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Israel

My Lords, this will be one of the last debates of this Parliament. Even so, I hope that the Minister will ignore the advice that she has been given by the noble Lord, Lord Dykes. Perhaps it is because we are in election mode that the noble Lord—unlike the noble Lord, Lord Hannay—seems to have forgotten about the need for balance in foreign relations, and seems to show attitudes which are irresponsible, hostile, partisan and prejudiced. Those will only damage our foreign relationships. This Motion invites the Government to engage in lecturing Israel and finger-pointing about actions which the noble Lord finds unacceptable. However, he omits to mention how they came about, ignoring the bigger picture. That finger-pointing and lecturing would be a grave error. Why? It would contribute to tribalism and encourage fundamentalism. It would become part of the self-serving hate industry and if it inhibits dialogue, the hard-liners win on both sides. Anyway, Israel knows what its duties are, as do most Israeli citizens. They do not need Members of this House to tell them what those are. Fortunately, we have a Foreign Secretary who has more sense. Despite the recent difficulties, the Foreign Secretary recently asserted that Britain will continue to work closely with Israel, which he described as a democratic country with remarkable achievements to its name in a dangerous part of the world. The Foreign Secretary is right. Israel is that rare thing; a liberal democracy in the Middle East—a Western-style democracy, as the noble Lord put it and, indeed, as the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, reminded us. It is achieving the fruits of being a liberal social democracy. Public services provide a high standard of education and health. Outstanding universities and hospitals are there, as is a skilled workforce that can operate a knowledge economy which delivers a high standard of living. There is a strong and well regulated economy—Israeli banks did not have to be bailed out—little corruption, and equality before the law. It shares many strengths with most other liberal social democracies. However, it also shares their problems. Terror: what does a liberal democracy do about that? We are all divided. In the United States, half the population thinks it is at war and the other half does not, so they are divided over whether terrorism is a matter for the military or for the police. There is controversy here too; what are the rights and liberties that must be sacrificed for the sake of our security? My noble friend—and not so simple sailor—Lord West bravely treads that difficult path every day. It is the same in Israel. How far do its Government go to ensure the security of their citizens? Israel is not a heartless society that enjoys oppressing its neighbours. It is a divided society; divided in its concern over terror. As in every other liberal social democracy, some Israelis think that the Government go too far—the noble Lord, Lord Dykes, listed some of them—while others think that the Government do not go far enough. They do not need lectures from us, but solutions. They know the destination; we need to know how to get there. What, then, is the answer? Mine is the same as the Foreign Secretary’s: put your trust in a liberal democratic society. Trust in the ability of individuals to combine with each other to make sensible decisions for their own good, whether at the macro level of politics changing society or the micro level of small groups of individuals working away. At the macro level, Israel is even trying to sort out its proportional representation system, which the Liberal Democrats might approve of, although it has not served Israel well. At the micro level, there is plenty going on. In the same way that the recognition of a shared Judaeo-Christian heritage was key in combating anti-Semitism, so there is lots of dialogue between the three Abrahamic faiths, making proposals for working a way forward to a better future. In Israel, there are mixed schools and mixed communities working on this and working on living together. We have examples here in your Lordships' House. My noble friend Lord Stone is working to establish a joint Israeli and Palestinian clothing company. Personal tragedy has stimulated my noble friend Lord Turnberg to arrange special training for young Israeli and Palestinian doctors—something about which he has special knowledge and experience. So, rather than lecturing and finger pointing, I urge the Government to encourage these activities so that they can achieve a critical mass necessary to have an impact that will change people’s lives, because this is what happens in a liberal democracy.