14.03.2011, 01:23
Zitat:Europeans divided on Israel<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/2011313305512849.html">http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/op ... 12849.html</a><!-- m -->
A poll conducted in Europe reveals growing disconnect between governments and people over the policy on Israel.
Daud Abdullah Last Modified: 13 Mar 2011 05:04 GMT
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While European governments individually and collectively pay regular homage to Israeli democracy - they say it is the only democracy in the Middle East - their public is reluctant to do so. Thirty-four per cent of the 7,045 people polled believe Israel is not a democracy, while less than half, or 45 per cent, believe it is.
In Italy and Spain, a staggering 41 per cent believe Israel is not a democracy. By expressing the views they did, the European public appears to be saying to their governments; our loyalties are to the principles of democracy and not to career politicians who profess allegiance but act differently.
One striking reason for this indictment of Israeli democracy has been its "illegal" actions and gross disregard for international standards of conduct. Half of Europeans, 53 per cent view the siege of the Gaza Strip as illegal, 60 per cent said the 2008-09 ground invasion of the territory was illegal; while 64 per cent said Israel’s attack on the Freedom Flotilla in May 2010 was illegal. The message emerging from the survey, it seems, is that future European support has to be earned and it would not be given gratis on the basis of pretence or partial adherence to international norms.
In a related matter, more than one-third of those polled (34 per cent) said that Jews with citizenship of a European country should not be allowed to serve in the Israeli army; this compares to only 17 per cent who said they should.
Israel as 'occupying power'
The shift taking place today is a rejection of the "war on terror" paradigm, which was cynically used as cover to deny Palestinians fundamental right to freedom. Europeans have, therefore, returned to the basic formula of occupied and occupier. The poll uncovered a better understanding of the nature of the Israeli occupation.
It showed that 49 per cent of respondents recognised Israel as the occupying power; 22 per cent said they did not know if it was. When the University of Glasgow conducted its study in Britain in 2001 it found that 71 per cent did not know that it was the Israelis who were occupying the territories.
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