Ashton cuts through the hypocrisy (ISRAEL HAYOM OP-ED) Dan Margalit 03/21/12)
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=1592
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EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s comparison of the Toulouse
murder to the killing of children in Gaza reveals what she has been
trying to hide all along: She isn’t neutral.
Ashton’s insensitive remarks linking the murder of Jewish children in
Toulouse with the killing of their counterparts in Gaza naturally
sparked a series of justified condemnations from Israeli politicians.
Ashton is a walking linguistic disaster whose remarks generate a
media firestorm every few months. For the most part, her positions
make Israel angry while finding a receptive ear in Ramallah and Gaza.
In fact, an abyss separates Gaza from Toulouse. Israeli filing
cabinets are packed with plans for military operations against
terrorists that were postponed or cancelled because they might hurt
Palestinian children. The IDF has never launched a unit or rocket
specifically intended to hurt children. The Toulouse attack was the
exact opposite. It intentionally targeted children, perhaps children
only, because otherwise the murderer could have shot at other Jewish
institutions, like a synagogue or the Jewish community headquarters.
No doubt Ashton understands this. No doubt also that the English and
French languages contain enough euphemisms to extricate her from this
current scandal, without losing her support among Arabs in the Middle
East and throughout the world. She could find some euphemisms,
allowing for the restoration of a normal tense diplomatic calm until
her next verbal slip-up.
It’s possible that Ashton intentionally sought to create a minor
scandal. But more likely she was not looking for trouble on an awful
day when her words would jar and clash against the pronouncements of
any respectable European leader. What her remarks do reveal is the
inner truth of her heart. She is not neutral and does not take
reasonable positions based on the facts. Even if that is her job, she
is clearly not doing it. She is so cold toward Israel and so biased
in favor of the Palestinians that from time to time the truth slips
off her tongue. She is on their side.
To a certain extent, in retrospect, her remarks serve Israel’s
interests. Our government needs to know with whom it is dealing and
who is shaking our representatives’ hands in phony imitations of
honest brokers, when in fact they are not. It has happened many times
before, from the generals who commanded U.N. forces during the War of
Independence, up through 2012. “Know your enemy,” Sun Tzu wrote
in “The Art of War.” In this case, it is more about knowing those who
pretend to be neutral. Seeing reality clearly is more important than
the apology that would cover it up.
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