Guessing game

I can’t find this online, but it’s in the Telegraph, hard copy, Saturday 13th July, P. 18. 

Interview: Cristina Odone.

Title: A battle-scarred master of living dangerously.

Sub heading: No Arab war zone is complete without ** interpreting the action for a wary Western audience. Don’t ask him if it’s time to pack it in.

“Blah de blah de I won’t discuss my personal life....blah...Egypt....Tahrir Square.....blah de blah.

“Like his predecessor Orla Geurin, **  has defended himself against accusations of an anti-Israel bias. He says they are “inevitable”, but worries about the “real prejudice” he comes across: 

“Islamophobia in this country. Muslims in Britain face discrimination every day. That’s wrong. We should be better than that. British Muslims join the police, fight in the Army, and I see them working as customs people at Heathrow. What more do they need to prove?“Those who take the terrorist route, who go off for jihadist training - why do they do it? Because they feel marginalised. it is perfectly respectable to be anti-Islam in the way it isn’t to be anti-Semitic. People talk publicly about Muslims in a way they would never dare about any other group. Swap the words around ‘Jew’ or ‘Black’ for ‘Muslim’ and you’ll see."

I kid you not. The great Middle East analyst, impartiality is in his Jeans. Oh well. It’s an excuse to decorate the blog with another of those bandage pics. 

Bowen-in-a-bandage

I can hardly be arsed to Fisk this nonsense, apart from urging him to implement his own suggestion and substitute the word “Jew” for ‘Muslim’ and ‘antisemitism’ for Islamophobia to see how that looks. 

Of course I doubt many Jews are to be seen working as customs people at Heathrow or going for Jihadist training, but I think you’ll find that ‘perfectly respectable people’ talk publicly about Jews in a way they would never dare etc. etc., only many of them will substitute the word “Israel” for ‘Jew’ but we know what they mean, eh ‘arry?