British Diplomat Articulates British Foreign Policy, Gets Arrested

Great Britain has restored its reputation as a defender of the Jewish people by the arrest of a British high ranking diplomat on charges of "inciting racial hatred". He actually faces seven years for an an incident in a gym in which he cursed at a television set that was broadcasting news of the Gaza offensive. The Daily Mail reported on the incident as follows.

"A high-ranking diplomat at the Foreign Office has been arrested after allegations that he launched a foul-mouthed anti-Semitic tirade.

Middle East expert Rowan Laxton, 47, was watching TV reports of the Israeli attack on Gaza as he used an exercise bike in a gym.

Stunned staff and gym members allegedly heard him shout: 'F**king Israelis, f**king Jews'. It is alleged he also said Israeli soldiers should be 'wiped off the face of the earth'.

His rant reportedly continued even after he was approached by other gym users.

After a complaint was made to police, Mr Laxton was arrested for inciting religious hatred through threatening words and behaviour and bailed until late next month.

The maximum penalty for inciting religious hatred is a seven-year prison term or a fine or both.

Mr Laxton, who is still working normally, is head of the South Asia Group at the Foreign Office, on a salary of around £70,000.
He is responsible for all the UK's diplomacy in that area and for briefing Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is Jewish. "

There are a number of issues here. In the age before political correctness, Mr. Laxton would have been charged with disturbing the peace. It might have never even come to that. He might have been asked to leave the gym for the day. They may have even decided to revoke his membership, that his continued presence was a vexation to other club members. This is a legitimate prerogative.

Mr. Laxton is being charged with a hate crime. It is true that he expressed a lot of hatred. But was he inciting hatred? The only hatred he elicited was against himself. He did not deliver a skilled speech that whipped up an angry mob. To the contrary, he annoyed everyone present.
I fail to see what in his conduct merits any felony charges at all. I don't know about British law but in American law he would be accused of a misdemeanour.

Unfortunately, there are additional questions. Mr. Laxton raised through an outburst that could not be blamed on liquor. Laxton's job is that of a Middle East expert. He is in charge of briefing people in the British Foreign Office about Middle Eastern affairs. He is not an uneducated individual at the bottom of the wage scale. He earns almost $140,000 a year.

Laxton hurt no one at the gym. But it is hard to imagine that a person so consumed with hatred of Jews can intervene dispassionately in the Middle East where opinions about Jews are a critical dimension of one's thinking. If he were to be assigned to Zimbabwe or the Congo, perhaps his hatred of Jews would not be an obstacle to his doing his job honestly. Perhaps if he saw real genocide in the course of working in the Congo or Sudan, he might view the nonstop Palestinian hyperbole and deception in a different light.

My gut instincts tell me is that Rowan Laxton forgot that he was not in a briefing room but in a public space. I am far less concerned by what he said when exercising than what he said when working. The British Foreign Office as well as the European Union have had a dismissive attitude towards terrorism directed at Israel. When The Israelis finally defend themselves after countless provocations, hypocritical Europeans talk about the endless "cycle of violence" and do their best to tie the hands of the Israelis.

Prosecuting Rowan Laxton is a cheap way to let the British appear as defenders of Jews. Civilians are gleefully murdered by Arabs. In Gaza, the murder and murderers are applauded. When Israelis retaliate with a precise hit against Hamas leaders, Brussels and London are ablaze with indignation at the "cycle of violence". Through this insidious language game, an Israeli sharpshooter who kills a terrorist and a suicide bomber who kills a baby are placed on a level of moral equivalence.

Israel is being pressured to take risks that can bring no rewards. All of Israel's "sacrifices for peace" have not only led to more deaths but more world condemnation. What is the correct and polite way to say !@#$ing Jews? The Pakistan Daily, quoting Britain's anti terrorism minister, Lord Alan West shows us the way. in the following paragraph.


Britain's security and counter-terrorism minister acknowledges link between foreign policy, security threats.

Britain's security and counter-terrorism minister, Lord Alan West, warned Tuesday that the conflict in Gaza has set back the government's attempts to tackle radicalism in Muslim communities here.

"There is no doubt that when you see these pictures coming back, that in the mind of people making hate, there is a linkage between the US, Israel and the UK. Without a doubt it will have set us back," he said.

West also dismissed the refusal by former prime minister Tony Blair to acknowledge the link between foreign policy and security threats.

"We never used to accept that our foreign policy ever had any effect on terrorism. Well, that was clearly bollocks," he said, according to widespread and concurring reports.

"They [the Blair administration] were very unwilling to have any debate about how our foreign policy impacted on radicalisation."

Let's put this into plain English. There is a massive influx of immigrants who look different, talk different and have a different religion. There is British prejudice against the immigrants and a bitter prejudice among the immigrant population that is a reaction to racism and to Islamist agitators. So the British want to do a little experiment. They want to sell Israel down the river and see if they will have peace at home.

Prosecuting Rowan Laxton is a cheap way to appear philo semitic. It is a charade that only distracts the world from a policy of appeasement that costs far more lives than an idiot blowing off steam in a gym. Laxton talks like a British foreign minister who has had a few pints.

What makes it harder for him is that he has been married to a Muslim woman since 2000. Can you imagine that? Nine years with no beer in the fridge? that's enough to make a man downright edgy. No wonder he blew off steam. I wouldn't prosecute him or fire him. I'd go out for a few beers with him. Then when he's good and soused, I'd bring him back to his apartment. Could you imagine the look on his wife's face when their whole apartment smells like a brewery? That would be enough to drive any good Muslimaa crazy.

Viewed the right way the Laxton incident will help Israel realise who it is dealing with. Illusions are dangerous. Thank you, Mr. Laxton for showing us who is in the Foreign Office.