If Europe Is So Eager To Support Peace Groups In Israel, Why Does It Support Incitement In The West Bank?

Who knew that with the current economic crisis, Europe had so much money to burn!? Besides funding left wing organizations in Israel--and fighting off efforts demanding transparency--Europe is also funding the Palestinian territories, in a big way. A op-ed in the Wall Street Journal finds that Europe has been Funding Palestinian Incitement:

In 2007, the European Union provided €420 million to the Palestinian territories, while member states also provided extensive bilateral aid: Germany provided €55 million, France €67 million, and the United Kingdom put in £63.6 million (about €76 million). Many countries have increased their donations since then, with the EU and U.S. pledging the lion's share of $7.7 billion for the period of 2008-2010, with a focus on reconstruction after last year's Gaza conflict.

But while Europe is funding groups in Israel that it thinks is pushing a peace agenda, Europe is not quite as particular about the money it gives to the Arabs.


The article--by Kassam and Sinclair, who lead the international "Coalition Against Hate Education" through the TaxPayers' Alliance in the United Kingdom--notes how funding from Europe is being used:

Ahmed Dughmush, a Fatah leader, promised the official Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) that to "Jerusalem march millions of martyrs" in January 2008. Najat Abu-Bakr, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, told the PBC's audience in August 2008 that the Palestinians "were created on this land in order to liberate it, to live on it, to continue as people of Ribat [religious war]."

More recently, the European Union funded a television quiz show from Nov. 2009 through Jan. 2010 entitled "The Stars," which told its viewers that the size of "Palestine" is 27,000 kilometers—an area that includes all of Israel. The show also described Nazareth as a "Palestinian city." The European Union funded the entire first season of "The Stars"—the flag of the European Union was proudly displayed behind the host throughout the broadcasts.

Now consider such propaganda in the context of Israeli and Palestinian leaders's first direct talks in three years. Recall Annapolis, 2007: During those peace talks, the PBC was running graphics showing all of Israel-Palestine draped in the Palestinian flag. While the Palestinian leadership was sitting at the negotiating table supposedly working for a two-state solution, their TV channel continued to encourage the ideas that peaceful compromise and two states weren't the way forward; that the proper objective was to conquer all of Israel-Palestine. Which helped bring us to the ongoing need for peace talks today.

Now, as new peace talks proceed, such contraventions and contradictions go on, with PBC broadcasts from March and July this year praising, for instance, 18-year-old female suicide bomber Ayyat al-Akhras, who in 2002 detonated explosives strapped to her body, killing a security guard and a 17-year-old girl in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, a school textbook issued by the Palestinian Authority, "History of the Arabs and the World in the 20th Century," calls the insurgency in Iraq a "brave resistance." Another schoolbook, "Reading and Texts," tells students that "your enemies seek life while you seek death."

Giving millions to Abbas considering the well known corruption of the Palestinian Authority is one thing--but to actively fund hate and incitement of Israel demonstrates that the conscience of Europe, like its wallet, is on automatic pilot.

Technorati Tag: EU and Anti-Israel Incitement.