I should have said I know where my heart is, you don't. There was a time when we writers used to tell each other that was the right way to carry on. I would also love the day to come when it is possible to criticize the State of Israel without being accused of being an anti-Semite. The charge insults not only the supposed offender but also the country it seeks to protect. All countries, at one time or another, do daft things, mistaken things, wicked things.
Decent nations are a family.
Good men and women of every nation owe it to each other to rescue the truth from its ever more skilful manipulators. I have a right to the criticism of my friends in Israel, even when it stings. They have a right to mine. I do not believe that any great cause, or any great nation, was the better for the suppression of its critics. Douglas Davis is JWR's London correspondent.