But that land was already occupied, and setting up of the state of Israel displaced and dispossessed thousands of Palestinian Arabs, who thus bore the cost of Europe’s antisemitism. After the horror of the Holocaust, it was understandable that many Jewish people felt that they would only be safe in their own country, the historical “promised land”.

George Monbiot’s article is apposite, but we also owe it to humanity to see that the rules of war are replaced by the principles of peace. Sadly, all this is no more than a feeble pacifist cry in the wilderness of horrific violence in which the world now finds itself. It can be done, but requires exceptional leadership, backed by palpable yet restrained power. Yet a leader such as Nelson Mandela managed to bring apartheid to an end without major bloodshed. In the midst of crisis, all this seems unthinkable.