By Daphne Anson
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| Image: AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais |
In the month following that expulsion, he became head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK. To quote a press release,
“HE Ambassador Husam Zomlot presented his credentials as head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK to The Rt Hon Alistair Burt, Minister of State for the Middle East, yesterday. Ambassador Zomlot was received by Mr. Alistair Burt at the Foreign Office.
Dr. Zomlot presented a letter to the Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt, from the Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr. Riyad al-Maliki. Mr Alistair Burt similarly presented a letter to Dr. Zomlot in which the British government welcomed him as head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK and expressed the desire of the UK government to strengthen cooperation with Palestine and deepen the unique and historic relationship between the British and the Palestinian people.
The letter emphasised the British government’s full commitment to achieving a two-state solution through the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. The letter also stated that the UK government looked forward to a constructive relationship between the British Foreign Office and the Palestinian Mission to the UK.
For his part, Dr. Zomlot expressed the hope that the directive of President Mahmoud Abbas to upgrade the relationship between the two countries was achieved at all levels. Dr. Zomlot added that he highly appreciated the very warm and senior reception at ministerial level from the UK government and vowed to continue the work of his predecessors in advancing British-Palestinian relations, particularly at this critical juncture for both Palestine and the UK.”
And this month Dr Zomlot has been wowing the Scots, by the look of things.
He was warmly welcomed to the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.
And by Eve Bolander, the Lord Provost of Glasgow:
And, as reported here, he
‘was given a VIP tour of Celtic Park as he thanked Hoops fans for their incredible crowdfunding efforts three years ago.
Mr [sic]Husam Zomlot touched down in Scotland this week for the first time since taking his new role as Palestine’s head of mission to the UK.
In 2016, the Scottish champions were fined £8,000 for a huge pro-Palestine fan demonstration against Israeli outfit Hapoel Beer Sheva.
But the charge was dwarfed by the £176,000 raised online for Middle East charities in a bid by fans to match what they thought would be a far harder hit.
And Mr Zomlot paid homage to the extraordinary sum raised by thanking the club and its supporters today during a trip to the stadium….
The Celtic fans’ campaign was backed by Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters in 2016, who played a montage of pictures of the Green Brigade waving Palestinian flags during one of his packed out concerts.
The music icon said at the time: “Thousands of Celtic supporters turned up, they carried Palestinian flags and banners.UEFA, in its incredible imbecility decided to fine Celtic for that display of inappropriate images and banners. So the supporters banded together, great Glaswegians that they are, and said, ‘We’re not having that’. They started a fund that was called ‘match the fine’ and they distributed it to Palestinian charities. Good on you Celtic supporters, I’m an Arsenal supporter myself, but in this particular instance I’m with you all the way.”…’
While in Dundee, trades unionists breakfasted with him:
And at a fringe meeting of the party chaired by Pauline McNeill MSP, Dr Zomlot received a standing ovation after delivering a speech in which he did his best to exculpate Corbyn from the stain of antisemitism:
As reported here,
‘Jeremy Corbyn does not have a “shred or ounce or iota of hate” in his heart, Palestine’s chief diplomat has insisted.
Dr Husam Zomlot launched a heartfelt defence of the Labour leader as his party continues to be engulfed in rows over anti-Semitism.
Speaking at a fringe meeting during the Scottish Labour conference in Dundee, Mr Zomlot said he first met Mr Corbyn 20 years ago and described him as “dignified but modest man”.
He said: “Any cause that has to do with the rights of people, with equality, with fighting racism and hatred – Jeremy Corbyn is there, under the rain, under the most severe circumstances.
“You want to tell me that person has hate in his heart? No.
“That’s the person I know for a long period of time.”
….
His comments came as Labour peers wrote an open letter to Mr Corbyn describing his party’s handling of anti-Semitism complaints as an “embarrassing mess”.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission is considering launching a formal investigation into whether Labour has “unlawfully discriminated” against Jewish people.
….
He said he sensed “some hesitation today among our friends, who worry that their support for Palestinian rights will be misconstructed”.
Quoting US Senator Bernie Sanders, he said anti-Semitism “is being used to stifle debate about Israel”.
But he added: “Let me be clear here: anti-Semitism is real. It is absolutely real. And like all forms of bigotry and racism, it is abhorrent.
“There is no ‘but’ here. There is absolutely no ‘but’ here. It is real and it must be fought.”
He added: “There is no contradiction in fighting anti-Semitism and also fighting for the Palestinian cause. It is the same struggle.”…’
Ah, but are we comparing like with like, MsMcneill?
Like Melanie Phillips, many hardly think so.
Meanwhile, a BDS battlecry from Scottish PSC chief Mick Napier
And across the Irish Sea …
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