Petition calls for Royal Visit to Israel

An online petition has been launched requesting a change in official British policy regarding the nation of Israel. The petition calls for an official apology to be offered to Israel for our country's mistreatment of Holocaust survivors and requests that, at long last, the Queen and Royal Family undertake an official visit to Israel. In the early twentieth century, Britain was mandated by the League of Nations to provide a homeland for the Jewish people in what was then Palestine.

The Jewish people were promised not only what is now the state of Israel but also Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan. Due to Arab pressure, Britain turned against the Jews and broke its promise to them, reducing the size of the land originally allotted by almost 70%. Britain now appears to be at pains to reduce the land to a mere 17% of what was originally promised.

The petition charges that during the Holocaust, Britain limited the number of Jews who could return to Palestine to a mere 15,000 a year. At the time Jewish people needed our country's help most desperately, British gunboats turned back ships full of Jewish refugees from the shores of Palestine.

Some historians have estimated that up to one million lives could have been saved if Jews had been allowed to return to their ancient homeland during the War years. The petition protests a specific act of cruelty in 1947 when the SS Exodus (pictured), carrying Holocaust survivors from Germany, was commandeered off the coast of Palestine and the passengers forced to return to a British concentration camp.

The petition protests Britain’s policy appeasement towards the Arabs, the harming of British-Israeli diplomatic ties in favour of British-Arab ties, and the anti-Israel bias of the British media.

Finally, the petition calls for an official Royal Visit to Israel. In spite of numerous invitations by Israeli governments, the Queen has never visited Israel.

Although the petition is not well worded, it deserves the support of all who care about Israel and our own nation. Sign the petition here.