Israeli radicals and British antisemites collaborate to oust a physician who dared to support Israel. Or perhaps it's Israeli antisemites and British radicals? Unpleasant folks, one way or the other. Worthy of attention, however, as their positions and actions are becoming ever more commonplace.
Via Goldblog.
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As Europe succumbs to Islam, such scenes are going to be a part of Europe's future. Jew-hatred is higher in Europe than anywhere else in the world.
Norman, do you think this pessimism (or realism) is productive? We won't insulate ourselves against the world. Israeli diplomacy is so stagnant and soggy. Let me tell you a story...
A few years ago, my friend took a trip to the UN as part of a summer for-credit seminar with his professor and a select few students. They basically ran around the UN for three weeks, interviewed everyone, and wrote a lengthy paper on it afterward.
My friend, a liberal Zionist Jew, was dumbstruck by how beaten down and depressed the Israeli representative was. On giving his presentation to the class, the ambassador kept apologizing and weaseling out of difficult questions, fudging issues... it was a real disappointment. He wasn't dealing with a hostile audience mind you; these were college students enjoying themselves away from home for a few weeks. It was a perfect opportunity to explain Israel's position. My friend spoke to the ambassador after the lecture, and found him to be even MORE depressed and defeatist in person!
In contrast, the Iranian representative, a good looking young man, smiling, energetic, cracking jokes, immediately engaged the class and kept them engrossed for the better part of an hour. It wasn't until the end that someone asked about the nuclear program and civil rights in Iran. He didn't apologize for his country, he didn't accuse the US of being a devil or try to convert anyone to Islam; he simply explained that different countries have different perspectives and his role at the UN is to explain his country's perspective to the rest of the world.
Are you really Leiberman in disguise Victor? He must have been reading your comments;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8438573.stm
Lieberman is right, but telling them to 'harden up you wusses' is unlikely to be very productive or constructive. Your envoys are probably encountering hostility every day and that wears even the best down over time. It suggests strongly to me that they need a decent support network. They're out there fighting a different kind of war on your behalf, and they're often doing it alone. That's not good.
I watched Christian Amanpour's latest CNN documentary on Britain's Moslems. The country has lost its identity. It is truly a lost cause.
Gavin, you're right. In general, I think Lieberman has good instincts, but he doesn't have the sophistication to express them in a way that makes friends and creates allies.
Yes, telling ambassadors to lift themselves up by their boot straps is perhaps less than helpful on its own. It doesn't mean this shouldn't be done, but it must be paired with a support system that takes into account the daily pressure they endure. It takes very strong people to resist such pressure, to be stubborn in pursuing a nation's interests against the current.
Part of the problem is the hyper-political context in which ambassadorships are assigned - to political favorites, not necessarily the most competent people. Also, sending younger, more energetic and more idealistic people should be a priority.
Sending an attractive young woman to the UN, with all due respect to Gabriela Shalev, couldn't hurt. Israel doesn't need "experienced" people to take over such diplomatic posts, their "experience" consisting of defending themselves for 30 years. Ambassador Shalev is so reactionary, so predictable, her statements and denouncements so uninteresting and ignored...
You know who should be sent to the UN? Hotolevy, or Gila Gamliel.
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