(Jpost).Quartet representative Tony Blair spoke at a conference on the de-legitimization of Israel at the Inter-Disciplinary Center in Herzliya and said that those in the world who want to de-legitimize Israel are also de-legitimizing those around the world who share Israel’s values and admire its free spirit.
Blair said that the “best answer to the de-legitimization of Israel lies in the character of Israel and in the openness and creativity of the Israelis."
Blair continued saying it was important not only for Israelis to fight against attempts to de-ligitimzie it, but also people around the world who share its values. He said that there were two kinds of de-legimization.
The first, he said, was practiced by Iranian Presdient Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who talks about wiping Israel off the map. That version, he said, is easier to deal with, because it is so open and blatant.
The other, perhaps more pernicious kind, is those who either consciously or not, resist or refuse to accept the idea “that Israel has a legitimate point of view."
Blair, in a very warm speech, said that a consistent conversation he has had with European colleagues is “not to apply rules to the government of Israel that you would never dream of applying to your own government or country."