Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546283
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 AUGUST 2026 Fearne's silence speaks volumes about the Labour government's submission to Israel Editorial ON Thursday 20 August we woke up to the news that Malta will now recognise the Teudat Ma'av- ar, an Israeli travel document issued instead of a passport. It wasn't a ground-breaking event. It was rather a mundane diplomatic and administrative procedure to bring Malta in line with the rest of the Schengen Area. The Teudat Ma'avar is commonly held by new immigrants during their first year in Israel, be- fore they become eligible for a full passport, by Israeli citizens whose primary residence is out- side Israel, and by those who have lost or dam- aged a passport or had one stolen. But what was surprising is that the news was di- vulged by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on X and not Malta's Foreign Minister Chris Fearne. The Maltese foreign minister's usually busy X account went silent on this development. The Maltese Foreign Ministry only comment- ed when asked by MaltaToday and the reply was rather dry: "Following completion of the estab- lished inter-ministerial procedures appli-cable to the recognition of foreign travel documents, the Teudat Ma'avar (Israeli Travel Doc-ument in lieu of National Passport/Provisional Passport) will now be recognised." The ministry also emphasised that "this recog- nition process applies only to this particular trav- el document and does not extend to other Israeli travel documents". Other, more pertinent questions were ignored. MaltaToday asked whether this was an appro- priate time to engage with Israel in this way in light of ongoing concerns over the actions of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. We also asked whether Chris Fearne raised these concerns with the Israeli foreign minister during their discus- sions. All we got was silence. What concerns us is not Malta's recognition of the Teudat Ma'avar—it makes little sense not to recognise it if the rest of the Schengen Area does—but Malta's growing ambivalence on the Middle East conflict and the Palestinian cause. Was the Labour government ashamed of pub- licly announcing to a Maltese audience the rec- ognition of the Teudat Ma'avar because it would make it seem like ditching its historic stand to champion the Palestinian cause for statehood? Chris Fearne's silence speaks volumes about the Labour government's double-faced agenda when it comes to foreign policy concerning the Middle East. On the one hand, Malta recognises Palestinian statehood after a protracted process—the deci- sion was only made when Malta had the comfort that other big European states were doing the same. On the other hand, Malta is absent when some European countries call for an EU response to Israel's expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which pose a direct threat to the two-state solution. It seems that the Labour government lost its traditional assertiveness to call a spade a spade. This is not a call for Malta to severe ties with Is- rael or to cut off communication. But rather a call for Malta to put itself on equal footing with Israel by publicly making it clear that it disagrees with the violence in the West Bank and taking the nec- essary steps to bar the trade of goods from illegal settlements. It is a call for Malta to be vocal on the gross hu- man rights violations happening in Gaza at the behest of Israel, while at the same time re-assert- ing the need for Israelis to be able to live in peace and security. It is a call for Malta to seek an explanation for the presence of an Israeli military aircraft pa-trolling just outside territorial airspace last year, an inci- dent followed by a drone attack on a ship carrying pro-Palestinian activists at Hurd's Bank. Chris Fearne and Ian Borg before him, or Rob- ert Abela, are certainly no Dom Mintoff, who in November 1973 had told Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir during a meeting of the Socialist In- ternational in London that if he were a Palestin- ian, he would have also resorted to terror-ism. Now, Mintoff's ways were brusque and conducive to conflict, which may play well to a domestic au- dience but can leave lasting resentment in diplo- matic circles. We are not advocating a return to that style of diplomacy that can create more enemies than friends. But it is amazing how the people respon- sible for foreign policy in today's Labour Party have strayed to the extreme opposite of Mintoff's confrontational style, seeking appeasement and submission even in the face of violations that Malta has always stood against. Malta must maintain good relations with Isra- el but doing so should not preclude Malta from publicly calling out wrongdoing and being at the forefront of international efforts in support of the Palestinian cause for a free, viable and independ- ent state. MaltaToday 10 years ago Air Malta retirement scheme for excess pi- lots and cabin crew will cost over €6 million 21 August 2016 WINGS will surely be clipped as Air Malta has signalled that the cabin crew complement at the national airline will have to come down, and the workforce emulate the working condi- tions of other major airlines. Union representatives were told on Friday the government would only guarantee jobs and take- home pay for cabin crew if they increase produc- tivity targets imposed by the management, and accept a voluntary early retirement scheme. Air Malta cabin crew members began following work-to-rule directives after three meetings in one day between the union and tourism minis- ter Edward Zammit Lewis, Air Malta chairper- son Maria Micallef and George Abela, President emeritus, appointed as a negotiator for the air- line's talks with Alitalia. But MaltaToday is informed that the two sides are close to reaching an agreement which they are expected to sign tomorrow. Air Malta is in discussions with the Italian air- line to sell off a 49% stake, which also means a downsizing of the national airline's staff comple- ment. The cabin crew union's industrial action took place just a day after an impasse with Air Malta pilots on their collective agreement was resolved, when union ALPA agreed to fly more than the average 55 hours a month pilots were currently notching up. But Air Malta responded to the cabin crew un- ion action by launching a new recruitment drive for part-time cabin crew members, and a volun- tary early retirement scheme now tagged at some €6 million. [...]