| US ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman, at a conference hosted by the European Jewish Union (EJU) in Brussels, Belgium, made a statement saying that there were two types of anti-Semitism: traditional anti-Jewish prejudice and a distinct strain stemming from the on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The White House quickly clarified that the US condemns all forms of anti-Semitism, and Gutman expressed his regret that his comments had been misinterpreted. In the video, ambassador Gutman says, "What I do see as growing, in Europe, as gaining much more attention in the newspaper, among politicians, among communities, among citizens, with a sense of alarm, is a far different phenomenon [...] It is the problem within Europe of tension, hatred, and sometimes even violence, between some members of Muslim communities or Arab [immigrant] groups and Jews. It's a tension and perhaps even a hatred largely born of and reflecting the tension between Israel, the Palestinian territories, and neighboring Arab states in the Middle East, over the continuing Israeli-Palestinian problem." Ambassador Gutman has further added that he is the son of a Polish-Jewish holocaust survivor and that his personal history and the history of his family testify to the importance he attaches to fighting anti-Semitism. He has resisted calls for his resignation. Since his speech, US presidential candidate Newt Gingrich posted a Twitter update saying that Obama should fire the ambassador. Another Republican ... |
