Lieberman in London to meet Miliband

UK anti-Israeli groups threaten to protest encounter; Israeli FM also set to meet local Jewish leaders.

By JONNY PAUL, JPOST CORRESPONDENT IN LONDON
Miliband speaks to AP 248.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Miliband speaks to AP 248.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman arrived in London on Tuesday afternoon as part of a fleeting visit to meet his British counterpart David Miliband. The Israel Beiteinu leader was set to meet Miliband on Wednesday morning at the Foreign Office in Whitehall. A number of fringe anti-Israel groups have threatened to protest outside the Foreign Ministry. One of the groups taking part called Lieberman a "neo-fascist". Quoting Haaretz journalist, Akiva Eldar, the group said that when Jorg Haider joined the Austrian government, Jews around the world condemned it. "If a Jewish politician who aspires to transfer an Arab minority across the border can sit in an Israeli cabinet, why should an anti-Semite not sit in an Austrian government?" Eldar had said. "Protest against UK visit by Israel's racist foreign minister," the call to join the demonstration said. "Join us to show our disgust at the government's willingness to meet with Israeli warmongers." Lieberman will also meet the Conservative Party shadow foreign minister William Hague. The visit will also allow Lieberman to meet members of the Jewish community. On Tuesday evening he will be honored at the Hampstead home of a JNF benefactor, and on Wednesday morning, he will meet community leaders at a breakfast in his honor.