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry on antisemitism.
Some observers believe that his promotion was a "balancing act" by
Mr Brown, who had enraged Muslim groups a day earlier by making
outspoken Phil Woolas the new Immigration Minister.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband (according to his Rosh
Hashanah message now officially one of "us") remained in his post
and the reshuffle gave further advancement to his brother Ed. But
premature announcements on Monday on changes in the Foreign Office
caused a stir when it seemed that Lord Malloch-Brown, never seen
as a pro-Israel minister, would be moving sideways to take the
Middle East brief.
A few hours later it emerged that Lord Malloch-Brown would
remain minister for Africa and the UN, while Bill Ramell is to
become the new minister in charge of Middle East affairs, instead
of Kim Howells. The demotion of Dr Howells is considered a loss as
he is seen as a staunch friend of Israel, as is Europe Minister
Jim Murphy, who also left the Foreign Office. But at least he was
promoted to the Cabinet as the new Scottish Secretary.
His replacement, Caroline Flint, is also a keen supporter of
Israel, but Mr Ramell is still viewed with some suspicion. As
Universities Minister, he was in charge of the government's
campaign against the anti-Israel boycott, but UK-gazers in the
Israeli Foreign Ministry stressed that he was acting on Tony
Blair's orders and even during his visit to Israel last year,
could be termed at best as "lukewarm." Another appointment at the
Foreign Office is junior minister Gillian Merron, a Jewish MP who
has not been closely associated with community or Israel
affairs.
Another Jewish parliamentarian in the reshuffle is Ivan Lewis,
the health minister, who has been moved sideways, to a junior post
in the Department for International Development. Mr Lewis who is
deeply involved in community affairs and is a former vice-chairman
of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) was recently involved in a
text-messaging scandal with a female assistant and was also marked
down by the Brownites as a potential rebel. So despite his slight
demotion, he can count himself lucky for surviving in government
at all.
