I am neither for nor against the vote taken by the British Parliament. That is to say - I am in favour of Palestinian statehood as a necessary step towards achieving peace and prosperity for Palestinians and Israelis, and I am not sure whether the British parliament's vote will help us get there. Part of me is really angry - and for now - I just feel I need to let this anger out with some questions directed at Her Majesty's Parliament, because what does really shock me about this is the incredible hubris of the British Parliament.
If one is going to make declarative statements that have absolutely no political force, would it not be a better thing to acknowledge one's own role in the continued conflict? Would it not be better for the British Parliament to declare its sorrow at the pain, anguish, death and destruction which its terrible imperialistic, colonialist policies of the past have created. Would it not be better for the British parliament to apologise to the peoples of the Middle East for the absolutely shoddy job it did at carving up the region, bribing favoured families and ignoring the local proletariat's rights and wishes? Would it not have been better for the British parliament to call on the British government to nullify the Sykes-Picot agreement, the Balfour declaration and the creation of the Hashemite kingdom, as terrible acts of hubris by an empire on its last legs? Frankly today, it is laughable that countries like Sweden and the United Kingdom think that they can have a positive impact on the Middle East, after centuries in which Christian Europe has burned, raped and pillaged Jews and Muslims. Don't you think just a little humility might be the order of the day at last? As an Israeli, as someone who wishes to see a Palestinian state side by side with Israel, as someone who wants peace, I ask the crusading nations of Europe, to please just leave us alone. Your "help" is unwanted. We have had enough of it.
That's what the angry half of me wants to shout. But I know that it won't really do any good. I know that there are many who supported the vote for good reasons (and some for malicious). I know that in the eyes of British politicians there is no connection between the British Empire's historic responsibility for this mess and their present responsibility to impact on British foreign policy.
And so where does that leave us. It still leaves us in the Middle East - a tricky neighbourhood, in which the people of this region need to be allowed to determine their own future.
