Kemi Badenoch was one of the big winners in the recent reshuffle and is widely tipped as the Conservative Party’s next leader.

So her trip to Israel this week was more significant than many ministerial visits — and not just because we are likely to agree a new free trade deal. It’s clear she has also thought deeply about British relations more generally, especially at a time when the Israeli government is pursuing a controversial agenda.

And it’s striking that despite that, she sees Israel as a likeminded ally.

But what is even more striking is that, since the protests began, that idea that Israel continues to deserve a warm embrace has been a common feature across the mainstream.

Even those who are most critical of the Netanyahu government couch their criticism in the language of affection for Israel itself, seeing the extremists as an aberration rather than something fundamentally damning.

This is true across the political spectrum; in another sign of how Labour has changed, both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer gave this message to the JC when the new government was elected.

This is further proof of how far on the fringe are those who use current controversies to undermine Israel itself — as they do all the time. They represent no one but themselves.