Blair, Labour, and Palestine: Conflicting Views on Middle East Peace After 9/11

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Many of Tony Blair's policy decisions in the Israeli-Palestinian arena were controversial and politically costly. Blair, Labour and Palestine argues that gaps between him and much of his party were rooted in different world views. A positive attitude towards Israel came to be seen as a defining mark of New Labour loyalists. However, contrasting views among left-leaning strands in the party reflected a broader set of ideological rifts. Such differences became increasingly significant in the wake of 9/11 as British policymakers sought to understand and respond to Islamic anger against the West. Based on interviews conducted by the author and on previously unseen documents, this unique case study shows how the distinctive world view of a political leader defined foreign policy, by shaping Britain's response to Islamist violence and its interconnected approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Author Toby Greene also examines the extent to which ministers and officials considered shifting foreign policy in response to fears of Islamist radicalisation in the UK, and Blair's role in stopping this trend, especially after the 7/7 bombings.

Reviews

A clear and balanced account of the longer history of British foreign policy on the region when Blair was Prime Minister, and particularly after 9/11...If you are interested in what Blairs policy actually was, as opposed to what the Ribbentrop-Molotov alliance of the right and the anti-left said it was, this is a superb account...The summary of Britains involvement in the creation of Israel, and the history of the Labour Partys attitude to the conflict, is one of the best short accounts I have read...the section on how attitudes among Labour MPs to Israel-Palestine played a part in Blairs downfall, in the Brownite coup of September 2006, is excellent...an impressively fair-minded treatment of an important question, in which Blair continues to play a role. -- John Rentoul * Eagle Eye, The Independent Blogs *
This is a fascinating and important book which examines both the broad sweep of Labours attitude to Israel and Palestine over the decades, and looks in detail at how New Labour policymakers grappled with contradictory views at home and abroad of Israels importance to the Iraq war and to the growing threat of domestic extremism post-9/11. -- John Woodcock MP * Progress *
Tony Blairs approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict has been obscured because of the outraged reaction to his involvement in the invasion of Iraq. For many within the British Labour party, the issue became part and parcel of the megaphone war between New Labour and its opponents. It had little to do with the harsh reality and the profound tragedy that afflicted ordinary Israelis and Palestinians. Toby Greene has reclaimed the detail of Blairs worldview and demystified it for the interested student of Middle East politics. -- Colin Shindler, Emeritus Professor, SOAS, University of London, UK
Public discussion of both Tony Blair and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all too often shallow and shrill, obscuring more than it reveals. In contrast, Greene brings light, depth and nuance to this important study of the statesmen who has played a more significant role on the issue than any other European in the first decade of the new millennium. Like him or loathe him, Blair cannot be ignored; and Greene does an excellent job of getting to the ideological foundations driving Blair's policy on Israel and the Palestinians. -- Dr Jonathan Rynhold, Senior Lecturer, Political Science, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
By offering a detailed analysis of the views held by Blair and key figures within the government and the Labour Party, Greene provides an important contribution that complements other scholarly work on British foreign policy towards the Middle East ... Blair, Labour and Palestine offers a different perspective in explaining foreign policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, by focussing on the role of ideas and the personal world views of political leaders. -- Benedetta Voltolini, Maastricht University, The Netherlands * LSE Review of Books *

Author Bio

Dr. Toby Greene is a political analyst specialising in the Israeli-Palestinian arena and UK-Israel relations. He holds a PhD from UCL in Politics and Middle East studies.