🇬🇧 With Friends Like These…

How Israel Killed British Soldiers, Bombed Our Buildings, Poisoned the Water—and Still Gets Our Weapons.

I’ve tried to bite my tongue. I’ve tried to tell myself, “Surely this time the UK government will grow a spine.” But no. As of 2025, it’s still propping up a nation with a long and colourful history of not being “our” friend. Israel, that is. The one currently bombing, starving and shelling its way through Gaza while squealing “antisemite” every time anyone points out that maybe bombing hospitals isn’t terribly sporting.

This week, my past home, the UK—alongside France and Canada—finally tiptoed towards the most milk-toast rebuke imaginable, issuing a polite group letter saying: “We’re not entirely sure how comfortable we are with your kill count right now.” Predictably, Israel responded not with reflection or remorse, but with their now-standard diplomatic counterstrike: “Antisemitism!” You could set your watch to it.

Let’s be clear: labelling criticism of Israeli actions as antisemitic is a political tool—one they’ve sharpened to a blade and brandished anytime someone suggests that turning a city into a crater might be a bit much. But this isn’t new. Israel’s been playing this game for decades. Let me walk you through some history you probably weren’t taught at School.

Poisoning Wells and Calling It Prejudice.

Let’s travel back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. As Israeli forces pushed into Palestinian territories, reports emerged of poisoned wells in Palestinian villages. One such village was Acre, where a Red Cross investigation found bacteria—typhoid bacilli—deliberately introduced into the water supply. At least 70 Palestinians fell seriously ill; some died. At the time, when Palestinian leaders accused Israeli forces of this act, they were, of course, called liars and antisemites.

Years later, declassified Israeli documents confirmed it: members of the Haganah (the precursor to the IDF) had indeed carried out the poisoning. The operation was code-named “Operation Shlach,” and it was sanctioned at a high level. For those keeping score at home: using biological agents on civilians is a war crime. It’s not “defence.” It’s not “security.” It’s textbook biological warfare. But the real kicker? Israel called the accusation antisemitic—right up until their own paperwork proved it was true.

You’d think that sort of thing might prompt Britain, a self-styled beacon of human rights, to say “Actually, maybe we’ll sit this one out.” But no.

When Israel Bombed British Civilians.

The King David Hotel bombing in 1946 remains one of the most brutal acts of terrorism ever committed on British soil abroad. Zionist paramilitaries from the Irgun, led by Menachem Begin, disguised themselves as Arabs, planted explosives in the hotel—which housed the British administrative headquarters in Palestine—and blew it up. Ninety-one people were killed, including 28 Britons.

As if that weren’t bad enough, they booby-trapped the corpses of British officers, so when medics came to rescue survivors, they triggered more explosions. If this had been done by anyone but Zionists, it’d be remembered as a grotesque terror attack. Instead, Menachem Begin went on to become the Prime Minister of Israel and founded the political party that Benjamin Netanyahu still leads today.

Imagine if the Provisional IRA’s top bomb-maker later became Taoiseach and Ireland still got £10 billion in British arms support every year.

When Palestinians Fought for Britain.

Here’s the part that truly twists the knife: while Jewish paramilitaries were blowing up British soldiers, over 12,000 Palestinians volunteered to fight for Britain during World War II. They signed up to defend the UK against fascism while Zionist militias in Mandate Palestine were more interested in plotting against British rule.

Palestinian loyalty? Ignored. Zionist aggression? Rewarded. That’s not foreign policy—it’s Stockholm Syndrome.

RAF Flights, Fighter Jets, and Friendly Fire.

Fast-forward to now, where Britain’s support for Israel is no longer just historical embarrassment—it’s ongoing complicity.

The UK has supplied components and maintenance support for Israeli F-35 fighter jets, the very ones turning Gaza’s residential blocks into dust. These jets are equipped with advanced targeting systems partially developed in cooperation with British defence firms—systems that make it all too easy to “accidentally” bomb a school or hospital and blame it on a typo.

Meanwhile, Royal Air Force reconnaissance flights out of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus have reportedly been sharing “intelligence” with Israeli forces—information used to select targets. How comforting that Britain’s global role now involves drawing little red circles around apartment buildings for someone else to flatten.

RAF Akrotiri, let’s remember, is supposed to be a base of defensive operations. Not a data dispatch centre for a country turning Gaza into a moonscape.

The Weaponisation of Antisemitism.

Let’s not sugar-coat it: the word “antisemitism” has been twisted into a catch-all deflection shield. It’s no longer about real bigotry. It’s about silencing dissent, cowing governments, and shutting down journalists who dare ask whether maybe launching white phosphorus at children isn’t something we should be funding.

And yes, antisemitism is real. It’s a virulent, ancient hate that has no place in society. But when Israel deploys it like a stun grenade every time someone criticises a tank battalion rolling into a refugee camp, it cheapens the term to the point of meaninglessness.

Calling criticism of a state’s war crimes “antisemitic” is as logical as calling anyone who dislikes Putin “anti-Slavic.”

“Special Relationship” With Whom, Exactly?

Britain’s unwavering support for Israel might make sense if we had some great legacy of shared values or alliance. But we don’t. The historical record is one long string of betrayals, bombings, and bad faith. Israel has killed our soldiers, spied on our allies, and routinely ignored international law. Hard. Cold. Facts.

The Palestinians? They fought beside us. They served in our army. They’ve been crushed under our so-called ally’s boot ever since.

So what exactly are we defending here? Israel’s right to self-defence? Or their right to unending impunity? Because when a country poisons water, bombs your hotels, rigs your soldiers’ corpses with explosives, and then dares to call you antisemitic for questioning it—maybe, just maybe, it’s time to reassess the guest list at your next arms-dealing gala.

Closing Thoughts (With Booby Trap Optional).

If the UK government had a memory longer than a goldfish with a head injury, it might realise that our “friend” Israel has, on multiple occasions, treated us like the enemy. The only difference today is that now we clap while they do it, and send them another crate of drone parts for their trouble.

Israel isn’t our friend. It never really was. And as long as they keep calling everyone who questions them a bigot, they’re going to lose the ability to spot a real one when it matters.

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