David Maddox: At last an MSP willing to speak for Israel

Last week I bemoaned the fact that many of our pro-Israel MSPs were too reluctant or being blocked from taking part in a debate on the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
In particular there were Labour and SNP MSPs who I know to be pro-Israel, who were silent on the issue, as sadly they often are in these all too regular circumstances.
But since I posted that blog one at least has come out and expressed his view - step forward, again, the the noble Lord George Foulkes, Baron of Cumnock, MSP for the Lothians and would-be Rector of Edinburgh University.
It seems that the good Lord's silence until now had something to do with the Rectoral election, especially as there is a strong pro-Palestinian group at the university and one of the champions of the Palestinian cause, the Bethnal Green Respect MP George Galloway, is also in the running.
Lord Foulkes as already been targeted for his membership of the Labour Friends of Israel, with some apparently quite gratuitous suggestions that his affiliations make him something akin to being a murderer.
But now the Lord has spoken. In the commentisfree section of the Guardian's website he has talked about his experience in 1999 as the UK minister responsible for helping the Palestinians.
The reflections make interesting reading from somebody who has actually been to Israel and Palestine and done something out there, rather than the usual pontifications of the ignorant who have no real experience at all. They are though - as one might expect in an election - balanced, careful and guarded.
Anybody wishing to read his thoughts should click on to this link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/15/gaza-middleeast