Letter to the Prime Minister

3 August 2006

The Rt Hon Tony Blair QC MP
10 Downing St
London SW1A 2AA

Dear Prime Minister

I write to you as an Arab, a British citizen and a member of the Labour Party. I am also Vice-Chair of the Council for Arab-British Understanding and a member of the Arab Labour Group. I wanted to convey to you what I observe to be a worryingly widespread and increasing Arab hostility to the stance taken by the British government towards the current situation in the Middle East. I am in touch with the British Arab community here, with people in many parts of the Arab world and have just returned from a trip to Jordan. 

While your concern for a peaceful settlement of the Israel/Palestine conflict and the creation of a Palestinian state is welcome, it has been sadly vitiated by Britain’s refusal to support an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and to put pressure on Israel to halt its assault on the Palestinians. It really is necessary to recognize that Israel is overwhelmingly stronger than any Arab opponent and that, for Arabs, the conflict is primarily local, even though it has wider regional and international ramifications.

The Lebanese and the Palestinians do no believe they are caught up in a grand war of global terrorism waged on behalf of crazed Islamic fundamentalists out to destroy liberty and modernity. They believe they are victims of an old-fashioned colonialist campaign to establish US/Israeli dominance over their region and to defeat their struggle for liberation. Many resent the Western view that the problem with the world today is the fight of ‘moderates’ against extremism. They do not recognize an ‘arc of extremism’ in the Middle East, but possibly one emanating from the Christian Right in the US and its allies. 

I see an alarming rage amongst Arabs and many Muslims in reaction to the callous disregard for the loss of their lives, homes, and livelihoods. It is not clear yet where this will be leading, but one must fear that the threat of violence against US and British targets may be a consequence. That is why I urge and plead with you to win back Arab and Muslim hearts and minds by changing direction and asking for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and Palestine. Although you have rightly stressed the importance of values, even-handedness and fairness in resolving conflicts, those words need to find concrete application. This matter is of the utmost urgency if more loss of life is to be avoided and Britain is not to be open to the charge of complicity in the killing of civilians by procrastinating. Once a ceasefire is in place, it will be time to negotiate a long-term agreement that is just to all the parties, as you yourself would wish.

I hope very much that my remarks will elicit a response,

Yours sincerely

Ghada Karmi