In the category of 'ridiculous': Israel accuses UK of anti-Semitism!!!

Israel accuses UK of anti-Semitism: MPs outraged by Peres's tirade against English By Daniel Martin   Israel president Shimon Peres has angered British MPs with an astonishing outburst in which he accused the English of being anti-Semitic.   The 87-year-old Nobel peace prize-winner claimed the English people and their government were 'deeply pro-Arab and anti-Israeli'.   The comments come just days after David Cameron angered many in Israel by referring to the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza as a 'prison camp'.   But the interview with Mr Peres, for the Jewish website Tablet, was carried out before these remarks.   Last night British MPs reacted with fury at the slur on Britain, which stood alone in 1940 to fight the Nazis who were committing genocide against the Jews.   In the interview, Mr Peres, who was awarded an honorary knighthood by the Queen in 2008, said England's attitude towards the Jews was Israel's 'next big problem'.   He also insisted: 'There is in England a saying that an anti-Semite is someone who hates the Jews more than is necessary.   'There are several million Muslim voters and for many members of parliament, that's the difference between getting elected and not getting elected.   'And in England there has always been something deeply pro-Arab – of course, not among all Englishmen – and anti-Israeli, in the establishment. 'They abstained in the 1947 UN partition resolution, they maintained an arms embargo against us in the 1950s, they always worked against us. They think the Arabs are the underdogs.'   Mr Peres made the comments in an interview with historian Professor Benny Morris of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, published last week on the Tablet website.   Last night, Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford, said: 'I am sad that he has made these wholly inaccurate comments, which do not accord at all with my experience of British views on Israel and people of Jewish faith.   'It is inappropriate for the president of Israel to make a comment like that. Maybe he should spend more time here, get to know the British people and realise that we were at the forefront of defeating the Nazis in the Second World War.   'The fact that we at some point may criticise the policies of Israel does not mean we are anti-Semitic any more than I would be anti-Arab if I criticised the policy of an Arab government.'   Brian Iddon, a Labour member of the all-party Palestine group, said: 'We are always being accused of anti-Semitism. The Israeli government is coming in for more and more criticism, and because of that more and more people are being described as anti-Semitic.   'I've been accused of that, but I'm not. It's just that many of us believe the Palestinians are getting a raw deal.' Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, minister of Maidenhead synagogue, said: 'I am surprised at Peres. It is a sweeping statement that is far too one-sided. 'Britain has supported both Israeli and Arab causes at different periods over the last 50 years. There are elements of anti-Semitism but it is not endemic to British society.'   But Jacob Vince, director of Christian Friends of Israel, said there was a great deal of anti-Semitism in the UK.   He said it was 'difficult to see how many MPs would not be influenced by the number of Muslim voters in their constituencies'.   Mr Vince accused the government of trying to appease the Arabs. 'The question is how well they understand those with whom they are seeking conciliation.'