Egyptian Minister Farouk Hosni, candidate for head of UNESCO, the U.N.’s education and cultural organization, apologized Wednesday for calling in the past to burn Israeli books. He made the apology in the course of an interview with the Le Monde French newspaper.
“I am a man of peace,” he said. “I know that peace can only be achieved through understanding and respect. In the name of those values, I want to apologize for what I said. My words were unacceptable.” Hosni has been criticized for making anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments in the past.