It is not every day that a top-ranking European politician expresses so clearly his utter support for Israel. In and interview brought in the Jerusalem Post, former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar slammed BS hypocrisy, hailed Israel, and called for the Jewish State's full integration into the West. We'll just let you enjoy Aznar's warm words yourself:
"I think BDS is an unfair, discriminatory movement based on a moral double standard that is, in the final analysis, anti-Semitic," Aznar told Maariv.Aznar continued to criticize the EU's policy towards Israel and companies operating inside the West Bank:
"Declaring its aim to put pressure on the Israel government, BDS is in fact trying to harm every Israeli citizen and not only the government. In reality what BDS wants is to make life in Israel intolerable so the Jewish nation will not be able to have a normal existence in its state. BDS does not only want to change the government's policy, it wants to empty the country of Jews," Aznar said.
"People including the bureaucrats in the EU need to understand that companies that invest in the West Bank provide jobs and opportunities for the Palestinian nation," Aznar said, adding, "Getting companies to leave there [the West Bank] will not have a positive impact but just the opposite. Greater, not less, economic activity is required in the territories. The only way to create a Palestinian middle class is through investments and commerce."Finally, Aznar called for a closer inspection of BSemite activists, and wished for Israel's full integration in the West:
"I think that governments must condemn all policy that discriminated unfairly against Israel. Such polices are not just unfair they are also idiotic. Israel is practically the laboratory of many innovations that the entire world enjoys, from high tech to health. Harming the connections with Israeli academics, scientists, artists and entrepreneurs, will have a negative impact on our culture and prosperity."
"I believe that the real motives of the BDS leaders should be revealed. Senior government officials and corporate executives should be made to know about the negative consequences of BDS, and a clear alternative narrative should be put forward," Aznar offered.
"My vision is for Israel to become an integral part of the Western world and for this to happen it needs to be a partner in the West's economic and security institutions," the former prime minister said.
In contrary to common belief, even European politicians are not consensual in the EU's policy towards Israel. What is crystal clear is that Israel's isolation is no more than a myth.
