any criticism of israel is followed by cries of 'anti-semitism'... fuckin sandy.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/internat ... 73,00.html

Israel outraged as EU poll names it a threat to peace

Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor
Sunday November 2, 2003
The Observer

Israel has been described as the top threat to world peace, ahead of North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran, by an unpublished European Commission poll of 7,500 Europeans, sparking an international row.
The survey, conducted in October, of 500 people from each of the EU's member nations included a list of 15 countries with the question, 'tell me if in your opinion it presents or not a threat to peace in the world'. Israel was reportedly picked by 59 per cent of those interviewed.

The leaking of the results of the poll to El Pais and the International Herald Tribune has sparked a bitter row, with a major Jewish human rights and lobbying group, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, demanding that the EU be excluded from the Israel-Palestinian peace process and accusing Europe of suffering the worst outbreak of 'anti-semitism' since World War Two.

The results appear to be a mark of the widespread disapproval in Europe of the tactics employed by the government of Ariel Sharon during the present intifada.

Israeli Ministers and spokesman have also been at pains recently to insist that a definition of modern 'anti-semitism' should include criticism of the way the state of Israel chooses to protect itself, defining that criticism as an overt attack on Israel's survival.

Members of the Sharon government have bridled at the efforts of Tony Blair and UK officials to try to mediate between the two sides. At one stage journalists were briefed that Israel regarded the Foreign Office as having an 'Arabist' bias.

Reacting to the poll, the Simon Wies enthal Centre, which claims 400,000 members in the US alone, has begun ordering a petition to condemn the European Commission and demand the EU no longer be represented in the so-called Quartet group trying to mediate an end to violence between Israel and Palestine.

The poll also comes against a background of an increase in anti-semitic attacks in Europe in the past year, although the evidence in countries such as France suggests that many are being committed by young Islamists.

'This poll is an indication that Europeans have bought in, "hook, line and sinker", to the vilification and demonisation campaign directed against the state of Israel and her supporters by European leaders and media,' said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the Wiesenthal Centre's founder.

'This shocking result that Israel is the greatest threat to world peace, bigger than North Korea and Iran, defies logic and is a racist flight of fantasy that only shows that anti-semitism is deeply embedded within European society, more then at any other period since the end of the war,' he added.

sholdn't this go in the politics forum?

As messed up as that sounds to me, I'm going to sit this one out.

forum nazi?

this really doesnt come as a surprise, they are right in the middle of lots of shitty things

that's the way it is when any large group of ethnically homogenous group is criticized by Europeans (or persons of Euro descent)

I wonder what percent viewed the US as the greatest threat to world peace. You know we've got to be a contender.

yeah we basically financed their military...

Isreal acts like a group of fanatics. Plain and simple.

Personally, I am sick of their "we suffered" bullshit because if you look back in time EVERYONE has suffered.

And after all their "boohoo we suffered" what do they do? They CAUSE suffering among their fellow man.


Its an endless war between two states that have long lost grasp with reality. I choose to make no sides in the matter and only wish that someday that both will cease to exist.

I agree. Unfortunetly Israelies don't have a monopoly... War-mongers, aggressors and fanatics come in all shapes and sizes... Israel just happens to have a fairly large percentage at this particular moment in time.

There's actually a large percentage of Isrealis that don't back their government's actions toward Palestinians. I still say we are a much bigger threat to peace, what with our cavalier 'cowboy' attitude toward foreign policy since WWII. I love how our 'peacekeeping' efforts always seem to lead to more bloodshed.

It's important to remember in these situations that the actions of governments do not necessarily reflect the mindsets of those governed. I don't blame the Isreali populace as a whole for the actions of their govenment.

It's off topic a bit but yeah, there's been this awful, genocidal war going on in Congo for the last 5 years, despite the US administrations pontificating they've done sweet fa about it... Seems global security is only important if it's American security. Or Israeli security, for that matter.

it's because the christian hard right and the us government have a lot invested in israel. sadly congo doesn't seem to matter since it's not making us money.

Well, just between you and I, I've travelled extensively in southern Africa and I can tell you for personal experience that Africa is the great untapped resource. Oil, gold, jewels, uranium, argriculture... you name it, Africa has falling out of her pockets every time she bends over. Southern Africa at least, could be the USA of the furture. Seriously unimaginable potential out there that's being totally ignored... Unfortuantely all the bad press Africa gets, from Sudan to Zimbabwe, means most people's view of Africa is exactly the opposite of the truth...

But, now we're WAY off topic...

some like to think that every major international problem stems from israel.

well, most of ours stem from our support of it,

umm the best, and sometimes only way to get rid of your enemies is to kill them, you cant make everyone like you by showering them with money and food... which is more of what weve been trying to do since WWII anyway

You mean like Vietnam? Bosnia? Iraq? Afghanistan? Libya?

What we tend to do is blow them up, THEN shower them with money and food, but only if we are allowed to put the regime of our choice in power.

We manufacture most of our enemies through propaganda.

This is very true. Some of Bushes friends are going to make alot of money from the Iraq conflict.

Profit through death and destruction, huh? That doesn't sound like Gods work to me, that sounds like the nature of the beast

true dat

this is going to sound bad but its the truth, there will never be a thing as world peace

I don't blame you for your pessimism

not as long as humans exist.

it doesn't matter anyway, you can get used to anything. it's all the same. the longevity of a persons life isn't really important.