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| Blair's popularity high in Israel
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JERUSALEM (EJP)--- More than 60 percent of Israelis believe that British prime minister Tony Blair is “true friend of Israel,” according to a recent poll by TNS Teleseker on behalf of the British Embassy in Tel Aviv.
The results of the survey were released the same day Blair pledged to make the battle for peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians one of his main priorities.
In the poll, when asked to what extent they agreed that Blair is a true friend of Israel, 51 percent said they agreed with the statement and 12 percent of respondents said they strongly agreed with it.
The survey of Israeli perceptions of Britain also found that Britain is seen by Israelis as the European country that is friendliest towards Israel. Respondents were asked at the start of the survey to spontaneously name the European countries they believe are friendly towards Israel. A quarter of respondents mentioned Britain first, and 34 percent overall said Britain is friendly towards Israel.
Peace in Israel
On Tuesday Blair gave his final speech as party leader and prime minister at a Labour party conference, having announced earlier this month that he intends to step down from the positions within a year.
In the speech Blair admitted it will be difficult for him to stop being prime minister of Great Britain and that the with the globalisation which has swept the world over the last decade, his successor will face great challenges including those of battling terrorism and he stressed the importance of Middle East peace,
“Of course it is hard to let go. But it is also right to let go. For the country, and for you, the Party.
The scale of the challenges now dwarf what we faced in 1997. They are different, deeper, bigger, hammered out on the anvil of forces, global in nature, sweeping the world.
“In 1997 the challenges we faced were essentially British. Today they are essentially global.
We used to feel we could shut our front door on the problems and conflicts of the wider world. Not any more.”
But although he used the speech as an opportunity to thank his party members for their support since electing him as leader 12 years ago, Blair made it clear that he still intends to continue striving for what he believes is important before he vacates the position.
He said: “From now until I leave office I will dedicate myself, with the same commitment I have given to Northern Ireland , to advancing peace between Israel and Palestine. I may not succeed. But I will try because peace in the Middle East is a defeat for terrorism.”
Support for Jewish community
Since becoming leader in 1997 Blair has become a friend and supporter of the British Jewish community and of Israel. Earlier this year he showed this support when he attended a service celebrating 350 years of Jewish life in the UK at the Bevis Marks synagogue in the East of London.
At the service he said: “It has never been easy, as you know, for the Jewish people. But what courage and resolution. So much suffering, yet so much capacity to renew in the face of it; so much persecution, yet so much determination to conquer it; so much pain, but so much joy in a faith that throughout the travails of the centuries burns as brightly today as ever it did.”
And in May he illustrated his support for Jewish charities when he spoke to Jewish Care. Blair said: “The Jewish community to me stands for what a community is about. People respect each other as individuals, but they have a deep and profound sense of themselves as a community of people, but believe that it is part of their duty, not just to succeed on their own behalf, but to show compassion to those who have not succeeded or fallen on hard times.
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