European Union continues to fiscally back hate education against Israel
By supporting Palestinian teachers’ salaries, the European Union financially participated and continues to participate in hate education; disregard for life of the Jews and others by promoting jihad; and inciting schoolchildren to become martyrs. That makes it an accomplice to the killings and injuries of innocent victims.
By Michael Calvo
JNS In May 2018, the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy published a report titled “The Money Trail: The Millions Given by EU Institutions to NGOs With Ties to Terror and Boycotts Against Israel, An In-Depth Analysis.” Two months later, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Frederica Mogherini replied to the report. Her main arguments being that allegations according to which the European Union supports incitement or terror are unfounded and unacceptable—that terror and boycott are two distinct phenomena.
The Israeli Ministry’s report is clear and substantiated, and Mogherini should read it again.
What is not mentioned in the report is that the European Union and its member states finance NGOs that harass Israel, Israeli officials and corporations doing business in Israel and in Europe with lawsuits. The European Union still finances the Palestinian Authority that encourages Palestinians to kill Jews. “The Palestinian Authority’s practice of paying salaries to terrorists serving in Israeli prisons, as well as to the families of deceased terrorists, is an incentive to commit acts of terror.” (Taylor Force Act).
It is well known that the Palestinian leaders have incited to kill Jews. Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas even admitted that the terrorists “did what the Palestinian Authority ordered them to do” and Mohammed Dahlan confirmed that “Forty percent of the Martyrs in this Intifada belonged to the Palestinian security forces … and that the Palestinian Authority has hidden Hamas members against Israeli counter-actions.”
Those who still have doubts should see these videos.
The incitement begins in schools. Between 1994 and 2012, the European Union provided 5.6 billion euros to assist the P.A. During 2014-15, a total of more than €390 million has been allocated to the P.A. through Pegase Direct Financial Support (DFS). The aim of Pegase DFS is to assist the P.A. to meet its obligations towards its civil servants, pensioners and vulnerable families; maintain essential public services; improve public finances; and pay teachers’ salaries. Among the civil servants and pensioners who received payments from Pegase DFS during 2014 and 2015, 67 percent were working in Health and Education.
By supporting teachers’ salaries, the European Union financially participated and continues to participate in hate education; disregard for life of the Jews and others by promoting jihad; and inciting schoolchildren to become martyrs. That makes it an accomplice to the killings and injuries of innocent victims.
Concerning the boycott, the European Union has no qualms to apply double standards. It does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the territories and considers that it has an obligation to prevent its money from reaching there, and that European consumers must know that products they buy are coming from West Bank settlements.
In 2013, the European Union found it appropriate to ban grants, prizes and financial instruments (such as loans and bank guarantees) to Israeli entities in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), in eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. In September 2015, the European Union drafted various rules proposed to all member states, arguing that consumers must know that the products come from the settlements and not from Israel. This way, the European BDS movements and consumers will know which Jewish products to boycott since only factories owned by Jews are singled out, even if they employ Arabs.
Under international law, the question whether the West Bank territory is occupied or was liberated in 1967, remains far from being settled. However, the European Union finds it legitimate to provide direct financial assistance to the Turkish settlements in the occupied territory of Northern Cyprus. It funds the occupation of an E.U. member state (Cyprus) purportedly to “end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community.” Concerning the Moroccan occupation of the Western Sahara, European businesses and universities openly operate in these “occupied territories” without being disbarred from E.U. funding, while similarly situated Israeli entities are disbarred.
China is not required to label products coming from Tibet that it occupies since 1951. Goods originating from “occupied territories” such as Northern Cyprus, Gibraltar, the Falklands, Western Sahara, Tibet, Kashmir and the Russian-held regions of Azerbaijan are not specially labeled.
The European Union does not treat Israel like it treats other countries with settlements it considers as being illegitimate. It applies double standards by requiring from Israel “a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”
This represents anti-Semitism, according to the Working Definition of Anti-Semitism of the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia and the European Forum on Anti-Semitism.
It must be asked if the European Union and some European states participate in the delegitimization, demonization and dehumanization of Israel and Israeli Jews in order to prepare the world to accept the destruction of the Jewish state.
Dr. Michael Calvo is an international lawyer and author of the book The Middle East and World War III: Why No Peace?