EU apologizes for statements against settlements

"Ambassador Kuriel stressed the severity with which Israel sees Dickinson's statement, saying that the issue was not only the lack of diplomatic manners but also the clear deviation from the Commission's stated role, "which is to coordinate aid with the Palestinians, not arrogantly criticize Israel."

Foreign Ministry says satisfied after EU apologizes for statement made by one of its officials in which he claimed European taxes were paying for damage caused by settlements. Meanwhile US State Department clarifies administration's position remains unchanged

The European Union Commission apologized to Israel's Ambassador to the Union, Ron Kuriel, over statements it made earlier this week claiming that the settlement policy was stifling the Palestinian economy and increasing Palestinian dependence on foreign aid – and therefore was costing European citizens in taxes.

The apology was issued after EU Ambassador to Israel Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal [photo] was reprimanded by Deputy Director of the Foreign Ministry Rafi Barak. A senior Commission official told Ambassador Kuriel that the statement released by the head of Operations at the European Commission's office in east Jerusalem (ECTAO), Roy Dickinson, was issued without the knowledge of EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

The Foreign Ministry said in response that it was satisfied was the apology.

Ambassador Kuriel stressed the severity with which Israel sees Dickinson's statement, saying that the issue was not only the lack of diplomatic manners but also the clear deviation from the Commission's stated role, "which is to coordinate aid with the Palestinians, not arrogantly criticize Israel."

Kuriel was assured that an official communiqué had been issued to clarify that the earlier statement did not reflect the Commission's position.

The original statement caused a storm in Israel and Europe after it was released last Monday. According to the statement, the Commission believes Israel's settlement policy is strangling the Palestinian economy and makes the Palestinian government more dependent on foreign aid – the burden of which falls on the European taxpayer. The European Union is one of the largest donors to the Palestinian Authority.

According to the EU, expropriation of fertile land for Israeli settlements, roads that serve only settlers, and West Bank checkpoints help constrain Palestinian economic growth and make the Palestinian government more dependent on aid.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the Commission out for ignoring a recent World Bank report indicating an improvement in the Palestinian economy. "The Mideast Quartet (US, Russia, EU and the UN) welcomed Israel's plans to improve the Palestinian economy, and recognizes Israel's right to security," the Defense Ministry said.

"Thanks to the cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, 140 (West Bank) roadblocks have been removed over the past few months. These measures may double the growth rate of the Palestinian economy from 5 to 10%. Unfortunately, all of these details were omitted from the European Commission's statement."

Source: article by Roni Sofer in Ynet News

- Israel blasts EU over settlements remark

- EU retracts statement on settlements

- Livni bemoans European anti-Semitism

- European funding for the narrative war, Gerald Steinberg

- A Clouded EU Presidency: Swedish Funding for NGO Rejectionism

- European Union invites extremist Muslim representatives to interfaith dialogue

- Mahmoud Abbas tells European Parliament not to work with Israel

Finland : a place where Israel is loved

"There are churches where the Israeli flag is proudly displayed side-by-side with the Finnish national colors, and where entire Christian congregations recite "Hatikva" first in Hebrew and then in Finnish. Literally dozens of Finns approached me to recount how proud they were to have spent periods of time volunteering in Israel at schools and in hospitals or on kibbutzim. They voiced great concern over Iran and its nuclear ambitions, and many pray for Israel and its welfare daily."

Tucked away in a far corner of northern Europe, the tranquil and resourceful nation of Finland often gets unjustly overlooked. Flanked by a swaggering and increasingly quarrelsome Russia to the east and its larger and blonder Swedish neighbor to the west, the Finns seem to receive neither the attention nor the consideration that they rightly deserve.

Indeed, despite being beset by harsh winters and a dearth of arable land, as well as enjoying the dubious distinction of being the European Union's most sparsely populated country, Finland has nonetheless built one of the most pleasant and peaceful societies on the entire continent.

There is little crime and virtually no political corruption, and public places are spotlessly clean, bordering on the pristine. It is akin in many ways to Switzerland, except that the Finns are nice. But there is something else that distinguishes Finland, setting it apart from much of the rest of contemporary Europe, and that is the deep-seated love and admiration for Israel that exists among large sectors of the public.

On a recent trip to the country, which included a lecture tour in six towns and cities, I found what can only be described as a remarkable level of support for the Jewish state, one that cuts across religious and regional boundaries. From the capital of Helsinki to Tampere, Finland's third largest city, to the small town of Ikaalinen in the western part of the country, hundreds of non-Jews in each locale came out to demonstrate their solidarity.

There are churches where the Israeli flag is proudly displayed side-by-side with the Finnish national colors, and where entire Christian congregations recite "Hatikva" first in Hebrew and then in Finnish. Literally dozens of Finns approached me to recount how proud they were to have spent periods of time volunteering in Israel at schools and in hospitals or on kibbutzim. They voiced great concern over Iran and its nuclear ambitions, and many pray for Israel and its welfare daily.

In Helsinki, Pastor Seppo Seppala approached me and, much to my surprise, engaged me in conversation in fluent Hebrew. He has been to Israel dozens of times, and continues to bring groups of Finnish tourists. And he is not alone. Without exception, after every speech I gave, there were always several non-Jews who came up to me and addressed me in Hebrew. Many take part in weekly private Hebrew classes, taught by fellow non-Jews, simply out of a love for the language and the people of Israel.

PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY is the fact that Finnish Christian support for the Jewish state is not the province of any one particular denomination, but rather it includes such diverse groups as Baptists, Pentecostals and Lutherans. However much they might disagree over theological or doctrinal issues, when it comes to Israel they stand united.

This was most evident at a day-long meeting I attended on June 14 in Heinola, a town in the south-central part of the country. Organized by the dynamic Finnish branch of the International Christian Embassy-Jerusalem (ICEJ) under the leadership of Juha Ketola, it brought together dozens of pro-Israel community leaders from across the country to discuss efforts to promote and support aliya.

For the past two decades, the Finns have been actively involved in helping Jews from the former Soviet Union to move to Israel, and Helsinki served as a gateway to Zion after the fall of communism.

On March 10, 1990, the indefatigable Kaarlo and Ulla Jarvilehto, a former member of the Finnish parliament who headed the ICEJ Finland branch at the time, teamed up with the Jewish Agency to help the first Soviet Jewish family go through Helsinki on its way to Tel Aviv. Since then, the Finns have sponsored the aliya of well over 17,000 Russian Jews.

As I sat and listened to the proceedings with the aid of a translator, an extraordinary exchange unfolded. The representatives discussed contingency plans in case there was a crisis and large numbers of Jews had to leave for Israel via Finland at a moment's notice. They then began to argue with one another - politely, of course - over which Finnish towns or cities would welcome the Jews, with each one wanting to make sure that his or her community was not left out. I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that after centuries in which Europeans often vied with one another to get rid of Jews, here were Finns competing for the right to host them.

What accounts for this phenomenon? To some extent, it is based on certain parallels between Finland and Israel, both of which are small countries which had to fight for independence and whose historically ravenous neighbors have occasionally coveted their land. But in many instances, it is because Finnish Christians feel a profound religious and spiritual obligation to champion Israel due to God's promise to Abraham that "I will bless those who bless you" (Genesis 12:3).

OF COURSE, not all is rosy in Finland. In January, for example, the Finnish Green League's paper Vihrea Lanka published a cartoon strip in which the Star of David was compared to a swastika. The paper's editor offered a peculiar justification for the caricature, asserting that "it is quite clearly the flag of Israel featured in the strip and not just any Star of David," as if that somehow makes it OK. And the general Finnish media, like much of the mainstream press throughout Western Europe, is often biased and slanted in its coverage of the Middle East.

Nonetheless, it is refreshing to see that there is a place in Europe where Israel is truly loved. So much of our focus is on our foes and those who hate us, that we often don't pay enough attention to our friends.

This needs to change, and Israel and world Jewry must do more to cultivate relations with Helsinki, where the ground is fertile for deepening the bonds of friendship between the two countries. For at a time when anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment are on the rise, it is comforting to know that in at least one corner of Europe, there are countless thousands of good and decent people with a warm place in their hearts for the Jewish state.

Source: article by Michael Freund in JPost

Photo: Finnish National Theatre (Wikipedia)

Conservative Swedish FM Carl Bildt likens Netanyahu to Hamas

"It is possible to make peace without Hamas the same way it is possible to make peace without Netanyahu on the Israeli side." (Swedish FM)

"He clearly does not understand the difference between the leader of an Israeli political party and a group that is engaging in the terror that threatens Europe as much as Israel." (Israeli Foreign Ministry official)

Carl Bildt's contemptuous declaration about an Israeli politician gives the lie to the belief that only the Left is anti-Israel. He is a member of the Swedish ruling conservative party.

Source: article by Gil Hoffman in the JPost (April 10, 2008)

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt angered Israeli diplomatic officials Wednesday when he made a direct comparison between Hamas and opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu.

In an interview with a Swedish radio station, Bildt was asked how it was possible for Israel to make peace with the Palestinians while Hamas controlled the Gaza Strip.

"It is possible to make peace without Hamas the same way it is possible to make peace without Netanyahu on the Israeli side," Bildt said.

Israeli diplomatic officials called the comparison "chutzpah" and said that Bildt had a long history of making pro-Palestinian statements.

"It is a horrible and stupid statement that displays complete ignorance about the Middle East," a Foreign Ministry official told The Jerusalem Post. "He clearly does not understand the difference between the leader of an Israeli political party and a group that is engaging in the terror that threatens Europe as much as Israel."

- Swedish government funds fuel Mideast radical NGOs
- Swedish journalist looks for extremist Jews
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia's anti-Israeli activities
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia totally obsessed with Israel
- Sweden: when incitement against Jews is allowed

Swedish government funds fuel Mideast radical NGOs

"Another group which received money, called Sabeel, is a leader in the anti-Israel church divestment campaign, the report says. Its director, Naim Ateek, "promotes the one-state solution and regularly employs anti-Semitic theological themes, referring to the Israeli government crucifixion system which places Jesus … on the cross again, with thousands of crucified Palestinians around him."

JERUSALEM (EJP)---As Sweden took over EU presidency on July 1, a Jerusalem-based watchdog organization has released a report detailing what it calls "Swedish government funding for radical NGOs under the guise of human rights and humanitarian aid."

The report by NGO monitor says that the "activities of these groups often increase hostility, and are inconsistent with the goals of the EU in the Middle East."

"This raises concerns regarding Sweden’s ability to lead the EU in contributing to the Mideast peace process," it adds.

Swedish government funding for political NGOs is dispersed through a number of channels, via its development wing, the Swedish International Cooperation Agency. This includes over 9,3 million euros (around 13 million USD) distributed to Diakonia, Sweden’s largest humanitarian NGO.

According to NGO Monitor, Diakonia distributes this money to some of the most radical NGOs in the region, many of whom reject any efforts at normalization, including an organization called the Alternative Information Center.

This organization has compared Israeli military and political figures to Nazis and claims working with Peres Center for Peace is "morally disgusting" and that Shimon Peres is an "enemy of human rights and of peace".

Another group which received money, called Sabeel, is a leader in the anti-Israel church divestment campaign, the report says. Its director, Naim Ateek, "promotes the one-state solution and regularly employs anti-Semitic theological themes, referring to the Israeli government crucifixion system which places Jesus … on the cross again, with thousands of crucified Palestinians around him."

"Swedish government funds are being utilized by NGOs to fuel political attacks against Israel under the façade of human rights," said Gerald Steinberg, executive director of NGO Monitor.

"If Sweden wishes to be viewed as a fair and effective president of the European Union, this very damaging NGO funding must be addressed," he said.

The Swedish government declined any comment on this report.

Source: article by John Milner in EJP

Incitement to hatred: how not to market Norwegian fjords

"One strongly distances oneself from Israel’s terrorism. The chosen people have started a new holocaust with the extermination of the Palestinians. Adolf Hitler’s ideology has now become the ideology of jews of Israel. Like most Norwegians one strongly distances oneself from Israel’s apartheid and its supporters."

Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog (anti-semitism and the anti-Israel lobby in Norway)

Comparing Gaza to the Warsaw ghetto of WWII is an act of holocaust distortion. Among the prominent Norwegians who have indulged in this shameful act, in the very same year as Norway heads the Task Force of Holocaust Remembrance, are Mayor of Tromsø Arild Hausberg, Doctor Mads Gilbert and politician Torstein Dahle (Rødt-Red). With their prestige and prominence these individuals have opened up a moral abyss into which the ordinary man and women can gleefully and fearlessly jump. The first secretary at the Norwegian Embassy in Riyadh is one of them. The man behind the web-site above is another.

The site Oslooyene.no, which Document.no first wrote about quite some time ago, provides information on the islands in the Oslo fjord and contains photographs, historical facts and practical advice. The text in the mainframe of the page (see below for close-up) is highly appropriate to the mission of the site, saying:

"The Oslo-islands lie in the inner Oslo-fjord and consist of 11 larger islands and as many smaller ones. Many of these are owned by the municipality of Oslo and are managed as recreational areas. Two of the islands lie outside of the municipality of Oslo. These are Langøyene (Nesodden) and Håøya (Frogn). There are many suitable bathing places, historical buildings and large areas are listed as nature reserves."

So far, so good. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then comes a text marked in red. This is somewhat less usual fare:

"One strongly distances oneself from Israel’s terrorism. The chosen people have started a new holocaust with the extermination of the Palestinians. Adolf Hitler’s ideology has now become the ideology of Jews of Israel. Like most Norwegians one strongly distances oneself from Israel’s apartheid and its supporters."

If there exists a more repulsive site on the Oslo islands, we would very much like to see it. Mixing politics with information for tourists is bad enough. Going full Hausberg with a Gaza-Warsaw comparison is completely beyond the pale. Yet this is what happens. Prominent citizens lead, and the man in the street follows.

On the other hand, people like Hausberg, Gilbert, Dahle and their followers do not stand unopposed. After decades of aggressive "information-campaigns", many still refuse to take partake in Israel-bashing. In the face of aggressive boycott campaigns, trade with Israel was quite recently reported to have increased. This year, the main pro-Israel organization With Israel for peace reported a 40% increase in membership. And only last month 3500 Norwegians gathered in support of Israel and to call for the release of Gilad Shalit.

If you visit Norway as a tourist you will most probably not notice any anti-Israeli bias and sites such as Osloøyene.no make most Norwegians very angry. Yet Hausberg, Gilbert and Dale must be taken to task for their actions, before they seriously injure the reputation of our nation. It can’t continue like this.

Poland honoring Ludwik Zamenhof, founder of Esperanto

"Zamenhof, who was Jewish, was born in Bialystok on December 15, 1859. At the time, the city was part of the Tsarist Russian empire, and the hub of an ethnically-diverse region inhabited by speakers of Polish, Yiddish, Belarussian and Russian. Zamenhof dreamed of a day when people would be able to communicate in a universal language free of political connotations and misunderstandings, fostering world peace."

Source: EJP and AFP

WARSAW (AFP)---The Polish home city of the 19th century founder of Esperanto is teaching the artificial language with panels in local buses to honour the 150th anniversary of his birth. Bialystok council announced it was paying homage to Ludwik Zamenhof by replacing on-board advertising with teach-yourself Esperanto panels providing vocabulary and basic phrases, Poland's PAP news agency reported.

The move in the northeastern city is part of preparations for an anniversary congress of Esperanto-speakers from around the globe, due to take place from July 25 to August 1.

Zamenhof, who was Jewish, was born in Bialystok on December 15, 1859. At the time, the city was part of the Tsarist Russian empire, and the hub of an ethnically-diverse region inhabited by speakers of Polish, Yiddish, Belarussian and Russian. Zamenhof dreamed of a day when people would be able to communicate in a universal language free of political connotations and misunderstandings, fostering world peace.

In his spare time, the ophthalmologist Zamenhof devised the easy-to-learn tongue in 1887 from elements of Romance, Germanic and Slavic languages and a slice of Latin and Greek grammar.
The language's name is derived from his writer's pseudonym Esperanto, a reference to the word "hope".

Zamenhof died in 1917 and was buried in Warsaw's Jewish cemetery.

Around two million people worldwide are estimated to speak Esperanto.

- Concert marks end of Polish Year events in Israel

Where are all the usual suspects?, Seth J. Frantzman

"The reaction to events in Iran has shown once again the double standards and hypocrisy of those in Europe and the West who jump at the slightest opportunity to protest Israel but remain stoic in the face of events in Iran. ... Yet in January, when Israel was embroiled in a war with Hamas, the anger directed at her in Europe was apoplectic."

Following the contested Iranian election, the green armbands of the opposition and pictures of bloodied and dying Iranian protesters were being held aloft by Iranians from Los Angeles to Paris. Noticeably absent from the international scene were Westerners, particularly students.

The reaction to events in Iran has shown once again the double standards and hypocrisy of those in Europe and the West who jump at the slightest opportunity to protest Israel but remain stoic in the face of events in Iran.

While many have compared the outpouring of anger in Iran to what presaged the 1979 revolution, there is one key difference; this time around, no Western students care. Before the shah fell from power, he often visited the capitals of major European and North American cities. Every time he did, tens of thousands of progressive students and human-rights activists poured out onto the streets calling him a fascist and protesting his visit. In one such protest on June 2, 1967 a German student, Benno Ohnesorg, was even killed. But now there is no such outpouring of emotion. Neither is there any interest from the UN or from Jimmy Carter.

Yet in January, when Israel was embroiled in a war with Hamas, the anger directed at her in Europe was apoplectic [photos of massive pro-Hamas rallies in Brussels, the capital of Europe]. When Israel fought a war against Hizbullah in 2006, Western students even proudly wore the symbol of Hizbullah, a clenched fist holding an AK-47.

So where were the Western students to hold aloft the green armbands of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi? Why will Western students who call themselves progressives wear green for Hamas and Hizbullah - terrorist organizations that murder civilians - and not for Iranian dissidents?

Why have CNN and other major media been so coy when it comes to covering the outrages perpetrated by the regime in Iran? Describing the deaths of protesters, CNN never once, in the coverage I watched, mentioned who had killed them. It simply said they were "shot." But when Iranian dissidents in Washington were interviewed with "death to the dictator" placards, the CNN reporter challenged them, demanding to know if they were calling for "murder."

Murder? The only murder that has taken place so far is the murder of Iranian protesters. For members of my parent's generation, protesting the shah was one of the things you did as a sign you were a good person. It was up there with the civil rights movement. So where is this generation in its opposition to the modern shah of Iran, the ayatollahs and their lackey, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

The reason for the disconnect on Iran has strange roots. It was encapsulated in the support that Michel Foucault, a major figure in Western philosophy, gave the Islamic revolution. Foucault, angry at what he found to be a conservative Western attitude toward his homosexuality and feminism, came to support Iranian Islamism in the warped belief that it was the newest "revolutionary" idea. Even when women were smothered in chadors and gays were executed by the ayatollah, he didn't admit that he was wrong.

During the years of the second Bush administration, there was a belief among some on the extreme Left that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Even the indefensible Ahmadinejad was rewarded by those choosing to see his evil through the lens of "realism," "interests" and "historical meddling by the West."

The BBC claimed that should Mousavi win the election, it would be "hard for Israel to ratchet up opposition to Iran" and CNN claimed that "Iran's main enemy, Israel," was watching the protests closely.

Those who oppose Israel therefore justify supporting Iran. This strange logic has led to support for Ahmadinejad's right to "free speech" by inviting him to Columbia University and supporting his "right" to speak at Durban II.

It is a disgrace that those who don keffiyehs as a fashion symbol in universities and fiercely protest Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon will not lift a finger in defense of democracy in Iran. It is a sad testimony to the warped logic of "human rights" that it was a cause célèbre to riot against the shah in the streets of Europe in 1978, but that no one can be called away from their coffee houses and belly dancing classes to raise their hands against the rigged election in Iran.

There are many in the West who are on the wrong side of history, and just as Iranians did not forgive the West for coddling the shah, neither will Iran's next generation forgive us for our silence on this momentous crackdown.

The writer is a PhD student in geography at the Hebrew University and runs the Terra Incognita Journal blog. sfrantzman@hotmail.com
Source: JPost