Benjamin Netanyahu is a dangerous ally for the left

There is no better example of modern pseudo-sophistication than the dismissal of the argument in the Labour party about a ceasefire in Gaza as self-indulgence. No debate in the UK will influence the Israeli government or Hamas, commentators say, and then sit back as if expecting to hear applause.  

Of course, it won’t. But the professionally bored forget that global arguments are fought in local contexts. If you want global pressure to build on Israel, or wish to defend Israel, you fight your fights where you are and where you can.

A more revealing question than why left-wingers bother to argue about Gaza, is why has the western left’s campaign to persuade centre-left politicians to oppose Israel failed? For it has failed to date, not only in the UK but in Europe and the US.  The left’s demand for a ceasefire, which is essentially a demand for Israel to stop fighting for good, is not being taken up by any senior left-wing politician I can find.