WSJ: anti-Semitic riff by EU Commissioner met with "collective yawn" in Europe

Will Brussels Boycott De Gucht?

The European trade commissioner explains why the 'average' Jew is so irrational.

A decade ago, the European Union enforced a cordon sanitaire around Austria's government after a close election led the Christian Democrats to enter a coalition with Jörg Haider's Freedom Party. Mr. Haider had gained notoriety for praising the "employment policies" of Nazi Germany, so the EU establishment put diplomatic relations with Austria into deep freeze over his party's inclusion in government.

How times change. Last week, the European Commission's own trade commissioner, Karel De Gucht, gave vent to his own anti-Semitic riff on Belgian radio. This time, the official reaction seems to be a collective yawn.

The former Belgian foreign minister told VRT radio Thursday that the Mideast peace talks are doomed—thanks to the stubbornness and excessive power of Jews. "Do not underestimate the Jewish lobby on Capitol Hill," Mr. De Gucht said. "That is the best organized lobby, you shouldn't underestimate the grip it has on American politics—no matter whether it's Republicans or Democrats."

To make sure that listeners understood that he wasn't attacking only certain Jewish organizations, Mr. De Gucht offered his thoughts on the "average" Jew. "Don't underestimate the opinion . . . of the average Jew outside Israel," he said. "There is indeed a belief—it's difficult to describe it otherwise—among most Jews that they are right. And a belief is something that's difficult to counter with rational arguments. And it's not so much whether these are religious Jews or not. Lay Jews also share the same belief that they are right. So it is not easy to have, even with moderate Jews, a rational discussion about what is actually happening in the Middle East."

Brussels: 60.000 demonstrators against Israel and only 60 to support Roma !

Against Israel (Brussels, 11/1/2009)

"Some of the other protests that took place this weekend in Europe included a march of 60,000 in Brussels, Belgium on Sunday." (Palestine Monitor) (Nazification d'Israël et déferlement antisémite dans les rues de Bruxelles)

For the Roma (Brussels, 4.9.2010)
"Around 60 people gathered on Saturday in front of the French embassy in Brussels to protest against French policies towards Roma." (LLB)

Against stoning (Brussels, 28/08/10)
"Around  350 people demonstrated on Saturday afternoon in front of the Brussels Court House against the condemnation to death by stoning of the Iranian Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani." (7sur7)

- Photos of an anti-Israel demonstration in Brussels  (31/1/2008)

Adam Levick looks at antisemitc cartoons by two friends: Ben Heine and Carlos Latuff

Source: Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism

In his essay "Anti-Semitic Cartoons on Progressive Blogs", Adam Levick refers to a cartoon by Ben Heine published on Daily Kos (he was eventually barred from posting on the site):

"In a post entitled "Zionism was and remains a racist ideology," Daily Kos blogger Ben Heine - who also participated in the Iranian Holocaust Cartoon Competition [see "Welcome Home" cartoon below]- shows Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman as Adolf Hitler. Any pretense that this cartoon only vilifies Lieberman can be refuted by the word Zionism colored in blood in the background, along with the vicious-looking skull in Lieberman's hand wrapped with the Israeli flag. Though the image, and accompanying text, was removed from Daily Kos, merely citing "copyright reasons," the post attracted 564 comments, many of them defending the cartoon. One such comment suggested that "the artist was not claiming Jews are Hitler. He was [merely] comparing the behavior of Avigdor Lieberman to Hitler.""  (Heine's blog: "The Artwork That Ate  Israel" note the clever use of the word "Ate Israel" or "Hate Israel")

Ben Heine's "mighty pen against IsraHell's war crimes"

Following his ousting from Daily Kos, due of course to the dirty tricks of the racist Zionists, Latuff promptly came to Heine's rescue.  Heine wrote, with his usual arrogance, on Flickr.com (2007) :

"This is a drawing by the talented Brazilian cartoonist and friend of mine Carlos Latuff.  Latuff actually drew this image to take my defence after my portrait of Avigdor Lieberman was censored at Daily Kos, one of the most popular North American Websites, considered to be progressive, which I now think is not so true... [Adam Levick on Latuff: "Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian political activist and cartoonist with a staggering portfolio of political cartoons, many of which openly express antisemitic themes. He advances the narrative that Israel is a unique and immutable evil in the world. His work includes imagery clearly indicating moral equivalence between Israel and Nazi Germany, which he has explicitly acknowledged to be his view. The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism noted that Latuff's "portrayal of [former] Israeli Prime Minister Sharon is reminiscent of the antisemitic caricatures...in Julius Streicher's [Nazi publication] Der Sturmer."[...] Latuff participated in the 2006 Iranian International Holocaust Cartoon Competition, and won second place for his cartoon comparing Israel's West Bank barrier with the Nazi concentration camps. Ian Black, writing for The Guardian, a daily not known for its philo-Semitic tendencies, noted that Latuff was among those cartoonists "drawing, without inhibition, on judeophobic stereotypes in the service of the anti-globalisation movement Latuff also has employed antiblack racist themes in criticizing President Barack Obama."]  

Here is what Carlos Latuff wrote : "Ben Heine is another artist who dares to produce art on behalf of the Palestinians, encouraging their resistance and exposing Israeli atrocities. And, as any pro-Palestine artist, he's been targeted by Zionists, with all those notorious allegations of "anti-Semitism" and stuff. Not a big surprise. Harassment of critics is a standard procedure by Israeli apartheid supporters. But, as I said to Ben, who's a good friend of mine and a brother-in-arts, slurs and defamation against him are nothing if compared with the suffering Palestinians are facing for decades. Be sure Ben will keep raising his mighty pen against IsraHell's war crimes. He's a friend of Palestine."

James Bond = James Heine by Latuff - Ben Heine's page on deviantArt.

Heine submitted this drawing "Welcome Home" at the Teheran Holocaust cartoon contest:

- Ben Heine 'rectifies' the Israelly flag
- Ben Heine cartoon - Student website bans anti-Semitic group
- Ben Heine insults Christians and Jews 

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.

Appeal to probe Amnesty’s Israel biases

Amnesty’s “biased agenda ignores systemic human rights violations by the regimes in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Gaza, and many other countries, and violates the core principle of universality in human rights.”

Yet another European NGO engaged on an anti-Israel campaign.

Dershowitz, NGO Monitor: Probe Amnesty’s Israel biases, By Benjamin Weinthal, JPost

International human rights’ groups denounces ‘scum state’ comments, but defends work. 

A group of prominent political, academic and Middle East commentators from the international board of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor called on Monday for an “independent evaluation of biases in Amnesty’s activities and publications, particularly related to Israel.”

The head of Amnesty International’s Finnish branch, Frank Johansson [photo], sparked outrage last week when he termed Israel a “scum state” on his blog, a statement he has since removed following The Jerusalem Post’s disclosure of his anti-Israel remarks.

When asked about the NGO Monitor statement seeking an independent inquiry, Susanna Flood, a spokeswoman for Amnesty in London, wrote on Tuesday by e-mail to the Post, “Amnesty International had no need to seek an ‘independent evaluation’ to determine that Frank Johansson’s comments, made in his personal capacity, were inappropriate.”  The NGO Monitor statement was signed by Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz; Ruth Wisse, that university’s Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature; Yehuda Avner, a former ambassador to the UK and Australia; Fiamma Nirenstein, vice president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies’s Committee on Foreign Affairs; Elliott Abrams, a former US deputy national security adviser for global democracy strategy; UCLA’s Prof. Judea Pearl, president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation; Mideast expert and commentator Tom Gross; and Douglas Murray, director of the London-based Centre for Social Cohesion think tank.

EU Commissioner derides 'Jewish Lobby' in the US

"This is part of a dangerous trend of incitement against Jews and Israel in Europe that needs to be stamped out immediately. The libel of Jewish power is apparently acceptable at the highest levels of the European Union. This should worry everyone who seeks a more tolerant Europe."

Context: EU Commissioner warns of 'Jewish lobby' grip on US politics

EJC demands apology from De Gucht, a former Belgian Foreign Minister; says remarks are part of "a dangerous trend of anti-Semitism in Europe."

The European Jewish Congress has demanded a retraction on Friday from a the European Union official who made anti-Semitic comments on Belgian radio.

Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade, was asked about the chances for peace in the Middle East on Belgian Flemis public radio VRT on Thursday, and answered with a tirade about the power of the "Jewish Lobby" in the US. He also insinuated that Jews are irrational when it comes to Israel and the Middle East.

EJC President Dr. Moshe Kantor [photo] responded: "This is part of a dangerous trend of incitement against Jews and Israel in Europe that needs to be stamped out immediately."

"Once again we hear outrageous anti-Semitism from a senior European official," Kantor said. "The libel of Jewish power is apparently acceptable at the highest levels of the European Union. This should worry everyone who seeks a more tolerant Europe."

Kantor added that the EU commissioner's remarks are part of a new wave of anti-Semitism in Europe. "It has somehow become acceptable to attack Jews through Israel, even at the highest levels. The old anti-Semitic libels are remade to fit 21st century hostility to the Jewish state."

De Gucht is one of the most senior officials in the European Union, and was formerly Belgian Foreign Minister. The EJC has called for an immediate retraction and apology from De Gucht.

Article by Lahav Harkov, Jpost

EU Commissioner warns of 'Jewish lobby' grip on US politics

Karel De Gucht, the European Commissioner for Trade, one of the highest ranking officials at the EU, warned this morning on Belgian (Flemish) radio that the Jewish lobby (not pro-Israel lobby) had a grip on US politics. Belgium holds at the present the presidency of the EU. The belief that the US is controlled by Jews is widespread in Europe ...

Source: Luc Van Braekel (Karel De Gucht over de Joden)

One should not underestimate, for instance, the [power] of the Jewish lobby, at Capitol Hill, the American parliament. It is the best organised pressure group there. In other words, one should not underestimate the grip the Jewish lobby has on US politics. Be it with the Democrats or the Republicans, there is little difference.

One should not underestimate the opinion - outside the lobby - of the average Jew who does not live in Israel. There is indeed among most Jews a faith [geloof] - I cannot think of a better way to put it - that they are right. And faith is something difficult to disprove with rational argumentation. It doesn't depend on them being religious or not. Even secular Jews [vrijzinnige] share the same faith of being right. It is therefore not easy, even for a moderate Jew, to talk about what's happening in the Middle East. It's a very emotional issue [for them]."

Dialogue israélo-palestinien: De Gucht sceptique