Martin Schulz, the German politician who's currently president of the EU,
caused an outrage in the Knesset with an offensive speech:
European Parliament President Martin Schulz criticized Israel Wednesday for its blockade of the Gaza Strip and for allegedly allowing Israelis to consume more water than Palestinians, causing a storm of protest from the far-right Jewish Home party, some of whose members walked out while he was addressing the Knesset plenum.
Here's where the Times of Israel puts in a very sad bias of their own, pointlessly calling them "far-right". That makes their own reporting reek of potential leftism.
In a wide-ranging speech, Schulz, who spoke in his mother tongue of German, reassured Israel of the European Union’s friendship, asserting that it plans no boycott against Israel and is committed to the Jewish people’s right to live in peace and security. On the other hand, he vocally criticized certain Israeli settlement policies and called on Israel to consider easing its blockade of Gaza, suggesting that it increases Palestinian frustration and thus makes Israelis less secure.
“The blockade of the Gaza Strip is your reaction to attacks on the civilian population. But it also does not allow real development and drives people to despair, which in turn is used by extremists,” Schulz said. “Perhaps the blockade creates not more, but less, security.”
Schulz also recounted a meeting he held two days ago with young Palestinians, saying they dream of something that most people take for granted: “to live in their own country, without violence, without restrictions of movement.” Palestinians have the same rights as Israelis to self-determination and justice, Schulz said.
“One of the questions from these young men that moved me the most was: How can it be that Israelis are allowed to use 70 liters [of water] per day and Palestinians only 17?”
He buys into taqqiya at face value, or maybe he knows it's all a sham and is playing his part in demonization of Israel, something he believes is perfectly justified.
At this point, several right-wing MKs yelled out in protest, with a number of Jewish Home party lawmakers, including Orit Struck and Moti Yogev, stalking out of the plenum. Minutes after Schulz finished speaking, Economy Minister and Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett released a statement demanding an apology for “two lies that the Palestinians fed him.”
“The words that were heard in the Knesset are very serious,” Bennett stated. “Silence in the face of false propaganda legitimizes actions against Israelis. I will not accept false moralizing against the people of Israel, in Israel’s Knesset. Certainly not in German.”
Yogev said that today Palestinians received the same amount of water as Israel and that Israel is actually “taking care” of Gazans, providing them with food and cement “that is being used against” Israel.
“His support for Palestinians who incite for the destruction of Israel, from the Knesset podium, 70 years after the Holocaust, is a chutzpah without parallel,” Yogev said.
Such an offensive man. He should not be welcomed back ever again. At this point, it makes little difference whether they'll threaten a boycott or not. People like Schulz are not worth selling goods to anyway.
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