There's this strange thing that pops up online whenever, or shortly after, I happen to say anything critical of Israel. 

Here's a bit of background. In 2000 I went with a BBC colleague to make a series of radio documentaries about refugees around the world. One programme was set in Iran which - lest you think otherwise - at that time was HOSTING more refugees than any other country, not in tents and without help from the rest of the world. We (my colleague was a woman) both had to wear hejab. Hot and bothersome, and decidedly unflattering - as a BBC photo of the two us taken at the time revealed.

My first online Israel-sceptical comments prompted an organisation calling itself The Jewish S.H.I.T. List to take that BBC pic and airbrush my colleague out. This left me, singular and awkward, ready to be paired by the SHIT list with a picture of Marty Feldman looking particularly bug-eyed. This is about as intelligent as the website gets in its arguments. Ever since, whenever I happen to mention Israel, up pops the comparison on Google or wherever, like an allergic reaction to my remarks.

You wonder (or I do) how many people are sitting about in various places with nothing better to do than monitor all online observations for Israel-adverse comments in order to respond with yah-boo sucks!