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Source: http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/59150/israel-ambassador-leads-speakers-big-tent
The Meaning of "I Support Israel's Right to Exist"
(Jewish Chronicle-UK) Jonathan Kalmus - At the Big Tent Israel advocacy conference in Manchester Tuesday, which focused on countering political campaigns to delegitimize Israel, the Israeli Ambassador to Britain, Daniel Taub, condemned those who "call themselves" Israel's friends because they "support its right to exist." "I can't count the number of times I've heard somebody say, 'I'm a friend of Israel and I support its right to exist.' And I wonder, can you image anyone saying that in relation to any other country? I support Australia's right to exist or Guatemala's right to exist - as though that somehow makes me a friend of Guatemala. In relation to what other country does a discussion or policy descend into a question mark over the very existence of that state?" He also said, "When a leading newspaper publishes antisemitic words, such as we heard on the release of Gilad Shalit alleging that this deal shows that Zionists value the lives of the 'chosen' more than they value the lives of anyone else - as if we wouldn't have begged to reduce the number of terrorists that should have been released - yes, that's insulting to Israel, but more than that, it's a sign of a great sickness inside media and inside British journalism."