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Sharon is war criminal says Livingstone |
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by Hugh Muir The Guardian Entered into the database on Friday, March 04th, 2005 @ 23:29:50 MST |
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In a riposte to criticism from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the London
mayor accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and said its prime minister
should be imprisoned. He also accused Israel of demonising Muslims. Writing in the Guardian, he again rejected accusations of anti-semitism arising
from his confrontation two weeks ago with the Jewish newspaper reporter he likened
to a German concentration camp guard. But while stressing his steadfast opposition to racism and his regard for the
Jewish people, he accused Israel of spreading misinformation about the scale
of anti-semitism in Europe, and seeking to silence critics by calling them anti-semitic. Mr Livingstone said: "Israel's expansion includes ethnic cleansing. Palestinians
who had lived in that land for centuries were driven out by systematic violence
and terror aimed at ethnically cleansing what became a large part of the Israeli
state." He added: "Today the Israeli government continues seizures of Palestinian
land for settlements, military incursions into surrounding countries and denial
of the right of Palestinians expelled by terror to return. "Ariel Sharon, Israel's prime minister, is a war criminal who should be
in prison not in office. Israel's own Kahan commission found that Sharon shared
responsibility for the Sabra and Shatila [Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut]
massacre." Mr Livingstone said the Israeli government presented a "wholly distorted
picture of racism and religious discrimination in Europe", so it appeared
Jews suffered most discrimination. "The reality is that the great bulk of racist attacks in Europe today
are on black people, Asians and Muslims. They are the primary targets of the
extreme right." Relations between the mayor and key sections of the Jewish community are tense
because of his clash with the Evening Standard reporter Oliver Finegold and
his subsequent refusal to apologise, and his invitation to the Muslim cleric
Yusuf al-Qaradawi to speak at a conference in London last year. One of Mr Livingstone's most high-profile critics following the clash with
Mr Finegold was Zvi Heifetz, the Israeli ambassador to London. He said last night: "The mayor is confused once again. Ethnic cleansing
was perpetrated in the concentration camps which he should know being such an
expert on them. "The dozens of world leaders who attended the London meeting only two
days ago [all commend Mr] Sharon, for his courageous steps to achieve peace
in the Middle East. Commenting on the row with an article in Wednesday's Guardian, Henry Grunwald
of the Board of Deputies said Mr Livingstone must reverse his stance and make
amends, adding: "He has let us down. He has let his office down. Oliver
Finegold deserves an apology, Holocaust survivors deserve an apology, the Jewish
community deserves an apology and most of all, London deserves an apology. Then
we can all move on." The Board of Deputies has triggered an investigation into Mr Livingstone's
conduct by the local government watchdog, the Standards Board for England. A spokesman for the Board of Deputies last night accused Mr Livingstone of
seeking to deflect attention away from his own behaviour by attacking Israel. |