Israel president Shimon Peres accuses Britain of pro-Arab bias

[alp227]

Israel's president, Shimon Peres, has accused some British MPs of pandering to anti-Israel sentiment among their Muslim voters, claiming there is a "deeply pro-Arab" core in the UK establishment.

In an interview with Jewish website Tablet, conducted by Israeli historian Benny Morris, Peres says: "There are several million Muslim voters . And for many members of parliament, that's the difference between getting elected and not getting elected."

On Labour politicians, he said: "They think the Palestinians are the underdog. In their eyes, the Arabs are the underdog. Even though this is irrational."

He offers the illustration of Israeli disengagement of Gaza as evidence of bias. "We evacuated 8,000 settlers, and it was very difficult … It cost us $2.5bn in compensation.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/01/israel-shimon-peres-british-arab-bias

[PDJane]

1. The tactic has worked for a long time.........

I suppose that it's supposed to keep on working.

It has no basis in fact, however.

[shaayecanaan]

2. Interesting interview...

well worth a read.

http://www.tabletmag.com/news-and-politics/40409/making-history/

[oberliner]

4. Thanks for posting that link

Much more to the interview than the remarks about Britain that seem to be getting all of the attention.

[shaayecanaan]

5. Another interesting remark:-

MORRIS: "You are sometimes called the father of the Israeli nuclear bomb, but somehow, in Israeli public consciousness, it was not chalked up to your credit, for example at election-time."

PERES: It was kept secret.

MORRIS: But a well-known secret.

PERES: It was completely hidden, unknown. Formally there was the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, but I managed everything. My role with the French was not known. And everybody was against me. .

*************************

Opacity is not looking very opaque these days...

[Ken Burch]

3. Shimon Peres, the man who destroyed the Israeli Labor Party

by defecting to Kadima just because Labor voted him out of the leadership and elected a Mizrahi to the job instead.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

6. I think giving him that title is slightly unfaid on Ehud Barak... NT

[Ken Burch]

7. Well, Peres started what Barak finished, then.

n/t.