Debunking the Myths: Margaret Thatcher, the Foreign Office and Israel, 1979-1990

In 1979, little was known about Margaret Thatcher's views on foreign affairs, except that she claimed to have little time for the Foreign Office, regarding it, along with the Treasury, as "bastions of compliancy."One point that did appear clear, at least superficially, during her time as leader of the opposition (1976-1979), and her three governments (1979-1990), was her apparent pro- Israel stance. This viewpoint appeared to be out of sync with the widely held British view, articulated by the Foreign Office, of a preference for the Arabs over the Israelis. This article disproves the idea of Thatcher's apparent pro- Israeli leanings. It uses documentary sources, many of which were gained through the Freedom of Information Act and have never been used before, to outline that during the Thatcher era there was a slide away from Israel and towards the Arabs in British Middle Eastern policy.