Arabs vs Jews

Author:
Publication: Mid Day
Date: September 5, 2002
 
The influential Arab League is belatedly attempting to distance itself from anti-Jewish comments spewed at a symposium run by an affiliated organisation. The halfhearted disavowal by the 22-member league is insufficient. The episode demonstrates the lies and the depth of hate that poison the atmosphere in much of the Middle East, even in some rarefied Arab circles.

The denunciations of Jews occurred at a conference last week organised by the Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-Up, a think tank with links to the Arab League, whose members include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. The executive director of the Zayed Center said in his opening remarks that Jews were 'the enemies of all nations', considered by many to be 'cheaters' consumed by greed. Those libels have endured for centuries, even surviving the murder of millions of Jews in the Holocaust. The advance notice of the symposium said it would counter Israel's 'lies and exaggerations' about the Holocaust. The Zayed Center, based in Abu Dhabi, is a respected regional forum that promotes Arab unity. Jewish groups rightly condemned the seminar for adding to the bitterness. Newspapers in Arab nations, either controlled by governments or following their lines, publish anti-Jewish lies daily. The Middle East Media Research Institute documents them, including publications in Saudi newspapers of the falsehood that matzos eaten on holy days must include blood from a non-Jew.

The Arab League's weak protestations are far too little. It has yet to condemn the leadership of the Zayed Center or demand retraction of the symposium's most hate-filled speech. Rantings against Jews will not make Israel disappear, but they will continue to curdle every effort to find peace.

Los Angeles Times
 

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