"At a time when others were sliding toward moral relativism, Thatcher stood for individual responsibility, moral self-confidence and often, it has to be admitted, self-righteous certitude.
Put aside her personal failings, she was a militant optimist for a country slipping unconsciously toward defeatism. Beyond her policy decisions, she was part of a values shift."
Brooks does not mention Margaret Thatcher's enduring friendship for Israel. As noted by The Times of Israel (http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-leaders-praise-staunch-friend-margaret-thatcher/):
"Israeli leaders and legislators on Monday praised the deceased former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, speaking to her strong character and calling her a friend of the Jewish state.
. . . .
Thatcher 'was truly a great leader, a woman of principle, of determination, of conviction, of strength… a woman of greatness,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. 'She was a staunch friend of Israel and the Jewish people. She inspired a generation of political leaders. I send my most sincere condolences to her family and to the government and people of Great Britain.
President Shimon Peres also offered his condolences, calling Thatcher a 'friend,' and 'an exceptional leader.' In a statement, the president praised her 'strength of character,' saying 'she served as an inspiration for other leaders. As the first female prime minister of Great Britain, she broke new ground.' Thatcher represented 'vision,' the president said, noting that Thatcher was a culmination of 'people' and 'ideas.'"
As observed by Haaretz (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/margaret-thatcher-the-british-pm-who-praised-israel-s-pioneer-spirit.premium-1.514374):
"But her friendship with the Jewish people cannot be doubted. Once, when asked of her most significant achievement, she said that it was persuading her father Alfred Roberts to help finance the immigration of her sister's pen-pal, 17 year-old Edith Muhlbauer from Austria, following the Nazi takeover in 1938. The Thatcher sisters helped raise the money and convinced families in Grantham to host Edith who, when she arrived, told the 12 year-old Margaret of life under the Nazis. The young girl would say nearly six decades later that she had learned, 'never hesitate to do whatever you can, for you may save a life.'"
Margaret Thatcher, we will miss you, now and forever.
A v. worthy blog.
ReplyDeleteThatcher stopped the rot in a Britain bludgeoned by militant unionism and anarchy. Before she came to power the country was sliding inexorably into bankruptcy.
Ironically, today, the leader of the Labour party in Britain, Ed Miliband is straining to resuscitate the same politics of Arthur Skargil, the Marxist miners' union leader who led the militant strikes in the mid and late 1970s.
Thatcher valued the creative entrepreneurial dynamism of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel, she received an honorary doctorate from The Weizmann Institute.