Out of the Mouths of Belgians
Not All Euro-crats are anti-Israel. Tal G links to this interesting article from the Jerusalem Post about small group of members of the European Parliament (50 out of 626) who support Israel:
"For us, defending Israel is a matter of principle," says Belgium's Olivier Dupuis, a lawmaker inside the European Parliament's centrist Radical Party. "We are not just pro-Israel. More significantly, we view ourselves as pro-democracy activists..."The real source of instability in the Middle East is not Israeli citizens trying to defend themselves against suicide bombers," Dupuis continues. "Rather, it's the widespread lack of due democratic process in the Arab states that is the real source of instability and injustice."
Dupuis notes that one of the most striking features of the EU parliament's resolution on Israel was an explicit demand that Israel agree to accept the EU as a mediator."The secret to unlocking the EU's foreign policy is that there is no EU foreign policy," he insists. "Rather, many in Europe don't understand how it is a small country like Israel won't stand to attention when the EU issues instructions. The EU wants Israel to recognize its superpower status, but Israel won't oblige by letting the Europeans act as mediators in the peace process. This unsettles the pride of European policy bigwigs who long for the days when Europe ruled the world."
In conclusion, a massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel was widely alleged, reported and condemned, but did not in fact occur. The tendency of groups and governments to speak prematurely - and of the media to report those comments uncritically - reminds us that, in reporting the news, freedom from bias, seeking context and examining all sides is essential for everyone, especially those with voices that carry weight internationally.Posted by Dr. Frank at June 1, 2002 11:07 AM | TrackBackFinally, while the report remains largely silent on the question of whether some of the zealously anti-Israel reaction to the events in Jenin reflected anti-Semitic attitudes, prejudice undoubtedly informed some of the remarks quoted. Mere criticism of Israel is not bigotry, but the vehemence and reflexiveness displayed by some of those considered here seems indicative of a larger set of beliefs about Jews.