'Anti-Semitism' overuse drains Europe of sympathy

[joeblow]

'Anti-Semitism' overuse drains Europe of sympathy

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The Jewish representatives who attended the conference regretted the CER move and said the event focused on 'dialogue'.

The European Parliament hits back at a group of Rabbis for using the 'anti-Semitism' label in their efforts to shun a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels.

The EU Parliament said on Monday that the move by the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) to boycott the event, which brought political and religious authorities together on the economic crisis, amounted to 'fundamentalism' that bordered on 'terrorism', DPA reported.

"We have to resist any form of fundamentalism. If there is fundamentalism, then you don't respect the other any more, and then you are very near to terrorism," said European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering.

Earlier in the day, the CER banned "rabbis or Jewish leaders" from participating in the summit in protest at the presence of "Islamic organizations such as the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE)."

CER claimed FIOE had "made, or endorsed, anti-Semitic statements" and that it is "clearly linked... to the Muslim Brotherhood."

Pro-Israel groups have since the creation of Israel used the 'anti-Semitic' label in all cases where there is opposition to the agenda of political Zionism.

Rabbi Levi Matusof, who attended the EU event as a representative of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, commented that "This is a dialogue between the religious leaders and the European institutions."

"It is not an intra-religious dialogue between the religious leaders," he continued.

The head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, also 'regretted' the rabbinical boycott decision.

The move follows Israeli condemnation of the UN anti-racism summit held in Geneva last month when Tel Aviv suggested that criticism of its policies amount to 'anti-Semitism'.

HN/AA