Peres’s Remark is
Reminiscent of Durban

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has condemned the remark by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres blaming Israeli policies and actions for the Palestinian Arabs’ anti-Jewish incitement.

Peres said at a meeting with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem on February 20, 2002, that Israeli policies and actions are what have led to the Palestinian Arabs’ incitement to hate and murder Israelis. This anti-Jewish incitement appears daily in the Palestinian Authority-controlled media, school textbooks, summer camps, officials’ speeches, and religious sermons by PA-appointed clergymen.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said:

“It is false and irrational to blame Israel for the Palestinian Arabs’ anti-Jewish incitement, which has been going on for more than a century. Peres’s statement gives comfort to those who promote the murder of Jews and implicitly legitimizes the actions of the haters and killers. It is astonishing that an Israeli minister would be mouthing sentiments that are all too similar to the statements made by the racists and Israel-haters at the Durban Conference last year. Peres’s remark clearly contradicts the positions and official guidelines of the government of Israel, and we expect the prime minister to condemn Peres’s remark and make it clear that what Peres said does not reflect the view of the Israeli government.”