and yet I remember reading recently about a (rather obscure) jewish poet who realised after participating in one particularly bloody episode in 1948 that Israel was embrked on a project of "clearances" not dissimilar to those practised by previous Jewish oppressors.

He left Israel soon after.

sadly his name escapes me entirely, but he was never famous.

keep to the Fen Causeway

Guardian - Hadley Freeman - My great uncle was alienated in postwar France. Now Americans know how he felt

I wish I'd had longer to get to know Alex, but I'm glad he is not alive now to see how the realisation of his dreams has betrayed its roots. Last week, Israel's communications minister, Ayoub Kara, who calls Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "close friend", told the Jerusalem Post that staying on the right side of President Trump was more important than condemning the neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville, Virginia. In other words, for Israel, Trump trumps Nazis, because that's where we are in 2017.

"Due to terrific relations with the US, we need to put the declarations about the Nazis in the proper proportion," Kara told the Post. "We need to condemn antisemitism and any trace of Nazism... but Trump is the best US leader Israel has ever had... and we must not accept anyone harming him."

So Israel will do what it can to stop the spread of Nazism, except criticise a man who insisted there were some "very fine people" marching with neo-Nazis earlier this month. Whoa, don't strain a muscle, Israel, you're doing some pretty extreme backwards bends there!

keep to the Fen Causeway