Daphne Anson: BDS Movement in Ireland

Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East. (From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Showing posts with label BDS Movement in Ireland. Show all posts

Sunday, 10 March 2019

A Z Word in Scotland ... defending Jeremy Corbyn

Gaza-born, LSE-educated economist Dr Husam Zomlot is officially described on his Twitter page as "Ambassador, Head of Palestinian Mission to the UK, former Head of PLO General Delegation to the US, Strategic Affairs Advisor to President of Palestine". If his name seems vaguely familiar, that may be because in 2014 he clarified remarks of his that led to the accusation that he is a Holocaust denier. Or it may be because in September last year he was expelled from the United States by the Trump administration when the Palestinian mission in that country was closed down.

Image: AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

In the month following that expulsion, he became head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK. To quote a press release,

"HE Ambassador Husam Zomlot presented his credentials as head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK to The Rt Hon Alistair Burt, Minister of State for the Middle East, yesterday. Ambassador Zomlot was received by Mr. Alistair Burt at the Foreign Office.

Dr. Zomlot presented a letter to the Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt, from the Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr. Riyad al-Maliki. Mr Alistair Burt similarly presented a letter to Dr. Zomlot in which the British government welcomed him as head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK and expressed the desire of the UK government to strengthen cooperation with Palestine and deepen the unique and historic relationship between the British and the Palestinian people.

The letter emphasised the British government’s full commitment to achieving a two-state solution through the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. The letter also stated that the UK government looked forward to a constructive relationship between the British Foreign Office and the Palestinian Mission to the UK.

For his part, Dr. Zomlot expressed the hope that the directive of President Mahmoud Abbas to upgrade the relationship between the two countries was achieved at all levels. Dr. Zomlot added that he highly appreciated the very warm and senior reception at ministerial level from the UK government and vowed to continue the work of his predecessors in advancing British-Palestinian relations, particularly at this critical juncture for both Palestine and the UK."

And this month Dr Zomlot has been wowing the Scots, by the look of things.

He was warmly welcomed to the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.

And by Eve Bolander, the Lord Provost of Glasgow:

And, as reported here, he

'was given a VIP tour of Celtic Park as he thanked Hoops fans for their incredible crowdfunding efforts three years ago.

Mr [sic]Husam Zomlot touched down in Scotland this week for the first time since taking his new role as Palestine's head of mission to the UK.

In 2016, the Scottish champions were fined £8,000 for a huge pro-Palestine fan demonstration against Israeli outfit Hapoel Beer Sheva.

But the charge was dwarfed by the £176,000 raised online for Middle East charities in a bid by fans to match what they thought would be a far harder hit.

And Mr Zomlot paid homage to the extraordinary sum raised by thanking the club and its supporters today during a trip to the stadium....

The Celtic fans' campaign was backed by Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters in 2016, who played a montage of pictures of the Green Brigade waving Palestinian flags during one of his packed out concerts.

The music icon said at the time: "Thousands of Celtic supporters turned up, they carried Palestinian flags and banners.UEFA, in its incredible imbecility decided to fine Celtic for that display of inappropriate images and banners. So the supporters banded together, great Glaswegians that they are, and said, ‘We’re not having that’. They started a fund that was called ‘match the fine’ and they distributed it to Palestinian charities. Good on you Celtic supporters, I’m an Arsenal supporter myself, but in this particular instance I’m with you all the way.”...'

While in Dundee, trades unionists breakfasted with him:

Yes, that looks suspiciciously like Dr Zomlot's old friend Corbyn, in the picture below! He was in Dundee for the Labour Party's Scottish Conference.

And at a fringe meeting of the party chaired by Pauline McNeill MSP, Dr Zomlot received a standing ovation after delivering a speech in which he did his best to exculpate Corbyn from the stain of antisemitism:

As reported here,

'Jeremy Corbyn does not have a "shred or ounce or iota of hate" in his heart, Palestine's chief diplomat has insisted.

Dr Husam Zomlot launched a heartfelt defence of the Labour leader as his party continues to be engulfed in rows over anti-Semitism.

Speaking at a fringe meeting during the Scottish Labour conference in Dundee, Mr Zomlot said he first met Mr Corbyn 20 years ago and described him as "dignified but modest man".

He said: "Any cause that has to do with the rights of people, with equality, with fighting racism and hatred – Jeremy Corbyn is there, under the rain, under the most severe circumstances.

"You want to tell me that person has hate in his heart? No.

"That's the person I know for a long period of time."

....

His comments came as Labour peers wrote an open letter to Mr Corbyn describing his party's handling of anti-Semitism complaints as an "embarrassing mess".

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission is considering launching a formal investigation into whether Labour has "unlawfully discriminated" against Jewish people.

....

He said he sensed "some hesitation today among our friends, who worry that their support for Palestinian rights will be misconstructed".

Quoting US Senator Bernie Sanders, he said anti-Semitism "is being used to stifle debate about Israel".

But he added: "Let me be clear here: anti-Semitism is real. It is absolutely real. And like all forms of bigotry and racism, it is abhorrent.

"There is no 'but' here. There is absolutely no 'but' here. It is real and it must be fought."

He added: "There is no contradiction in fighting anti-Semitism and also fighting for the Palestinian cause. It is the same struggle."...'

Ah, but are we comparing like with like, MsMcneill?

Like Melanie Phillips, many hardly think so.

Meanwhile, a BDS battlecry from Scottish PSC chief Mick Napier

And across the Irish Sea ...

Tuesday, 9 February 2016

Blarney, BDS & Blood Libels (includes video)

At the weekend, Martin O'Quigley, head of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, explains why he's out on the streets of Dublin demonstrating against the proposed foundation of an Irish branch of the anti-islamisation organisation PEGIDA, dubbed by most of the press a "far right" organisation (a label rejected by worried English feminist Anne-Marie Waters of UK Mothers against Sharia and the other founders of the British branch).

For O'Quigley the demo's something about being anti-Zionist and opposing all forms of racism, apparently, as well as dutifully opposing fascism.

The fact that fascism, which Europe defeated during the Second World War (a conflict in which the Irish Republic stood neutral, incidentally, even spitefully denying British ships port facilities during that life or death conflict with evil), is busily importing a new kind of fascism, is of course not part of the mindset of the Irish anti-"Islamophobia" crowd and more than it is of their British and Continental counterparts.

I hold no brief for PEGIDA. But how strange it is that the fears of Ms Waters and other true feminists for the future of girls and women in a Europe of rapidly changing demographics are apparently not shared by the guys and gals of the "far left".

As reported here, among those joining in the Irish anti-PEGIDA protests are such far leftists as Sinn Féin, People Before Profit, the Workers Solidarity Movement.

Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said “we are standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity to show that there is no place in Ireland today for racism and Islamophobia. There is no place for hate.”
Ms Boylan is a veteran of the anti-Israel movement: see, for instance, here and here and here

"There is no place for hate" on the Irish Left, it seems, except where Israel is concerned.

President Higgins and friends

I have blogged several times about the anti-Israel cause in Ireland and how vicious seem its sentiments.

Here's another example, these disgraceful assertions by Anna O'Leary, an Irish Israel-hater, telling Iran's Press TV that Israel is "a place that does not observe human rights".

Listen to her vile blood libels against Israel and her laughable remarks about "our values" (the "our" encompasses Iran, too, presumably!)

That O'Leary thinks it appropriate to give an interview to the satellite propaganda channel of one of the world's most notorious actual violators of the human rights of women and children, and indeed of males when they are gays or dissidents, while accusing Israel of the heinous things she does in the way she does speaks volumes about the nature and purpose of O'Leary in particular and the Irish BDS movement in general.

Oh, and as for Anne-Marie Waters, here she is in Copenhagen last month, castigating the pro-Islam lefty sisterhood heckling her there:

Wednesday, 8 July 2015

BDSers' Stomping Stills Irish Dancers' Feet

Sadly, as reported in the Jewish Chronicle,

'An Irish dance academy was forced to cancel the first ever Irish dance competition to be held in Israel after receiving threatening messages from an anti-Israel group. [See here]

The Carey Academy Israel was set to hold the “1st Israeli Feis” in Tel Aviv on August 15 but called it off after a protest outside its UK dance studio in Birmingham.

The organisers said that students, parents and teachers had received threats from boycotters.

In a statement on the event’s Facebook page, the organisers said: “Unfortunately we have to announce the cancellation of what would have been the 1st Israeli Feis. Age, nationality, or religious beliefs do not matter to us. Unfortunately, there was a protest outside our dance studio. We do not want to risk safety of anyone connected to the Carey Academy. The feis was not meant to be anything more than what it really is - a celebration of dancing, friendship and joy. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused to people who may have already booked tickets but I am sure you understand the safety of our dancers is our number one priority.”....'

Naturally, the BDSers are dancing for joy, although their joy is tempered. See, for instance, this mad-as-a-nest-of-disturbed-hornets press release from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, linked to by a despicably Israel-demonising group of as-a-Jews:

http://www.ipsc.ie/press-releases/6237

And note the indignation here:

Meanwhile, from a staunch Israel-basher in the Emerald Isle, composer Raymond Deane:

For PalFest Ireland's various anti-Israel initiatives see here

Another report here

Monday, 8 October 2012

Dublin Architects Protest Local Tel Aviv Event (video)

Even the great city of Tel Aviv, founded in 1909 as a Jewish suburb on sand dunes north-east of Jaffa, is not immune from the attentions of Israel's opponents.

Last week Irish pro-BDS anti-Israel activist Jim Roche and other Dublin architects signed a letter to the Irish Times which said in part:

'This weekend Dublin Civic Trust is hosting an Open House event, sponsored by the embassy of Israel, entitled "Postcards of Our City", in which Dubliners are encouraged to send postcards to residents of Tel Aviv, Israel....

As architects and academics, we find it regrettable that the Dublin Civic Trust, whose stated aim is to generate awareness of the historic built environment and promote architectural heritage, would facilitate an event sponsored by a state that has erased and continues to erase indigenous Palestinian architectural heritage from the physical landscape and collective consciousness....'

Friday, 29 June 2012

Israel-Haters Rant Against The Queen's Steinmetz Diamond (videos)

Here are some of our familiar friends from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, demonstrating in Dublin this month against "Israeli Blood Diamonds" – more specifically against the Steinmetz diamond De Beers presented to Queen Elizabeth II during this, her Diamond Jubilee Year.

In the course of the demo a pro-Israel foursome passes by, and – as in this memorable incident involving Jewish tourists – take issue with the demonisers, who are challenged regarding the selectivity/hypocrisy of BDSers in continuing to use Israeli computer chips.

We catch part of the action as the elderly pro-Israel man tells the demonisers "You don't know what you're talking about," before he and his wife continue their stroll. Their departure prompts a short discussion between a trio of demonisers ...

And tourists visiting the Tower of London on Sunday had their tranquility rudely interrupted by a band of Israel-haters screeching about "Israeli genocide"and screaming demands that the Queen return the "Steinmetz blood diamond" on display at the Tower.

Most of the tourists amble past the demonisers, with scarcely a bemused glance in their direction.

The uploader of this video onto YouTube is a veteran of the anti-Ahava demos in London's Covent Garden.

'For as long as these antisemites wrap themselves up in the Palestinian flag, too many people are willing to turn a blind eye. Only against Jews is this type of racism openly tolerated. It is flourishing in schools, colleges, universities, unions and in city councils. In fact, so rampant is the disease now, in some settings you can be ostracised if you do not partake in the frenzy yourself. Bashing Jews has becomes a trendy position for the ignorant social justice warrior. "Palestinianism" is a viral "ponzi scheme" and as it spreads, it carries antisemitism in the undergrowth.' David Collier (2017)

'This new rise in antisemitism, which I had thought long dead, was not shaven-headed white imbeciles from the far right. It was Muslims, a large chunk of it.... Suddenly I grasped that the British far left didn’t want people to know about antisemitism because it pointed the finger at people they really, really liked. From that moment on, it all fell into place.... Time and again the same tropes emerged, the same sort of stuff that Streicher and Goebbels would have commended – and uttered.... And from that a whole bunch of other stuff emerged: the old blood libel business (a favourite of the repulsive Jenny Tonge).... Nice, avuncular, Jeremy Corbyn, with his peace badges, happily laying a wreath at the graveside of Palestinian terrorists who murdered innocent Jewish athletes, oh, and much much more.... It is the same antisemitism, exactly the same: the obsession with Israel to the exclusion of everything else, the conspiracy theory paranoias, the derangement.... Here’s the test – if you cannot see the flagrant racism in the BDS movement, and if you are obsessed with the perfidy of the Middle East’s only democracy to the exclusion of all else, you are an antisemite. That means a good proportion of the Labour Party, including the leader, and almost all of Momentum: no brown shirts, no marching bands, but the same old filth, dressed in the clothes of a polytechnic geography lecturer.'
Rod Liddle (2018)

'Before the June 1967 Six Day War, there were no such things as "settlements". Palestinians were trying to destroy and displace Israel anyhow. The core problem is not, and never was, "settlements," but the right of Israel (or any non-Muslim nation) to exist inside any borders in that part of the world.
If you take a stand that is based on a lie, then that stand cannot succeed. If you try to oppose antisemitism but pretend it is the same thing as "Islamophobia," then the structure on which you have made your stand will totter and all your aspirations will fail. If you try to make a stand based on the idea that settlement construction rather than the intransigence of the Palestinians to the existence of a Jewish state is what is holding up a peace deal, then facts will keep on intruding.' Douglas Murray (31 December 2016)
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9685/britain-little-lies

'Islamophobia does NOT come from the same wellspring of hatred as antisemitism. Antisemitism is a true prejudice because the hatred and demonisation it promotes derive entirely from lies and a repudiation of rationality itself.
Islamophobia is a false allegation of prejudice which is deployed to silence rational criticism based on actual facts about attitudes and practices within the Islamic world.
[L]ethally compromised even-handedness is to misunderstand, and thus minimise, antisemitic attitudes and behaviour while shutting down legitimate and necessary discussion of the threat from the Islamic world – even to demonise as “Islamophobic” anyone who draws attention to the extent and consequences of Muslim antisemitism.' Melanie Phillips (14 December 2016)

Jews have re-assumed the role of the canary in the mine and are the first to be targeted, but the world would face the same threat if Jews did not exist. Israel has been at the front lines confronting Islamic extremism but has received scant support... For Jews, the writing has been on the wall for a long time. The virulence of the antisemitic hatred closing in on Jews in Europe (and elsewhere) is horrifying...
Europe is today facing a crisis as serious as the confrontation with Nazism. If Western leaders continue behaving like Chamberlain and fail to stand up to this global threat, it could usher in a new Dark Age in which the Judeo-Christian culture is subsumed by primitive barbarism. The writing is on the wall Isi Leibler (12 January 2015)

Expose The Lies!

There is a war of lies and deceit on the internet generating unbelievable hate by denigrating and delegitimising the legal rights conferred on the Jewish people by the League of Nations in 1922 and the United Nations in 1945. The idea that there are two narratives on the Arab-Jewish conflict is rubbish. There is only one – the factual truth that details the return of the Jewish people to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in its ancient biblical, ancestral and historic homeland after 3500 years of dispersion with the unanimous endorsement of the nation states then comprising the League of Nations.... Generals can’t fight a war without soldiers. Jews around the world need to join the fight or vacate the internet to the Jew-haters and their lies that repeated often enough eventually become accepted as truth. David Singer (2016)

The "Apartheid" Slur

The division of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into three separate areas “A”, “B” and “C” was agreed on by Israel and the PLO pursuant to the Oslo Accords.
95% of the West Bank Arabs live in Areas A and B and their daily lives are under the total administration and control of the PLO since the Palestinian Authority was disbanded by Abbas in January 2013. The PLO has total security control in A and shares security control in B with Israel. Israel has total administrative and security control in C.
Israel is entitled to and will continue to take responsibility for the security of Jews living in the West Bank.
Jews were given the legal right to settle in the West Bank under article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter. They did so for decades until they were driven out in 1947 and not able to return there until 1967.
There are Arab roads only in the West Bank that Jews are not allowed to use. Jews are also forbidden from entering Area “A”. Selling land to Jews is forbidden by the PLO under pain of death. The PLO runs the daily lives of 95% of the West Bank Arabs and Hamas runs the daily lives of 100% of the Gazan Arabs. They have been under occupation – and subjugation – by these two evil groups for the last ten years and given no say in their future or any opportunity to elect others to lead them following the disastrous political decisions of their leaders over the past ten years. Hamas and the PLO do not accept the continued existence of a Jewish State and call for its disappearance.
The narratives did not begin in 1948 – they began in about 1917. How do you make peace with an enemy that has been obsessed with not recognising any Jewish national rights in former Palestine for the last 100 years? David Singer (2016)

The Jews of the Holy Land ... are surrounded by hostile states 650 times their territory and sixty times their population. Yet their last, best hope of ending two millennia of international persecution - the State of Israel - has somehow survived. When, during the Second World War, the island of Malta came through three terrible years of bombardment and destruction, it was rightly awarded the George Cross for bravery. Today, Israel should be awarded a similar decoration for defending democracy, tolerance and Western values against a murderous onslaught that has lasted twenty times as long. Andrew Roberts (historian)

Israel is understandably obsessed with security, but its greatest security lies ultimately not in the Israeli Defence Forces, but in political warfare.... Most of the world is not deeply interested in what happens in Israel, and probably does not want to be deluged with legalistic defences of particular actions. What it wants is a clear, calm, repeated case. It is a case – aimed more at public opinion than at foreign ministries – about freedom, democracy, a Western way of life and the need for the whole of the free world to fight terrorism. Sometimes you hear Israelis say: “It doesn’t matter what we say. The whole world is against us.” You can see why they say it, for they are indeed unfairly treated. But when they say it, they are uttering a self-fulfilling prophecy. If they won’t say what needs saying, no one else will say it for them. Charles Moore (2010)

Once again the armies of the Arab nations are coordinating their military efforts to destroy Israel - whatever they say about wishing merely to regain the lost territories.... [I]f the present Arab offensive had been launched at the pre-1967 frontiers, then the Israelis would indeed have been fighting to avoid annihilation. It seems now that the Israelis were right to maintain the ceasefire lines gained in 1967, and that to do so is the only guarantee of their continued safety.
Alan Sillitoe (The Times, 11 October 1973)

Iran and ISIS are competing for the crown of militant Islam... In this deadly game of thrones, there’s no place for America or for Israel, no place for Christians, Jews or Muslims who don’t share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone... [T]he greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons. To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear weapons would be to win the battle, but lose the war. We can’t let that happen...[T]he days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over. We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves....Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. But ... I know that America stands with Israel... You stand with Israel, because you know that the story of Israel is not only the story of the Jewish people but of the human spirit that refuses again and again to succumb to history’s horrors. Bibi Netanyahu (12 Adar 5775; 3 March 2015)

The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions, of people, and there is no refugee problem.... [N]o one says a word about refugees. But in the case of Israel displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees.... Other nations - when they are defeated - survive and recover, but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed.... [A]s it goes with Israel, so it will go with all of us. Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us. Eric Hoffer (1968)

Most of the present Arab countries were given their freedom after the 1914-18 War, or after the 1939-45 War.... Yet to listen to Arab spokesmen one might think that they had been cheated ... because they have not also got Israel. Israel is only .2 per cent of the land where Arab States have been established. Surely no fair-minded man can begrudge the Jews their own promised land when it is remembered that for every 2 acres that went to make up Israel, 1,000 acres became Arab.... Why is there an Arab refugee problem? The oil-rich countries have the money. There is no shortage of land, and the Israelis have the technical knowledge to show how it could be developed and made fertile. Bring those things together and the problem could be solved. 3rd Earl of Balfour (1968)

January 7, 2015 has already its place in the history of infamy, but also will be the date when the defenders of freedom and democracy will rise and pay tribute to those who died for their freedom and ours. Therefore, we must not forget on which side we are and who are our allies in the defense of the West and its values. Whether we admit it or not, the West is at war with an enemy who will not stop to destroy us...
The State of Israel boasts a commandment that, in one of the darkest hours in the fight for liberty Winston Churchill taught: "Never give up". Israel has proven to be a key ally in the fight against Islamism and also an example of how a liberal democracy can resist the jihadist stake and thrive as a Western nation ... Not only France but also all the West should look to Israel to defeat Islamism...
friendsofisraelinitiative.org

[I]t’s impossible to believe that an active antisemite wouldn’t – if only opportunistically – seek out somewhere to nestle in the manifold pleats of Israel-bashing, whether in generally diffuse anti-Zionism, or in more specific Boycott and Divestment Campaigns, Israeli Apartheid Weeks, End the Occupation movements and the like....[T]ell me that not a single Jew-hater finds the activity congenial, that criticising Israel can “never” be an expression of Jew-hating, not even when it takes the form of accusing Israeli soldiers of harvesting organs... Howard Jacobson (The Independent, 27 May 2013)

For Western countries to side with those who question Israel's legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel's vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values, rather than robustly to stand up in defence of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude. Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is lost and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Jose Maria Aznar

Israel is, for us, a normal and a special country. A normal country, because it is just like any other democracy. A special country, because the Jewish culture, which eventually became the Judeo-Christian culture of the dignity of man, is the conceptual foundation of liberalism and democracy. This is why attacking Israel is tantamount to attacking Europe and the West. This is also why disputing Israel's legitimacy and its right to existence means questioning democracy. And this is why we are Friends of Israel. By defending Israel, we are defending ourselves. Marcello Pera

Israel ... is beset today by a unique combination of threats. It must defend its people from attack while defending its very right to exist. No other nation in the world faces this dual challenge. To deny Israel's right to confront some of the world's most vicious terrorist groups in order to ensure the safety of its citizens is to corrode international norms from within ... The assault on Israel is one part of a more general assault on the West, on democracy, and on the moral and cultural heritage that grew from the fruitful interaction of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome ... Should these efforts succeed, similar efforts will certainly be turned against other western democracies. George Weigel

Apart from America itself, Israel still stands as the world's brightest model of national self-liberation based on ideals of individual responsibility and human freedom. Israel's ability to withstand Arab attempts to destroy it in one of the longest and most lop-sided wars ever fought serves as an indelible testimony to the strength of democratic culture.... We know from the past that the West paid dearly for ignoring Hitler's war against the Jews. One can only hope it will not pay as dearly for having ignored or underestimated for so long the Arab war against Israel and the Jews. Ruth Wisse

I am duty-bound to defend freedom, culture, peaceful coexistence, the civic education of children, and all the principles that the Tablets of the Law have rendered universal. Principles which Islamic fundamentalism systematically destroys. This means that, since I am a Gentile, a journalist and a leftist, I have a triple moral commitment to Israel. Because, if Israel were to be vanquished, modernity, culture and freedom would also be crushed. Even though the world has failed to wake up to this fact, Israel's struggle is the world's struggle. Pilar Rahola

DISCLAIMER

Commenters are kindly requested to avoid posting material which violates or infringes the rights of others (including their privacy and publicity rights, or which is unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, invasive of privacy, vulgar, obscene, profane or which may harass or cause distress or inconvenience to, or incite hatred of, any person.
The opinions expressed by posters of comments on the Daphne Anson blog are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Daphne Anson. Daphne Anson is not responsible for the content of the comments.
This blog's posts sometimes include links to other websites. Such linked websites will have their own terms and conditions of use and commenters are advised to familiarise themselves with them.
The Daphne Anson blog
* does not sponsor, endorse or necessarily approve of any material posted on this website or on websites linked from or to this website;
* does not make any warranties or representations regarding the quality, accuracy, merchantability or fitness for purpose of any material on websites linked from or to this website;
* does not make any warranties or representations that material on other websites to which this website is linked does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any person anywhere in the world;
* does not authorise the infringement of any intellectual property rights contained in material in other websites by linking this website to those other websites.