An apology due

(September 26) - It has only been a few months since he began serving as Britain's foreign secretary, and already Jack Straw has shown himself to be painfully obtuse with regard to the conflict in the Middle East. In a series of recent statements, Straw has proven himself to be decidedly tilted against Israel, displaying a level of hostility that is ill-suited for a man in his position. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is considered a friend of Israel, would do well to have a word or two with his foreign secretary, before the latter does any further damage to the British-Israeli relationship.

One the eve of a visit earlier this week to Teheran, the global capital of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, Straw issued a statement through the British Embassy in which he said, rather astonishingly, "I understand that one of the factors which helps breed terrorism is the anger which many people in this region feel at events over the years in Palestine." In other words, Straw was suggesting that Israel is to blame for the Palestinian terrorism that is perpetrated against it, as if the "anger" of Palestinians somehow justifies attacks against Israelis. Questioned about his remarks, Straw went on to condemn the terrorist murder of Salit Sheetrit, who was shot to death by Palestinian terrorists in the Jordan Valley on Monday, but then qualified his condemnation by once again suggesting that "there is an obvious need to understand the environment in which terror breeds."

As a result, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Moshe Katsav both canceled meetings with Straw in protest, although the prime minister, after a telephone call from Blair, has reconsidered.

As a former home secretary who oversaw Britain's war against the Irish Republican Army, Straw is no doubt aware of the evils of terrorism and the high price that it exacts from innocents. One wonders, then, whether Straw would express similar "understanding" for occasional atrocities committed by the IRA and its splinter groups over the years. Using Straw's logic, the "anger" felt by Irish Republicans must surely be taken into account when judging their use of car bombs against the British presence in their country.

It might very well be that Straw's remarks reflect his relative inexperience in foreign affairs and unfamiliarity with the complexity of the issues, as he only assumed his post shortly after Blair's sweeping victory in Britain's June elections. With the American administration hinting that it might wish to include Iran in its international coalition against terror, Straw might also have been seeking to appease the ayatollahs by winking in their direction and indicating that he, too, "understands" their designated policy of killing innocent Jews.

But whatever the motivation behind Straw's remarks might be, nothing can justify the intolerable distinction he has drawn between terrorism against Israel and terrorism elsewhere. To suggest that there is a justification of sorts for anti-Israel violence is, in effect, to condone such violence and encourage more of it. Coming at a time when the entire world is showing a renewed determination to quash the threat of terror once and for all, Straw's statements are especially loathsome and repugnant.

Furthermore, by making such comments in Iran, of all places, which gives Hizbullah its marching orders and dispatches funding to Islamic Jihad, Straw has sent the wrong message in the wrong place at the wrong time. Indeed, according to a report in The Times of London, Imad Mugniyeh, a senior Hizbullah terrorist believed to have been involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, is now living in the Iranian city of Qom under the protection of the ayatollahs. It is therefore difficult to comprehend why Straw would direct his diatribe at Israel, rather than at his Iranian hosts, who might very well be harboring one of the men that the international coalition against terror is seeking.

Sadly, Straw's anti-Israel tirade is not without precedent in the annals of British-Israeli relations. In March 1998, then-foreign secretary Robin Cook caused a diplomatic storm when he broke a promise to Israeli officials and demonstratively went to Har Homa to meet with senior Palestinian officials. His predecessor, Douglas Hurd, was a frequent Israel-basher, having stated on numerous occasions that Israel was a "brutal, oppressive, occupying power."

One would have expected that, as the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel would enjoy a far greater degree of friendship and support from the British Foreign Office. Unfortunately, as the Straw affair makes clear, that is far from being the case. For even as Britain is actively coddling the dictatorial regime in Teheran, it sees nothing wrong with lambasting the free and democratic Jewish state. On the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement for Jews around the world, it would seem fitting to suggest that Britain owes the people of Israel a sincere and long-overdue apology.