Arabs want 'peace'?
Here's an example of how badly the Arabs want 'peace.'"The time has come [for Arab states] to cease using international forums to vilify Israel and to [stop] indulging in point-scoring, which merely serves to postpone confidence-building in the region; and to publicly condemn those forces of hatred and violence which, ultimately, undermine everything they stand for," said Deputy Foreign Minister Majallie Whbee Tuesday at the Mediterranean Seminar in Tel Aviv held by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.The real question is when the other 55 countries in the OSCE will start to get it.
The Mediterranean Seminar is part of an effort by the 56-nation OSCE to promote cooperation on economic, political and human rights issues with six countries of the Mediterranean basin - Israel, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt.
Yet only two junior diplomats, a political officer from Jordan's embassy in Vienna and an Egyptian staffer from the country's embassy in Israel, arrived from all the Arab countries invited. This, while dozens of full ambassadors and a handful of parliamentarians and ministers came from OSCE member states, and ministers, MKs and diplomatic officials played host from Israel.
...
Meanwhile a very senior Foreign Ministry official expressed the frustration of the ministry at the Arab turnout.
"We could have held this seminar at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, but we didn't out of consideration for the Arabs," the official told The Jerusalem Post. "Apparently, the Arabs are unwilling to do their part to have a process. They're not even willing to come to Israel."
The official said nearly all the Arab parties had initially agreed to come, but as the conference grew nearer they canceled their participation. "The Moroccans canceled just this Friday."
Actually, on the OSCE web site there's an even better description of what this 'seminar' was supposed to be:
Combating intolerance and promoting mutual respect is the focus of an OSCE seminar for representatives from the OSCE's participating States and its Mediterranean partner countries in Tel Aviv today.You don't really expect the Arabs to be interested in that, do you?
"Racism and discrimination impoverish and violate our democratic rights," said Spanish Ambassador Carlos Sanchez de Boado, who chairs the OSCE Permanent Council, in his opening speech. "The OSCE contributes to promoting encounters that help avoid the erosion of democratic legitimacy, plurality and cultural co-existence - values that all form the mosaic of responsible decision-making."
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:04 PM
1 Comments:
Israel should take the high road on this, and tell everyone who can be convinced to listen ... media, governments, and so forth ... that there was this conference about racism and intolerance, and arabs were invited, and they all backed out, save two minor functionaries.
The next time someone in the general assembly or in the security council complains, this should be discussed. The next time our unfortunate and feckless SoS opens her mouth with another Bakerian condemnation of Israel, this should be brought out.
Make hay of it. Tell the world. It is morally unacceptable to act as the arabs are doing, and have been doing, and it is high time they were held to this, rather than being allowed to continue their vilification without consequence.
Al qaeda and related movements are a direct result of their vilification, nationalism and religious expansionism on the part of arabs and muslims. We have to make sure that this is not forgotten, and that responsibility for the state of terrorism, racism, and intolerance in the world is correctly assessed.
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