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"I would say, in my opinion, E.U. governments are not doing enough to tackle anti-Semitism," Sharon
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BRUSSELS,
November 24 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon accused the European Union of inaction against
what he called rising anti-Semitism and alleged that Muslims in Europe
pose a threat to the lives of Jews, in what is seen as a hysteric
response to a recent E.U. poll suggesting that Israel is the biggest
threat to world peace.
"I
would say, in my opinion, E.U. governments are not doing enough to
tackle anti-Semitism," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Sharon
as speaking to EUpolitix.com in an interview released Monday, November
24.
He,
however, singled out Italy - which holds the E.U.'s rotating
presidency - for taking a "more balanced position" on the
peace process.
Sharon
last week paid a three-day visit to Italy, which under Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi has much warmer relations with Israel than does the
European Union as a whole.
Sharon's
remarks came in wake of an
opinion poll in the E.U.'s 15 member states this
month that suggested some 60 per cent of Europeans believe Israel is
the biggest threat to world peace - ahead of North Korea, Iran and the
United States.
In
August, Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss asserted that there can be no
true peace "as long as Zionism and the state
of Israel exist."
Weiss
further said that Sharon's cabinet has nothing to do with true Judaism
"because of its heresy and its tremendous cruelty".
In
October, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammed said that
one cannot criticize the Jews without being called "anti-Semitic"
, hitting back at critics after saying that "Jews
rule the world by proxy".
Jews
In Danger
The
Israeli Premier further alleged that Muslims in Europe were posing a
threat the lives of Jews.
"An
ever stronger Muslim presence in Europe is certainly endangering the
life of Jewish people. This attempt of dismissing our legitimacy to
"self-defense" is testimony to anti-Semitism.
"Of
course the sheer fact that there are a huge amount of Muslims,
approximately 70 million in the E.U., this issue has also turned into
a political matter."
He
insisted that the disapproval of Israel in Europe was the same as
hatred of Jews.
"You
cannot separate here; Israel is treated as a Jewish state,"
Sharon said.
"This
anti-Semitism exists (in Europe) and what pushes it is a collective
anti-Semitism that incorporates Israel into this equation."
Sharon
further said that the European Union's approach to the Middle East
"is not balanced right now".
"The
state of Israel cannot afford to deposit its destiny in the hands of
the Europeans who are known for their unbalanced policy," he
said.
'Polished
Politician'
On
the dormant Middle East peace process, Sharon Further said that new
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei was a "polished
politician" but that he would judge him by his actions in
clamping down on "militants".
"I
value him as a man who believes that the end to the conflict is not
via war, and I will be happy to negotiate with him," he said.
But
Sharon said that Qorei "will not be judged by his declarations or
statements, but clearly by the steps he will take to end the
Palestinian terror".
"As
long as the terror continues there will be no progress towards the
fulfillment of the Palestinian state."
In
an unprecedented move, French Jews urged last October to have Sharon
prosecuted for his "criminal
policies" against Palestinians, including
the building of a controversial wall snaking through vast swathes of
Palestinian farmland and severely
harming the lives of 30 per cent of the
Palestinians, according a U.N. survey.
