The state of Israel was conceived in Italy - not New York!

On Thursday 17th November, Andrew Tucker spoke at a conference in Rome entitled "Israel - the frontier of Europe". Organised by Il Foglio newspaper, speakers included Hassen Chalghoumi (Imam of the Drancy Mosque and President of the conference of Imams in France), Palestinian blogger Waleed Al-Husseini, author Bat Ye'or, and Israeli Member of Knesset and former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livny. All highlighted the urgent need to support Israel as the frontier against the tsunami of Islamic jihadism. Andrew spoke of Europe's moral and legal obligation to defend the right of the Jewish people to determine their own nationhood, borders and capital.

Andrew explained that Israel's legal legitimacy lies in the events following the Balfour Declaration (1917) and the end of WWI. In fact, in a way you could say that the modern state of Israel was conceived in Italy - it was at the San Remo conference in April 1920 that the WWI Allied Powers decided to create the Mandate for Palestine, which was intended to create a Jewish homeland in recognition of the historic connection between the Jewish people and the land of their forefathers - a decision later implemented by the League of Nations. It is therefore a dangerous misconception to say, as many do including Israel's own former Foreign Minister Lipni, that Israel was birthed out of the 1947 UN Partition Plan. This is dangerous because it suggests that Israel is somehow legally obliged to ensure the creation of an Arab State. The fact is - Israel's borders are arguably the borders of the Mandate for Palestine - which means Israel has every right to annex Jerusalem and create settlements in the West Bank. It is time for Italy to stand up again and defend the right of the Jewish people to exist as a nation within secure borders, free from threats of attack.

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