?Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is about to discover how much power one individual has to rage against the system. The British foreign office official, who had the distinction of being the first ever Muslim cabinet member, resigned from David Cameron’s government protesting his support for Israel’s massacre in Gaza. As much as one would like to believe that her resignation will jolt the government into changing its position even slightly, there is little reason for hope. In the run up to the Iraq War, Tony Blair lost important leaders like Robin Cook and Clare Short but that didn’t diminish his bloodlust at all. The sad truth is that politicians come and go but the permanent establishment, which includes the civil service and lobbying giants, continues dictating policy. The other reason to doubt that Warsi’s resignation will lead to a shift is that her opinion will be dismissed as biased because she is Muslim. This is an incredibly racist view but one that is widely held in Washington and Westminster. The belief that Muslims are opposed to Israel because of its religion and not its policies is disgraceful and yet articulated all the time. England cricketer Moeen Ali, for instance, was not taken seriously when he wore a ‘Save Gaza’ armband while batting and was ordered to remove it by the ICC even though other non Muslim cricketers have often made political statements.
Other celebrities, too, are facing the challenge of showing their humanity at a time when many countries conspicuously lack it. Pop singer Rihanna faced such a torrent of criticism for tweeting ‘Free Palestine’ that she quickly deleted it. Celebrity Kim Kardashian tried to be judiciously even handed, tweeting out messages for both Israel and Palestine saying she was praying for them. But daring to even acknowledge Palestine is a crime for the Zionist lobby and Kardashian was forced to issue a public apology. Celebrities are supposed to be the new powerbrokers of our age but even they are forced to cower when daring to utter a peep against the status quo. Much of the world may be opposed to Israel’s actions in Gaza but it can continue to kill with impunity. The US and UK governments are so committed to Israel that they put its interests above anything. And should any citizen get out of line the pressure groups, Zionists and otherwise, will soon have them conforming again. Those, like Baroness Warsi, who refuse to abide get cast out into the wilderness or change and conform.
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