United States Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro had it wrong when he charged in a recent speech that Israel applies the law more leniently to Jews than to Palestinians living in the West Bank according to a majority (52.8%) of those who responded to a poll taken by the Israel Democracy Institute. In addition to rejecting Shapiro’s allegation of a double-standard in applying the law, a majority of the respondents (58%) also said that the US has no right to criticize Israel regarding security measures taken in the West Bank; while 74% of Jews and 70% of Arab Israelis do not believe such criticism would matter to the Israelis anyway. Ambassador Shapiro touched a nerve when he leveled the charge of dual-standards in a speech to a conference convened on the same day a mother of four who was murdered with her children watching was buried and in a separate incident, a pregnant woman was stabbed. Among those expressing outrage was Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Shapiro’s charge was apparently one of omission: the frequent failure by Israeli authorities to pursue cases involving Jewish Israelis as opposed to Arab Israelis or Palestinians.
Poll Dismisses Assertions by US Ambassador on Treatment of Jews and Palestinians
Posted By Michael Friedson On In Mideast Daily News
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