Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Lieberman: New anti-Semitism directed at Israel - Only Israel's right to exist is questioned

(Haaretz).Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned Wednesday that "new anti-Semitism" was aimed at undermining Israel, as well as a hatred of the Jewish people.

Certain elements are "using anti-Semitism to incite hatred of Jews and to delegitimize Israel," Lieberman told a conference on anti-Semitism in Jerusalem.

The foreign minister said that new anti-Semitism had its roots in the 2001 anti-racism Durban conference, with its harsh condemnation of Israel at the height of a bloody conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

"There is no other independent nation in the world whose right to exist is constantly questioned the way Israel's is," Lieberman said.

"The people behind the [global] assault against Israel have crossed the line, They seek to destroy the Jewish state and take away the right of the Jewish people to define themselves."

In his address, Lieberman also addressed the issue of Iran's controversial nuclear program, expressing concern over Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's calls for Israel's destruction, coupled with Tehran's nuclear program.

"It is frightening that just 60 years after the horrors of the Holocaust, today we see examples of anti-Semitism funded by Iran. [Iran] denies the Holocaust even happened, calls for the destruction of Israel and tries to obtain nuclear weapons. All these facts are reminiscent of what happened 70 years ago."