John Taylor speaks and surprises

It can be frustrating when people won’t stay in the little box they have been assigned to. When Martin McGuinness became Minister for Education in the newly-created Stormont Assembly, there was a gasp of disbelief throughout the chamber. When McGuinness went on to work with and create a friendship with Ian Paisley, he was smashing the box to which many unionists had assigned him. Wasn’t McGuinness a top IRA man? How could he be capable of these positive political steps?

Yesterday, I had to rejig my assessment of John Taylor aka Lord Kilclooney. I had habitually seen him as  a fairly right-wing politician, singing from the same hymn-sheet as those who fly Israeli flags in Belfast and other places throughout the North. Now he’s forced a reassessment of his character, given his expressed views on the Palestine-Israel conflict: “Israel is now involved in indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Gaza.This is a war crime which both the UK and EU are supporting”..

He is of course right – it’s just that it’s unexpected to hear him critical of the UK and Israel. I misjudged the man.  Certainly,  the rubble produced by Israeli  air strikes  on Gaza confirms Taylor’s assessment. And if we’re to believe Netanyahu, this is only the beginning. 

If Netanyahu follows through on what he has said, the immediate sympathy that had been felt for Israel, as defenceless people were killed or abducted by Hamas, will drain away. What’s more, Netanyahu won’t be doing anything that most Israelis don’t support: an Israeli man who had a number of his family members abducted by Hamas didn’t let that deter him from urging carpet bombing of Gaza. Such airstrikes will be a very big mistake.  Far from cowing the Palestinian people, they will send hundreds, maybe thousands of young Palestinians into the ranks of Hamas.

Like Kilclooney, Netanyahu may surprise the world by deciding to work for a peaceful resolution, It’s possible. But it’s also possible that I’ll win the Lotto in the next draw.