Britain's relationship with Israel: 'Yes sir, whatever you need, sir.'
The tweet was posted by the BBC's Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg on Wednesday while the Scottish journalist was covering the build up to the resignation of Priti Patel. The Secretary of State for International Development had taken part in undisclosed meetings in Israel organised by the powerful Conservative Friends of Israel lobby (CFI) last summer.
Kuenssberg's Twitter posts on the day was full of posts on the Patel story including comments about Number 10 denying the allegation made by the Jewish Chronicle that Prime Minster Theresa May had been made aware of the 12 meetings Patel had had during her "family holiday" in Israel.
In her deleted tweet, which MEMO has been able to grab as a screenshot, Kuenssberg reported a comment made by a "senior" Tory MP who, enraged by the debacle, called for Lord Polak, honorary president of CFI and the person thought to be behind Patel's Israel trip, to be sacked.
Comment: A rather mild comment, actually, but nevertheless one that 'transgresses the unspoken rules' about 'speaking ill of The Chosen Ones'.
MEMO contacted Kuenssberg to ask why she had deleted the tweet but has not received a reply from the journalist.
The BBC has often been accused of pro-Israel bias and it would appear that this was yet another example of the broadcaster censoring criticism of Israel or senior BBC journalists enforcing self-censorship when it comes to Israel.
While it's not absolutely clear what the senior Tory meant by the "entire apparatus", it would appear that the concerns raised by the Conservative politician echo similar complaints made by Israel's critics over the influence of CFI and other pro-Israeli lobby groups on the entire British establishment including the media.
Kuenssberg's decision to delete the tweet it seems is further proof that the "entire apparatus" is reluctant to shed light on the "corrupt relationship" between the UK and Israel, which critics say is the reason why the BBC and other media corporations have turned a blind eye, and allowed Israel through the CFI and organisations like the Labour Friends of Israel to "buy access".
Comment: Kuenssberg is the BBC's political editor, of Jewish descent, and has been so loyal to the regime and the party line that she is regularly panned and trolled online (to which she responded by hiring a full-time bodyguard during the June 2017 general election!).
Hence her willing collaboration in deleting the tweet. Much more interesting is that she was allegedly citing a senior Tory in the House of Lords...
For more on the Patel scandal:
UK MP Priti Patel resigns after admitting to secret meetings with Israeli politicians and trying to divert taxpayers money to Israeli army
Israel Lobby in mourning at loss of valuable British asset Priti Patel