Once the bustling heart of Christian pilgrimage, Bethlehem now faces shuttered hotels, empty streets and a shrinking Christian community, while Israel’s assault on Gaza and the tightening grip of occupation destroy hopes of peace at the birthplace of Christ, writes Father GEOFF BOTTOMS
ISRAELI arms firm Elbit is building its business in Britain by taking top military officials for “informal suppers” and “discreet and private” dinners.
Elbit is a relatively new arms supplier in Britain. Its dinner-with-Elbit approach is very similar to the hospitality offered to officials by the more established arms firms. As a “transparency” measure, government departments list all “hospitality” given to their “senior officials.”
For the MoD, these lists cover everyone who is above the rank of “two star” meaning Major Generals or their equivalents and above. No other department records as many dinners with suppliers as the MoD.
While Hardie, MacDonald and Wilson faced down war pressure from their own Establishment, today’s leadership appears to have forgotten that opposing imperial adventures has historically defined Labour’s moral authority, writes KEITH FLETT



