Former British Foreign secretary Jack Straw: Jewish money prevents peace

Former British Foreign Secretary and Labor MP Jack Straw made harsh anti-Semitics statements during a British parliament debate last week.

Listing the greatest obstacles to peace, Straw said that unlimited” funds available to Jewish organizations and AIPAC in the US are used to control and divert American policy in the region.

  

Straw, who served as foreign secretary in Tony Blair's government in 2001-2006, further claimed that Germany’s “obsession” with defending Israel was also a contributing factor to failure to achieve peace.

The former British official made the comments during the Round Table Global Diplomatic Forum in the British House of Commons. Also in attendance were former Israeli Knesset Member Einat Wilf and the Palestinian ambassador to London who accused Israel of "cultural genocide" and "ethnic cleansing."

"It was appalling to listen to Britain's former foreign secretary," Dr. Wilf said. "His remarks reflect prejudice of the worst kind. We're used to hearing groundless accusations from Palestinian envoys but I thought British diplomats, including former ones, were still capable of a measure of rational thought.

"Throughout the debate I reiterated that the origin of the conflict was the Arab and Palestinian unwillingness to accept the Jewish people's legitimate right to a state of their own, and that as long as that willingness is absent there will be no true solution."

The former MK further remarked, "At least the Palestinian representative and I could agree that we both want a speedy divorce."

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Straw said Friday he would step down as a member of parliament at the 2015 general election.

The lawmaker for the Labor Party, now in opposition, has served continuously as an MP since 1979, representing the town of Blackburn in northwest England.

He has recently expressed favorability towards the new Iranian president Hassan Rohani. “You could do business with him, and we were able to do business with him,” Straw told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. “I very profoundly believe that (this) is a new chance for proper negotiations.”

“President Rohani is an Iranian and he represents Iran’s national interest, so people have got to factor that in, and it’s entirely right that he should do that,” Straw said.