I've just read through (some of) this long thread, which started as a discussion about the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, and has more recently become a discussion about the alleged crimes against humanity of the state of Israel.

I believe it is fair to criticise any regime that is violating human rights. In my opinion, this includes Israel, which has continued to build new settlements on Palestinian land.

I can kind of understand Israel's thinking! In the UK, we are blessed by being surrounded by friends: northern continental Europe, Ireland and Scandinavia. In contrast, Israel, since its formation, has been surrounded by enemies, which more than once have tried to wipe it off the map.

That makes aggressive Israeli policies a lot more understandable. It still does not make them right.

There is also the uncomfortable fact that the creation of the state of Israel was achieved largely by acquisition of land belonging to others. However, we have to live in, and work with, the current situation. No one is seriously going to argue, for example, that the whole of the USA should be returned to native Americans, nor that the whole of the UK should be returned to the Celtic races.

However ... I agree that, if we are (justifiably) to criticise Israel, we should apply the same criteria to others. Israel is a democracy, with human rights legislation, that compares favourably with many other nations. They are, in some ways, a 'soft' target.

So, I wish we would criticise the human rights records of all nations, according to their current policies and actions.

Not so easy to do, though, in the real world, when we want good trade deals with economically and politically important countries such as China! For example ... best if we don't ever invite the Dalai Lama to visit in an official capacity again!   :-(