Become a Member
Azriel Bermant

ByAzriel Bermant, Azriel Bermant

Opinion

When Thatcher turned against Israel

The JC Essay

October 5, 2012 11:44
8 min read

Last month saw the 30th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, an appalling event that proved deeply damaging to Israel's international reputation at the height of the Lebanon War. It is worth reflecting that Britain's relationship with Israel is in far better shape now than it was then.

It may seem paradoxical that the period between 1979 and 1982 was one of severe crisis for Anglo-Israeli relations, since the then prime minister, Margaret Thatcher was a stalwart friend of Israel and had a very high regard for Anglo-Jewry. A remarkable number of Jews served in her cabinets. She was an outspoken supporter of Soviet Jewry, and had great admiration for Israel as a democracy surrounded by autocracies.

On becoming Conservative leader in 1975, Thatcher's strong support for Israel was clearly reflected through her role as president of the Finchley Anglo-Israel Friendship League. The Foreign Office felt that her involvement would harm Britain's relations with the Arab world and it was suggested that she might sever her connection. As Michael Tait, of the British Embassy in Amman, wrote: "It is presumably in the national interest to do what we can to counter Arab fears and suspicions that the leader of HM opposition is already a prisoner of the Zionists."

Thus, on the face of it, once Mrs Thatcher became Prime Minister, one might have expected a solid relationship between Downing Street and Menachem Begin's Likud government. The Foreign Office, under Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington, pushed hard for Britain to take a firm stand supporting Palestinian self-determination and to upgrade contacts with the PLO. Thatcher initially resisted this, arguing that Israel was a bulwark against the possible expansion of communist influence in the Middle East.