Belgian antisemitism

It is not unusual to read editorials in Belgium calling for the destruction of the Jewish state. After all, the claim goes - anti-Zionism is not the same as anti-Semitism. Right? Just because you're calling for the annihilation of the only Jewish state and supporting violence and war (to quote a De Morgen editor: I wish the intifadah to succeed) doesn't mean you're anti-Jewish. You don't want anything to happen to Jews.

Except, now somebody in Belgian journalism slipped up. The following is taken from De Morgen, but was written and sent out by Belga, the Belgian news agency, and appears in all main Belgian news sites.

It is a news article about the fighting in Lebanon. After quoting Israeli military sources it goes on to say:

"According to Jewish military sources 50 Hizballah fighter and eight Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting by Bint Jbeil". [ed. the part about the Israeli soldiers was a later addition].

No editor thought it was weird or wrong to phrase things this way.

Israeli = Jewish. Zionism = Judaism.

If you have a problem with Israelis, the Jews are the address.

The Israeli army is not composed only of Jews. Unlike Hizballah (Allah's Party) which is built up only of Islamic fighters dedicated to an extreme fanatic Islamic dogma, the Israeli army is composed of soldiers of many different kinds - religious Jews, non-religious Jews, Druze and Bedouin. What unites them is the wish to protect their country.

Update:

I searched through my files and found the example I bring above. This appeared in De Morgen, Nov 9th, 2005 and was written by Walter Pauli, assistant editor. Remember, this appeared in the Belgian press, not in Arab or Muslim propaganda.

"Indeed, before misunderstandings arise, I am personally an anti-Zionist. Truly, I support the annihilation of Israel - not of the Jews, but of the Zionist state. I believe that over time, only a land where Jews and Palestinians live with equal social and political rights, has a future [...] If not, than I always hope that at least there will be an initifida that succeeds"

The issue, btw, was whether Israel has a right to put up a stand in the Antwerp Book Fair. This editorial 'supported' the Israelis. Pauli ignores the fact that there is only one land where Jews and Arabs already live together with equal rights. That country is, of course, Israel.

Update 2:

Belga's Dutch langauge editorial office can be reached at redactie@belga.be