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Israelophobia Is the One Hatred that Polite Society Embraces
(Sunday Telegraph-UK) Jake Wallis Simons - The Jewish state shouldn't matter very much. Accounting for just a quarter of 1% of the Middle East, its area is the size of Wales, with a population the size of London. Despite all the controversies, it's not particularly violent. In its 75-year history, its conflicts with the Arab world have claimed 86,000 lives. The 2003 Iraq invasion killed 600,000 people in three years. Yet like the antisemitism of previous centuries, there is bigotry based on conspiracy theories and falsehoods. Israel is accused of pulling the strings of politicians, finance and the media. The country is labeled "white supremacist," despite being at least 60% non-white. It is blamed for "genocide," even though the Palestinian population has grown five-fold since its birth. It is accused of "apartheid" when its national soccer team contains more Arabs than Jews. Although it is the Middle East's only democracy - the only country in the region to protect the rights of women and minorities - it is routinely compared to the Nazis. The writer is editor of the Jewish Chronicle-UK.