Britain’s colonial legacy undermines its moral lectures against Israel - opinion

An opinion piece argues that Britain's colonial history, including the Opium Wars, the Amritsar massacre, and the 1939 White Paper restricting Jewish immigration, undermines its moral authority to criticize Israel. The author accuses British leaders of hypocrisy, citing Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's sanctions and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's resettlement program, and questions whether their policies are driven by domestic political concerns rather than genuine principles.

An opinion piece by David Ben-Basat in The Jerusalem Post argues that Britain's colonial legacy, including the Opium Wars, the Amritsar massacre, and the suppression of the Mau Mau uprising, undermines its moral authority to lecture Israel. The author specifically highlights Britain's 1939 White Paper, which restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine during the Holocaust, and the post-war detention of Jewish refugees in Cyprus. The article criticizes Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's sanctions against Israel and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's resettlement program, suggesting that British leaders use criticism of Israel to distract from domestic failures, including handling of Islamist extremism and public order. The piece calls for Britain to confront its own history before judging others.