Respected journalist Yaakov Achimeir says the tightly-contested upcoming British elections do not bode well for Israel. “At this point,” Achimeir told Arutz-7’s Hebrew newsmagazine on Wednesday, “it does not appear that either of the two large parties - neither Labor, which is currently in power, nor the Conservatives (Tories) - will receive a majority on May 6. Whoever wins will therefore need to bring in the 3rd-largest party, namely the Liberal Democrats, to form a coalition. It is clear that Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg will have the ability to decide who will be the next British Prime Minister – Gordon Brown of Labor or David Cameroon of the Conservatives.” Achimeir also said that it could very well be that Clegg will be Britain’s next Foreign Minister. From Israel’s point of view, this is not a positive development, Achimeir predicted, as he has taken some strongly anti-Israel positions over the past year and a half. In January 2009, Clegg called for EU sanctions against Israel, including an arms embargo. Just four months ago, he publicly condemned Israel for having caused a "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza, and again called for EU pressure on both Israel and Egypt to lift restrictions on imports into the Hamas-run area. He has even questioned the idea of Israel being a Jewish State. “When Clegg was told that Netanyahu insists on Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish State,” Achimeir said, “Clegg questioned the very idea of a Jewish country.” Specfically, Clegg was delivering the second annual lecture of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism in Westminster last June, and said he did not believe he had ever heard an Israeli prime minister refer to Israel in such a way before. “Is the idea of Israel as a Jewish state something new?” he asked. Board of Deputies’ senior vice-president Jonathan Arkush rebutted and said, “The idea that Israel is a Jewish nation state is certainly not new at all. There are over 70 states with an explicit Islamic character and countries such as Britain, which is definitively Christian. Is there not room for one country with a Jewish character?” Clegg would deal fairly harshly with Israel as Foreign Minister, Achimeir predicted. “Our relations with Britain are no less important than those with the United States,” he said. “Britain has an important status in Europe not only politically but also culturally. We cannot make light of Britain, as it carries much clout in the European Union.” Achimeir's Nationalist History Achimeir’s father Abba was a leader of the Revisionist Party, a forerunner of the Likud, and was one of those who were acquitted of the 1933 murder of Chaim Arlosoroff. Yaakov’s brother Yosef was a top aide to former Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir, and even served in the Knesset on behalf of the Likud for about a year, just before the 1996 elections.
