LONDON (EJP)---Israel’s ambassador in London claims that Britain has become a “hotbed for radical anti-Israeli views.”
“While the UK was once admired for its liberal fairness, decency and common sense, in recent years extremists have "hijacked" the debate over Israel, “ Ron Prosor said.
Prosor became ambassador to the UK last year after having been an embassy spokesman between 1995 and 1998.
In an article written for The Daily Telegraph and published on Tuesday, Prosor writes: “Fairness is all too frequently absent in a debate that has been hijacked by extremist. Israel faces an intensified campaign of delegitimisation, demonization and double standards.”
He says Britain has become “a haven for disingenuous calls for a ‘one-state solution’, a euphemistic name for a movement advocating Israel’s destruction,” while terror attacks on Israeli citizens are ignored by both the media and public opinion.
“No other country in the world is constantly forced to justify its own existence," he says.
The Israeli envoy mentions particularly calls in Britain for an academic boycott of Israel over the country’s treatment of Palestinians.
“The concept of an academic boycott is a ludicrous oxymoron, undermining the democratic principles of free speech and free debate,” he writes.
He adds: “Academics, who are supposedly society’s guardians of knowledge, objectivity and informed debate, have seen their union held hostage by radical factions, armed with political agendas and personal interests.”
Prosor implores the British public “to prevent the radical fringe from monopolizing British-Israel discourse."
“It is vital that British values of fair play and even-handedness are brought to the debate.”
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