Belgian newspaper accused of deligitimizing Israel by not mentioning the country on Mideast map

Le Soir is notoriously and obsessively hostile to Israel, promoting boycotts etc.  The newspaper featured the map for two successive days (26 and 27 December) without realising after the first day that something was amiss.  A clear indication of the quality its experts and its readership's apathy...  Jean-Philippe D., who is not Jewish, wrote to Le Soir: "One thing still confounds me. The words "Palestinian Authority" target the West Bank [Cisjordanie in French] territories (the Israelis say "Judea and Samaria" and English-speakers "the West Bank") and Gaza. The Palestinian Authority is not a territory but a government! Strange ... Another mistake is to make a connection between the P.A and Gaza. The real Authority in Gaza is obviously the Hamas!".  Spot on!

Reminder: Maroun Labaki of Le Soir wrote in 2010 that EU Commissioner De Gucht had broken taboos re the Jewish Lobby and Jewish irrationality.  This also gives an idea of where the paper's sympathies lie: Brussels: Jihad by vuvuzela!

BRUSSELS (EJP) ---Being accused by the Jewish community in Belgium of "deligitimizing Israel” by failing to mention this country’s name on a Middle East map illustrating articles on the Arab Spring, Belgian daily Le Soir speaks of an "indisputable error" but said it was "outraged and insulted" by the accusation.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the CCOJB, the umbrella body representing Jewish organizations in Belgium, regretted "that once again newspaper Le Soir delights in the delegitimization of the State of Israel by publishing, during two consecutive days, a map of the Middle East, which simply ignores the existence of the State of Israel."

"In addition, the words ‘Palestinian Authority’ were included in the place of Israel, which is also untrue and denies the duality existing between Gaza and the West Bank," the statement added.  "The CCOJB condemns this double breach of truth and rigorous information."

Reacting to the accusation, the paper's chief editor Didier Hamman admitted that "this is undoubtedly a mistake, I plead guilty and apologize." But he also said he was "shocked and insulted" by the accusation from CCOJB that the newspaper did it intentionally.

Belgian newspaper: De Gucht broke taboos re the Jewish Lobby and Jewish irrationality

Is EU Commissioner Karel De Gucht only saying out loud what everybody at the EU is thinking in private  but keeping silent for fear of being called an antisemite ? 

Context:
- EU Commissioner derides 'Jewish Lobby' in the US
- EU Commissioner warns of 'Jewish lobby' grip on US politics

Belgian newspaper Le Soir ran an article about this subjet: "Karel De Gucht brave les tabous" (Karel De Gucht breaks the taboos - note the plural and the "the").  In the paper version the introduction to the article reads as follows (translated) :

Essential background :
- Former Foreign Affairs Minister speaks of the weight of the American Jewish lobby and of the conviction Jews have of being always right about the Middle East.
- Jewish organisations make grave accusations.
- Is it appropriate to say in public what everybody thinks in private ?

The journalist, Maroun Labaki who covers EU affairs for Le Soir, goes on to write that Karel De Gucht's words are unusual coming from a high-ranking European politician because it is not "politically correct" to say such things and because of the fear of being accused of antisemitism.  They therefore use less explicit formulations ...

He further hints that such could be the views of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs too.

Le Soir (like the other main francophone Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique) is notoriously anti-Israel.  In the same issue, writing on Thilo Sarrazin who said that Jews share a common gene, the paper has four other pieces on how crazy Israelis are about Jewish genes (superior of course) and also reports on terrible racism in some quarters of Israel society.  The paper makes Israelis look bad for not making a big fuss about Dr. Sarrazin's "racist" "pamphlet" ... Needless to say that Le Soir is making a terrible fuss about this story.

And by the way, De Gucht has expressed regrets - he did neither offer an apology nor take back his accusations.