Israel presents the greates threat to world peace?

[Crown]

According to a resecent poll by the Eurobarometer survey, EU citizens consider Israel to be the biggest threat to world peace.

The BBC Reports

Israelis angered by EU 'threat' poll
Senior Israeli figures have voiced anger at a European survey labelling their country the greatest threat to world peace.

Nearly 60% of Europeans said yes when asked in the Eurobarometer survey if Israel presents a threat to peace, putting it ahead of Iran, North Korea and the US, each of which polled 53%.

Okay to all the yanks, please keep in mind that America has been beating the war drums recently.

"We are not only sad but outraged. Not at European citizens but at those who are responsible for forming public opinion," Israel's mission to the EU said in a statement.

Those 'responsible' for 'forming' public opinion? Did all the EU 15 recently appoint a propoganda minister while I wasn't looking?

A THREAT TO PEACE?
Israel 59%
Iran, North Korea, US 53%
Iraq 52%
Afghanistan 50%
Pakistan 48%
Percentage who replied "Yes" to each country

Well I guess there was a substantial opinion that Iraq was a threat in Europe after all, hmm.

The Israeli Minister for the Diaspora affairs, Natan Sharansky, said the results showed the EU engaged in "rampant brainwashing".

This has to be the best news 'soundbite' that I have heard the entire week!

European Commission President Romano Prodi expressed his concern about the findings, saying that they "point to the continued existence of a bias that must be condemned out of hand".

"To the extent that this may indicate a deeper, more general prejudice against the Jewish world, our repugnance is even more radical," Mr Prodi said in a statement.

Hold on Romano, now you are my boy. I think that you have done well as the President of the Commission, but why is it that everytime that Israel is brought up, the people with negative opinions of it are automatically 'anit-sematic'? Couldn't they just be expressing an opinion about the country and not the ethnic or religious people that make it up?

"The European Union, which shows sensitivity on human rights issues, would do well to stop the... demonising of Israel before Europe deteriorates once again to dark sections of its past," Mr Sharansky said.

And there it was. First it was innuendo, but now lets come out and say it; Europe and the EU in general are all Nazis. Lets convienently forget that out of the EU 15, 2 of the countries fought on the side of the Nazis, the majority of the rest fought to defeat them. Way to show support for those that actually fought the goddam war.

Who cares about such polls?
Silvan Shalom

Apparently the Israeli mission to the EU does. Rather than taking the polls to reflect that Europeans have a slightly less than rosy-eyed view of Israel, and wonder what is wrong with what Israel is doing, he just accused the EU 15 of being Nazis.

But Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom appeared less disturbed by the findings.

He said the poll findings reflect the greater press coverage of Israel than of states such as Iran and North Korea.

I love this part. It simply reflects what I have been saying all along. Not to dredge up the Israel/Palestine issue, but it has always been my contention that Israel is shielded by a lot of critisism in the west (the US specifically), by the evident media biased against reporting damaging things about it.

It appears that either in the EU the media is either diamtrically opposite (golden mean fallacy), or it is just as fair as with Israel as it is with Palastine.

"There's no comparing the amount of media exposure Israel gets in Europe compared to Iran or North Korea. The images broadcast from here have an impact, but we should not get exerted by it," he told the Israeli daily Haaretz.

Rings bells no?

He said a poll published a month ago suggested Israel's image was improving in Europe.

"But who cares about such polls?" he asked, saying that negative findings tended to get greater prominence than positive ones.

"One need not dramatise every poll and there's no need for bile," he said.

I couldn't agree more. Finally some sence and logic.

No policy change

Earlier, an EU spokesman played down the importance of the survey.

The spokesman, Gerassimos Thomas, said the poll results would not affect European policy-making in the short term.

"We don't put excessive emphasis on one poll result," Mr Thomas told the Associated Press, adding that it would not affect EU decision-making.

"Policy is defined on the basis of a number of factors and a number of inputs," he said.

But the BBC's Tim Franks in Brussels says the findings may reduce European diplomats' effectiveness in dealing with the Israel-Palestinian conflict by heightening Israeli distrust of the EU.

The Palestinian Authority was not included in the poll because the EU does not consider it a country.

The survey of 7,515 people in the 15 EU countries was carried out between 8 and 16 October.

Respondents were asked to say whether or not each country on a list represented a threat to world peace.
Story from BBC NEWS:

Good. Reason. One poll != a Nazi of the EU 15 make.

EDIT :: BBC's typo fixed.

The sequence of posts that led to jezrianna's banning has been split to this thread.

[Sea Skimmer]

Europe is silly

[Joe]

Good, something would definitely be wrong if they approved of Israel.

[Nathan F]

The US is a threat to the EU as much as North Korea is?

[Crown]

The US is a threat to the EU as much as North Korea is?

Who said that the US was a threat to the EU? Or that North Korea was? Or that Iran was? Or that Iraq was? Or that Afganistan was? Or that Israel was?

[Holtzman]

Would this have anything to do with 3/4 of the population being anti-semitic?

[Crown]

Europe is silly

And America is under-informed according to Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

[Crown]

Would this have anything to do with 3/4 of the population being anti-semitic?

225 million EU citizens are anti-semitic?

[Holtzman]

"We are not only said but outraged. Not at European citizens but at those who are responsible for forming public opinion," Israel's mission to the EU said in a statement.

That's a typo, sad.

[Joe]

Europe is silly

And America is under-informed according to Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

Shalom states that Israel gets too much negative coverage, not too little. I don't see how this helps your point.

[Crown]

Europe is silly

And America is under-informed according to Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

Shalom states that Israel gets too much negative coverage, not too little. I don't see how this helps your point.

Too much? How can you have too much negative coverage? Is there a finite limit on how much negative coverage that can be broadcast? Is there a quota somewhere where I wasn't aware of?

If so could that mean that the US doesn't have enough negative media coverage? Is there too little negative coverage in the US about Israel?

If so, my point stands. America is under-informed, and then Europe would be over-exposed.

Or of course this could all be bullshit, since he didn't say that;

"There's no comparing the amount of media exposure Israel gets in Europe compared to Iran or North Korea. The images broadcast from here have an impact, but we should not get exerted by it," he told the Israeli daily Haaretz.

All he said is that Israel gets more than North Korea.

[Joe]

If so could that mean that the US doesn't have enough negative media coverage? Is there too little negative coverage in the US about Israel?

Not really, anytime a Palestinian civilian gets killed, we'll usually hear about it.

And your point still doesn't stand. According to Minister Shalom.

[Coyote]

Oh, to hell with it.

Remember, the EU is awash in a sea of Muslim immigrants/refugees who are likely voters; and Europe was also the place where modern Nazism/anti-Semitism was invented. What else can you possibly expect from them?

Also remember they have to play nice with the Arabs, since the Arabs live right next door to them.

[Durandal]

Would this have anything to do with 3/4 of the population being anti-semitic?

I love how "Israel as a nation is a threat to world peace" suddenly becomes "I hate Jews." Like it or not, Israel has very powerful shields that can rebuff any criticism by screaming "anti-semite!" and making references to Nazis. Over here in the states, they're very effectively shielded from criticism. I don't know how it is in Europe, but it could very well be the opposite end of the spectrum.

While I don't particularly like the way Israel just booted people out of that sand lot because the Invisible Man promised it to them according to their holy writings, their current policies in dealing with Palestinian terrorism or the fact that we give them billions of dollars in military support annually, I don't really see them as a threat to world peace, at least not on the scale that North Korea or Pakistan would be.

[Vympel]

I'd say North Korea was a bigger threat to peace, but not "world" peace- they don't have the cojones or the ability to make a world-wide conflagaration arise out of their little piss hole.

[Stravo]

"The European Union, which shows sensitivity on human rights issues, would do well to stop the... demonising of Israel before Europe deteriorates once again to dark sections of its past," Mr Sharansky said.

And there it was. First it was innuendo, but now lets come out and say it; Europe and the EU in general are all Nazis. Lets convienently forget that out of the EU 15, 2 of the countries fought on the side of the Nazis, the majority of the rest fought to defeat them. Way to show support for those that actually fought the goddam war.

I have to interject and point out the rampant anti-semitism that France has undergone in the last ten years with waves of vandalism against Jewish cemeteries and the like says otherwise about the enlightenment in Europe.. The anti-semitism in Europe is a dirty little secret as my Jewish friends who have emigrated from Europe also attest to where one person in Germany had to hide the fact that she was taking days off for Jewish holidays because she was told it would not be a good idea to give that as a reason.

one of manysources

EDIT: Adding a link so that people don't froth at the mouth about 'personal experience does not equal fact.

[Holtzman]

Would this have anything to do with 3/4 of the population being anti-semitic?

I love how "Israel as a nation is a threat to world peace" suddenly becomes "I hate Jews." Like it or not, Israel has very powerful shields that can rebuff any criticism by screaming "anti-semite!" and making references to Nazis. Over here in the states, they're very effectively shielded from criticism. I don't know how it is in Europe, but it could very well be the opposite end of the spectrum.

While I don't particularly like the way Israel just booted people out of that sand lot because the Invisible Man promised it to them according to their holy writings, their current policies in dealing with Palestinian terrorism or the fact that we give them billions of dollars in military support annually, I don't really see them as a threat to world peace, at least not on the scale that North Korea or Pakistan would be.

The Europeans don't like Jews. It's a fact. Just go over and ask them. I can tell you right now they give some interesting responses...from personal experience. By the way i also think that Israel should give back the West Bank and Gaza strip and remove its settlements, build the wall, and get it over with. Doesn't that sound so nice and easy?

[Joe]

Grenade released, firestorm incoming...

[Vympel]

This is skirting dangerously close to forbidden territory ...

[Holtzman]

WAHH I TAKE IT ALL BACK!!! NOOO..takes shelter....sorry!!! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!!! NO DEBATE!!!! NOOOO!!!!

[Stravo]

This is skirting dangerously close to forbidden territory ...

Unles the word Palestine is mentioned we should be....oh FUCK.

[Holtzman]

I didn't mean to!!! I didn't say it!!

[Stravo]

Holtzman, do you fucking mind, it wasn't funny the first time.

[Holtzman]

Sorry..won't do it again.

[Nathan F]

Newbies, what would we do without them?