"The academic boycott of Israel is "a call upon intellectuals and academics worldwide to comprehensively and consistently boycott all Israeli academic and cultural in situations as a contribution to the struggle to end Israel’s occupation, colonization and system of apartheid" ... Belgium is not an exception ... A number of individuals of conscience have decided to invite Samia Botmeh to hold a speaking tour of Belgian Universities."
After, Belgian Christian unions support "Boycott Israel" conference with Ilan Pappé and Samia Botmeh, it is the universities' turn to debate the issue.
Source: Academic Boycott of Israel: Opening the Discussion
In April 2004, in light of Israel’s persistent violations of international law and given that all forms of intervention and peace-making had failed to convince or force Israel to comply with humanitarian law, a call was issued in occupied Palestine for a boycott of all Israeli academic and cultural institutions until it complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights. A year later, following the initiative of the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), another call was issued by nearly two hundred organizations from the Palestinian Civil Society for a broader policy of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel.[1]
The academic boycott of Israel is "a call upon intellectuals and academics worldwide to comprehensively and consistently boycott all Israeli academic and cultural in situations as a contribution to the struggle to end Israel’s occupation, colonization and system of apartheid."[2] Yet the very idea of an academic boycott might seem audacious and sensitive, and rightly so, for many scholars and universities that struggle precisely for the right of freedom of expression and exchange of knowledge. The academic boycott of Israel thus raises a number of questions such as why is there a need to Boycott Israel? What is the nature of the proposed boycott? Why Israel? Or what are the conditions of academic freedom in occupied Palestine as oppose to Israel?
Today the Academic and Cultural Boycott, and the broader Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign, has gathered a remarkable international support that and it has achieved numerous and significant victories all over the world. Belgium is not an exception and several cultural institutions, organizations, and individuals openly advocate for the BDS in its various forms, and are working hard to raise awareness and support for the call made by the Palestinian civil society. Yet the rationale and the terms of the call for Academic boycott of Israel remain often unclear. This brings about tremendous confusion and triggers heatedly discussions around its motivation, legitimacy, and-or effectiveness.
In order to address the misinformation and uncertainties surrounding the Academic Boycott of Israel and the rising interest among University staff and students, a number of individuals of conscience have decided to invite Samia Botmeh to hold a speaking tour of Belgian Universities. Samia Botmeh is director of Birzeit University’s Center for Development Studies and lecturer in economics and gender studies. She is also a member of the steering committee of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
Tuesday 20th October
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Moderator: Prof. Sarah Bracke
Wednesday 21st October
- Universiteit Gent
Moderator: Prof. Ruddy Doom
- Vrije Unversiteit Brussel
Moderator: Patrick Deboosere
Thursday 22nd October
- Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve
Moderator : Prof. Jean Bricmont
(See: Jean Bricmont and The De-Zionization of the American Mind - The anti-US ravings of an arrogant man and Israel on trial in Brussels: Iranian and Syrian Ambassadors give standing ovation to judges)
Friday 23rd October
- Université Libre de Bruxelles
Moderator : Prof. Eric David
(Eric David is the spiritual father of the calamitous and now defunct Belgian Universal Jurisdiction Law, a.k.a. "a law against justice"... (see below).) A previous debate was held at the ULB in May this year.
[1] Palestinian United Call for BDS against Israel
[2] Call for Academic And Cultural Boycott of Israel
________
On the Belgian Universal Jurisdiction Law, see :
The Suit Against Sharon in Belgium: A Case Analysis, Manfred Gerstenfeld's interview of Irit Kohn (JCPA)
and
NGO Monitor's report by Anne Herzberg:
NGO "LAWFARE" - Exploitation of Courts in the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Resort to National Courts: Criminal Prosecutions
Belgium: Ariel Sharon and the Limits of Universal Jurisdiction, p.p. 23-27
Monday, 19 October 2009
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Radouane Bouhlal, Belgian Human Rights leader, criticises Jewish representative
"Bouhlal says that we "should avoid crying wolf all the time and focus on the real abuses"."
Source: Islam in Europe
Background to this post: Brussels: Mayor says Jews deny Muslims right to diversity
Philippe Moureaux, a Socialist Party (PS) senator, former Justice Minister and the mayor of the Molenbeek borough of Brussels, was interviewed by Le Vif/L'Express last week [in the aftermath of rioting in Molenbeek during Ramadan], where he said the following:
"At the age of 20, when I was a Marxist, I was not a big supporter of the right to diversity. I evolved. And what made me turn around is precisely the conversations I had with representatives of the Jewish community. It saddens me, today, that they deny the right of diversity to Muslims."
According to Joël Rubinfeld, chairman of the CCOJB (Umbrella Organization of Jewish Institutions of Belgium), the phrasing is vague, "but it's clear that he stigmatizes a community unnecessarily". He points out the the number of anti-Jewish acts has increased since 2000. Rubinfeld says he doesn't understand what right to diversity the Jews have enjoyed. What privileges have they received that they would deny their fellow Muslims, he asks. And who among the representatives of the Jewish community denies this alleged right to diversity to the Muslim community in the country?
The president of the CCOJB says that this statement is dangerous, since "it instills in the minds of our fellow Muslims the treacherous idea that the Jews are their opponents on the way to successful integration, setting one community against another". Rubinfeld says that Phillippe Moureaux has a lot of prestige among the Muslims, and they can now infer from his words that all their problems are the fault of the Jews. He says that it would be better to advise the Muslims on how they could integrate while maintaining their identity.
Inteviewed by the Belgian State TV channel, RTBF, Radouane Bouhlal, president of the Movement against Racism, Antisemitism, and Xenophobia (MRAX) [1] says that it's a little exaggerated, but that Phillipe Moureaux should have been more careful with this sensitive subject. Bouhlal says that unfortunate statement should not substantiate the idea that an all-powerful "Jewish lobby" is capable of setting policies, for example on the right to wear a headscarf. Because, he says, "this fantasy exists in the Muslim community".
The president of MRAX doesn't agree with the CCOJB, though. He says it's "excessive", and that by speaking this way they feed another fantasy, that of the Jew who can't suffer any criticism. Bouhlal says that we "should avoid crying wolf all the time and focus on the real abuses".
_________
[1] For several years, and despite repeated complaints, the MRAX website featured links to two conspirationist/ negationist blogs. The links were removed only when this situation was exposed in public by a columnist of the Flemish magazine Joods Actueel during a conference hosted by a Jewish centre in Brussels at which Radouan Bouhlal was a speaker. At the same conference, the MRAX held a stand where a book in which Jean Bricmont, a professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, criticised Israel and praised Hamas' victories, was offered for sale. Radouan Bouhlal and Nadine Rosa-Rosso also co-authored the book. That such a book was put up for sale by a Human Rights organisation at a Jewish community center goes a long way to explain Mr Bouhlal's reaction. The conference had been scheduled to be held at the Free University of Brussels but, for security reasons, the venue had to be changed and it was decided at short notice to move it to the Ben Gourion Center ... (Source: Philosémitisme, Le MRAX belge retire 2 liens vers des sites à relents négationnistes de son blog)
- Jean Bricmont and The De-Zionization of the American Mind - The anti-US ravings of an arrogant man
- Israel on trial in Brussels: Iranian and Syrian Ambassadors give standing ovation to judges
- Comrade Nadine Rosa-Rosso (Harry's Place)
Source: Islam in Europe
Background to this post: Brussels: Mayor says Jews deny Muslims right to diversity
Philippe Moureaux, a Socialist Party (PS) senator, former Justice Minister and the mayor of the Molenbeek borough of Brussels, was interviewed by Le Vif/L'Express last week [in the aftermath of rioting in Molenbeek during Ramadan], where he said the following:
"At the age of 20, when I was a Marxist, I was not a big supporter of the right to diversity. I evolved. And what made me turn around is precisely the conversations I had with representatives of the Jewish community. It saddens me, today, that they deny the right of diversity to Muslims."
According to Joël Rubinfeld, chairman of the CCOJB (Umbrella Organization of Jewish Institutions of Belgium), the phrasing is vague, "but it's clear that he stigmatizes a community unnecessarily". He points out the the number of anti-Jewish acts has increased since 2000. Rubinfeld says he doesn't understand what right to diversity the Jews have enjoyed. What privileges have they received that they would deny their fellow Muslims, he asks. And who among the representatives of the Jewish community denies this alleged right to diversity to the Muslim community in the country?
The president of the CCOJB says that this statement is dangerous, since "it instills in the minds of our fellow Muslims the treacherous idea that the Jews are their opponents on the way to successful integration, setting one community against another". Rubinfeld says that Phillippe Moureaux has a lot of prestige among the Muslims, and they can now infer from his words that all their problems are the fault of the Jews. He says that it would be better to advise the Muslims on how they could integrate while maintaining their identity.
Inteviewed by the Belgian State TV channel, RTBF, Radouane Bouhlal, president of the Movement against Racism, Antisemitism, and Xenophobia (MRAX) [1] says that it's a little exaggerated, but that Phillipe Moureaux should have been more careful with this sensitive subject. Bouhlal says that unfortunate statement should not substantiate the idea that an all-powerful "Jewish lobby" is capable of setting policies, for example on the right to wear a headscarf. Because, he says, "this fantasy exists in the Muslim community".
The president of MRAX doesn't agree with the CCOJB, though. He says it's "excessive", and that by speaking this way they feed another fantasy, that of the Jew who can't suffer any criticism. Bouhlal says that we "should avoid crying wolf all the time and focus on the real abuses".
_________
[1] For several years, and despite repeated complaints, the MRAX website featured links to two conspirationist/ negationist blogs. The links were removed only when this situation was exposed in public by a columnist of the Flemish magazine Joods Actueel during a conference hosted by a Jewish centre in Brussels at which Radouan Bouhlal was a speaker. At the same conference, the MRAX held a stand where a book in which Jean Bricmont, a professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, criticised Israel and praised Hamas' victories, was offered for sale. Radouan Bouhlal and Nadine Rosa-Rosso also co-authored the book. That such a book was put up for sale by a Human Rights organisation at a Jewish community center goes a long way to explain Mr Bouhlal's reaction. The conference had been scheduled to be held at the Free University of Brussels but, for security reasons, the venue had to be changed and it was decided at short notice to move it to the Ben Gourion Center ... (Source: Philosémitisme, Le MRAX belge retire 2 liens vers des sites à relents négationnistes de son blog)
- Jean Bricmont and The De-Zionization of the American Mind - The anti-US ravings of an arrogant man
- Israel on trial in Brussels: Iranian and Syrian Ambassadors give standing ovation to judges
- Comrade Nadine Rosa-Rosso (Harry's Place)
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Boycotting Israel: what about Sahara and the Norwegian Oil-fund ?
"Israel is perhaps the only country on earth with which Norway has strained relations, and ask ourselves "how has it come to this?""Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews (Anti-Semitism and the anti-Israel lobby in Norway)
The Norwegian Oil-fund is invested in holdings throughout the world. For ethical reasons it has divested from Wal-Mart (USA) and Elbit (Israel), which makes many Norwegians recall how Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen [photo] on January 8th of this year marched under a banner saying "USA and Israel axis of evil". It is also worthwhile recalling how LO (TUC) leader Roar Flåthen singled out one country – Israel – for criticism in his May 1st speech this year.
On a very basic level the question is whether it makes sense for the Norwegian Oil-fund to divest from precisely Wal-Mart and Elbit, while continuing to invest in companies which are guilty of far graver sins. On another level we might observe that Israel is perhaps the only country on earth with which Norway has strained relations, and ask ourselves "how has it come to this?"
Norwatch reports on how Norway allegedly has become "Rich on plunder". Excerpt below:
By Erik Hagen
Norwatch, published in English 6 October 2009
Norwatch has revealed that the Norwegian Government’s Pension Fund has invested massively in the plunder of valuable natural resources in occupied Western Sahara. Calculations made by Norwatch show that eight international fertiliser companies in which the Pension Fund is part owner import a total of two-thirds of all the phosphate that Moroccan authorities export from the occupied areas through their wholly owned state phosphate company.
The value of the phosphate rock that these companies buy must, according to Norwatch’s estimate, have reached at least 535 million euros last year. This income goes, more or less directly, to the Moroccan state.
While the Pension Fund is investing billions in phosphate companies, other investors in Scandinavia have divested themselves of companies that buy phosphate originating in Western Sahara.
If Norway cannot ethically invest in Elbit, then where can we invest ?
- Norway gets on fine with Saudi Arabia and China ...
- Norway: divest in Israel, invest in Turkmenistan
Friday, 16 October 2009
Belgian Christian unions support "Boycott Israel" conference with Ilan Pappé in Brussels
Source: Arab European League
Organiser: Brussels Palestine Collective
Partner: ACV/CSC (Confédération des syndicats chrétiens de Belgique). The talk will be held at the unions' headquarters in Brussels.
"Seeking peace through justice:
The BOYCOTT of Israel !
A legitimate reponse to 62 years of Nakba and 42 years of Occupation
A talk about the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Movement"
Organiser: Brussels Palestine Collective
Partner: ACV/CSC (Confédération des syndicats chrétiens de Belgique). The talk will be held at the unions' headquarters in Brussels.
"Seeking peace through justice:
The BOYCOTT of Israel !
A legitimate reponse to 62 years of Nakba and 42 years of Occupation
A talk about the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Movement"
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Brussels: Mayor says Jews deny Muslims right to diversity
"It saddens me, today, that they [Jews/Jewish leaders] deny the right of diversity to Muslims."
Source: Islam in Europe
Philippe Moureaux, a Socialist Party (PS) senator, former Justice Minister and the mayor of the Molenbeek borough of Brussels, was interviewed by Le Vif/L'Express last week [in the aftermath of rioting in Molenbeek during Ramadan], where he said the following:
Q: You haven't always defended granting the right to vote to foreigners ...
A: Basically, yes. There were times when, because of lack of support within the Socialist Party, I accepted stopping this movement. On sensitive issues, we must advance when a door opens. That I could push through the law against racism, in 1981, is because of the commotion caused by an attack against Jewish children in Antwerp [Palestinian terrorists perpetrated this attack and not Belgian antisemites or racists as could be interpreted from what Moureaux says [1]]. At the age of 20, when I was a Marxist, I was not a big supporter of the right to diversity. I evolved. And what made me turn around is precisely the conversations I had with representatives of the Jewish community. It saddens me, today, that they deny the right of diversity to Muslims.
____
According to Joël Rubinfeld, chairman of the CCOJB (Umbrella Organization of Jewish Institutions of Belgium), the phrasing is vague, "but it's clear that he stigmatizes a community unnecessarily". He points out the the number of anti-Jewish acts has increased since 2000.
Rubinfeld says he doesn't understand what right to diversity the Jews have enjoyed. What privileges have they received that they would deny their fellow Muslims, he asks. And who among the representatives of the Jewish community denies this alleged right to diversity to the Muslim community in the country?
The president of the CCOJB says that this statement is dangerous, since "it instills in the minds of our fellow Muslims the treacherous idea that the Jews are their opponents on the way to successful integration, setting one community against another". Rubinfeld says that Phillippe Moureaux has a lot of prestige among the Muslims, and they can now infer from his words that all their problems are the fault of the Jews. He says that it would be better to advise the Muslims on how they could integrate while maintaining their identity.
[1] On July 27, 1980, a Sunday early afternoon, a terrorist commando threw two grenades at a group of 60 children who were boarding a bus at Lamorinière street in Antwerp. The children were members of the Jewish cultural organisation, Agoudath-Israël, and were going on holiday to the Ardennes. David Kuhan, a French youth aged 15, was killed. About 15 other children were injured. There was strong public outrage in Belgium. Prime Minister Wilfried Martens visited the victims. King Baldwin addressed a message to the Jewish community: "I am deeply shocked by the odious attack perpetrated on Belgian territory", he said. Two terrorists who were acting on behalf of Fatah were caught. One of them, Said Nasser was freed in 1990 in exchange for the release of the Houtekins family members, who were kidnapped while cruising on their boat Silco in November 1987 by terrorists [Abu Nidal organization]." (Source: unauthorised translation of an article by Benoît Franchimont, Une longue liste d'attentats. 1980, des enfants attaqués à la grenade, DH, 2003)
- Brussels: Interview with Moroccan youth
- FOX News report on Brussels and Molenbeek
Source: Islam in Europe
Philippe Moureaux, a Socialist Party (PS) senator, former Justice Minister and the mayor of the Molenbeek borough of Brussels, was interviewed by Le Vif/L'Express last week [in the aftermath of rioting in Molenbeek during Ramadan], where he said the following:
Q: You haven't always defended granting the right to vote to foreigners ...
A: Basically, yes. There were times when, because of lack of support within the Socialist Party, I accepted stopping this movement. On sensitive issues, we must advance when a door opens. That I could push through the law against racism, in 1981, is because of the commotion caused by an attack against Jewish children in Antwerp [Palestinian terrorists perpetrated this attack and not Belgian antisemites or racists as could be interpreted from what Moureaux says [1]]. At the age of 20, when I was a Marxist, I was not a big supporter of the right to diversity. I evolved. And what made me turn around is precisely the conversations I had with representatives of the Jewish community. It saddens me, today, that they deny the right of diversity to Muslims.
____
According to Joël Rubinfeld, chairman of the CCOJB (Umbrella Organization of Jewish Institutions of Belgium), the phrasing is vague, "but it's clear that he stigmatizes a community unnecessarily". He points out the the number of anti-Jewish acts has increased since 2000.
Rubinfeld says he doesn't understand what right to diversity the Jews have enjoyed. What privileges have they received that they would deny their fellow Muslims, he asks. And who among the representatives of the Jewish community denies this alleged right to diversity to the Muslim community in the country?
The president of the CCOJB says that this statement is dangerous, since "it instills in the minds of our fellow Muslims the treacherous idea that the Jews are their opponents on the way to successful integration, setting one community against another". Rubinfeld says that Phillippe Moureaux has a lot of prestige among the Muslims, and they can now infer from his words that all their problems are the fault of the Jews. He says that it would be better to advise the Muslims on how they could integrate while maintaining their identity.
[1] On July 27, 1980, a Sunday early afternoon, a terrorist commando threw two grenades at a group of 60 children who were boarding a bus at Lamorinière street in Antwerp. The children were members of the Jewish cultural organisation, Agoudath-Israël, and were going on holiday to the Ardennes. David Kuhan, a French youth aged 15, was killed. About 15 other children were injured. There was strong public outrage in Belgium. Prime Minister Wilfried Martens visited the victims. King Baldwin addressed a message to the Jewish community: "I am deeply shocked by the odious attack perpetrated on Belgian territory", he said. Two terrorists who were acting on behalf of Fatah were caught. One of them, Said Nasser was freed in 1990 in exchange for the release of the Houtekins family members, who were kidnapped while cruising on their boat Silco in November 1987 by terrorists [Abu Nidal organization]." (Source: unauthorised translation of an article by Benoît Franchimont, Une longue liste d'attentats. 1980, des enfants attaqués à la grenade, DH, 2003)
- Brussels: Interview with Moroccan youth
- FOX News report on Brussels and Molenbeek
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Ma'an News: EU project to help see Jerusalem become Palestinian capital
European policy ...
Sources : Solomonia and Ma'an
So good to know what the Europeans are funding :
[...] European Union Special Representative (EUSR) to the Middle East Peace Process Marc Otte explained as he toured an EU-funded police station in Bethlehem this week [...]
[...] "I know that a political solution include the resolution of other problems like refugees, Jerusalem, as east Jerusalem should become the capital of the Palestinian state. All that needs to be done...I think the honor of the police is to have started to be pioneer in creating the condition for that state," he continued [...]
Sources : Solomonia and Ma'an
So good to know what the Europeans are funding :
[...] European Union Special Representative (EUSR) to the Middle East Peace Process Marc Otte explained as he toured an EU-funded police station in Bethlehem this week [...]
[...] "I know that a political solution include the resolution of other problems like refugees, Jerusalem, as east Jerusalem should become the capital of the Palestinian state. All that needs to be done...I think the honor of the police is to have started to be pioneer in creating the condition for that state," he continued [...]
Sunday, 11 October 2009
British ambassador to the UN endorsement of Goldstone report
Europeans just can't stop heaping criticism at Israel.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Israeli officials on Sunday responded harshly to remarks over the Goldstone Commission's report on Operation Cast Lead made by British ambassador to the UN John Sawers, saying that London could become a target of legal action if it decided to back the report. "London, which is also in the midst of a war against terror, could find itself in handcuffs if it supports the document," officials told Army Radio.
After convening a meeting to instruct senior diplomats to refrain from issuing separate statements to the media following the diplomat's interview, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem expressed hope that the remarks reflected his personal opinion only and not London's official stance on the issue. The radio station quoted sources in Jerusalem as saying they believed a consensus that the Goldstone report is not a valid legal document was beginning to crystallize.
In an interview earlier Sunday, Sawers told Army Radio that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority must examine the findings of the report. The report entails "serious information," that raises suspicions that violations took place during the operation, Sawers said. The tactics used by both sides returned to them "like a boomerang," he added.
Sawers said that he was surprised that the PA had asked to defer until March the UN Human Rights Council-planned endorsement of the report. He also expressed dismay in the fact that both sides failed to cooperate with the commission, adding that the report represented this lack of cooperation.
The ambassador asserted that the judicial authority in Israel, like in his home country, is entirely independent, adding that Britain cannot prevent private persons from filing complaints against Israelis. However, he said, Britain is obviously interested in maintaining normal relations with Israeli politicians and military officials that visit the country, insisting that the state would not by any means prevent them from visiting.
In late September, a British court rejected a petition urging an arrest warrant for Defense Minister Ehud Barak on the grounds that he committed "war crimes" during Operation Cast Lead. The court accepted arguments submitted by the British Foreign Office, which said the defense minister was a state guest, and therefore was not subject to such lawsuits. Barak was in Britain for talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Defense Secretary Bob Ainsworth and Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
"We do not intend to let terror win," Barak said in a statement issued by his office. "We will not apologize in any way for our just struggle against terrorism. We will do everything possible so that the representatives of Israel, security officials and soldiers of the IDF will continue to freely travel the world. The theater of the absurd whereby those who defend their citizens need to be on the defensive has to end. Otherwise, the world is likely not only to give a prize to terrorism, but to encourage it."
Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Israeli officials on Sunday responded harshly to remarks over the Goldstone Commission's report on Operation Cast Lead made by British ambassador to the UN John Sawers, saying that London could become a target of legal action if it decided to back the report. "London, which is also in the midst of a war against terror, could find itself in handcuffs if it supports the document," officials told Army Radio.
After convening a meeting to instruct senior diplomats to refrain from issuing separate statements to the media following the diplomat's interview, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem expressed hope that the remarks reflected his personal opinion only and not London's official stance on the issue. The radio station quoted sources in Jerusalem as saying they believed a consensus that the Goldstone report is not a valid legal document was beginning to crystallize.
In an interview earlier Sunday, Sawers told Army Radio that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority must examine the findings of the report. The report entails "serious information," that raises suspicions that violations took place during the operation, Sawers said. The tactics used by both sides returned to them "like a boomerang," he added.
Sawers said that he was surprised that the PA had asked to defer until March the UN Human Rights Council-planned endorsement of the report. He also expressed dismay in the fact that both sides failed to cooperate with the commission, adding that the report represented this lack of cooperation.
The ambassador asserted that the judicial authority in Israel, like in his home country, is entirely independent, adding that Britain cannot prevent private persons from filing complaints against Israelis. However, he said, Britain is obviously interested in maintaining normal relations with Israeli politicians and military officials that visit the country, insisting that the state would not by any means prevent them from visiting.
In late September, a British court rejected a petition urging an arrest warrant for Defense Minister Ehud Barak on the grounds that he committed "war crimes" during Operation Cast Lead. The court accepted arguments submitted by the British Foreign Office, which said the defense minister was a state guest, and therefore was not subject to such lawsuits. Barak was in Britain for talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Defense Secretary Bob Ainsworth and Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
"We do not intend to let terror win," Barak said in a statement issued by his office. "We will not apologize in any way for our just struggle against terrorism. We will do everything possible so that the representatives of Israel, security officials and soldiers of the IDF will continue to freely travel the world. The theater of the absurd whereby those who defend their citizens need to be on the defensive has to end. Otherwise, the world is likely not only to give a prize to terrorism, but to encourage it."
Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
