The publication of a European Union-sponsored survey showing the extent of anti-Israeli sentiment in Europe has many people in Israel quite worried. The poll surveyed 7,500 people, 500 in each of the 15 EU member states. They were presented with a list of 15 countries, and were asked if these countries present a threat to world peace. Israel was rated "yes" by the highest number of respondents, almost 59%.
Ovadiah Sofer, a former Israeli Ambassador to France, spoke to Arutz-7 this morning about the poll. "I don't think this poll accurately reflects the personal feelings of the man in the street," he said. " Much has to do with the way the questions were asked, and the like. The fact is that according to a very recent poll by the French Embassy, a large majority of the French are actually in favor of Israel, as opposed to their government. The same is true in Holland..."
"A major problem is the one-sided anti-Israel media in Europe," Sofer said. "The Palestinians, no matter how few and low-budgeted they are, simply have better explainers than we do... They bring in people who know how to explain at a level the people understand. [In addition,] the personal relations between government representatives of Israel and European countries affect the way Israel is presented in the public media. Even countries that are not considered very friendly to Israel - when the relations are closer, the public media allow many pro-Israel figures to explain their position..."
An example of the anti-Israel media in Europe was the photograph, in a Spanish newspaper, of the Sbarros Pizzeria in Jerusalem two years ago. Sbarros was the site of a murderous Palestinian terrorist attack that killed 15 Jews, yet the caption read: "Bush is worried: Sharon is planning the destruction of the Palestinian nation."
"Another problem," Sofer said, "is something that we have not sufficiently prepared for: the stepped-up increase of Palestinians and Arabs on campuses and in academic communities throughout Europe. We have not yet prepared many Jews there who could be a balancing force." The Foreign Ministry, aware of this problem, is preparing a solution even as it struggles with a budgetary cut of 50%, down to $1 million. Student delegations are being dispatched to European campuses to present Israel's case, and cooperation with local Jewish communities is also being fostered.
"And a third problem," Sofer told Arutz-7, "is that the world sometimes forgets the bonds between the Jewish people and its land. In 1985, we held a large fair in Paris entitled, "From the Bible Until Today," and hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen visited it. This was not the only one of its type, but the more we provide this type of information, the more we could offset the poisonous Palestinian propaganda that says that we took over independent Palestinian lands... I have no doubt that a survey in Europe would show that a large majority thinks that Palestine was an independent country that Israel conquered."
One European source, quoted in Maariv, attempted to minimize the significance of the poll's results by blaming it on the way the questions were formulated. "The Palestinians did not appear on the list, such that the respondents may have felt that 'Israel' was referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general, which in fact does have dangerous potential for world peace." Dr. Fania Oz-Salzberger, a senior modern history lecturer in Haifa University, agrees: "Why did the European Union ask which country is the most dangerous, and not which organization?"
Gideon Meir, Deputy Director in the Foreign Ministry for Communications and Public Relations, feels that the anti-Israel feelings are mostly a form of anti-Americanism: "These feelings became stronger during the Iraqi war. Israel is considered an ally of the U.S., and therefore the antagonism against us increased." It must be noted, however, that the European respondents ranked the American "danger to the world" sixth on the list, while Israel was first. Meir does admit that there is a phenomenon of "hidden anti-Semitism" in Europe.
Ovadiah Sofer, a former Israeli Ambassador to France, spoke to Arutz-7 this morning about the poll. "I don't think this poll accurately reflects the personal feelings of the man in the street," he said. " Much has to do with the way the questions were asked, and the like. The fact is that according to a very recent poll by the French Embassy, a large majority of the French are actually in favor of Israel, as opposed to their government. The same is true in Holland..."
"A major problem is the one-sided anti-Israel media in Europe," Sofer said. "The Palestinians, no matter how few and low-budgeted they are, simply have better explainers than we do... They bring in people who know how to explain at a level the people understand. [In addition,] the personal relations between government representatives of Israel and European countries affect the way Israel is presented in the public media. Even countries that are not considered very friendly to Israel - when the relations are closer, the public media allow many pro-Israel figures to explain their position..."
An example of the anti-Israel media in Europe was the photograph, in a Spanish newspaper, of the Sbarros Pizzeria in Jerusalem two years ago. Sbarros was the site of a murderous Palestinian terrorist attack that killed 15 Jews, yet the caption read: "Bush is worried: Sharon is planning the destruction of the Palestinian nation."
"Another problem," Sofer said, "is something that we have not sufficiently prepared for: the stepped-up increase of Palestinians and Arabs on campuses and in academic communities throughout Europe. We have not yet prepared many Jews there who could be a balancing force." The Foreign Ministry, aware of this problem, is preparing a solution even as it struggles with a budgetary cut of 50%, down to $1 million. Student delegations are being dispatched to European campuses to present Israel's case, and cooperation with local Jewish communities is also being fostered.
"And a third problem," Sofer told Arutz-7, "is that the world sometimes forgets the bonds between the Jewish people and its land. In 1985, we held a large fair in Paris entitled, "From the Bible Until Today," and hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen visited it. This was not the only one of its type, but the more we provide this type of information, the more we could offset the poisonous Palestinian propaganda that says that we took over independent Palestinian lands... I have no doubt that a survey in Europe would show that a large majority thinks that Palestine was an independent country that Israel conquered."
One European source, quoted in Maariv, attempted to minimize the significance of the poll's results by blaming it on the way the questions were formulated. "The Palestinians did not appear on the list, such that the respondents may have felt that 'Israel' was referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general, which in fact does have dangerous potential for world peace." Dr. Fania Oz-Salzberger, a senior modern history lecturer in Haifa University, agrees: "Why did the European Union ask which country is the most dangerous, and not which organization?"
Gideon Meir, Deputy Director in the Foreign Ministry for Communications and Public Relations, feels that the anti-Israel feelings are mostly a form of anti-Americanism: "These feelings became stronger during the Iraqi war. Israel is considered an ally of the U.S., and therefore the antagonism against us increased." It must be noted, however, that the European respondents ranked the American "danger to the world" sixth on the list, while Israel was first. Meir does admit that there is a phenomenon of "hidden anti-Semitism" in Europe.