- A senior US diplomat in London has ruffled feathers in
Britain's foreign policy establishment by publicly implying that a reference
to the "Jewish lobby" in the United States is an anti-Semitic
remark.
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- The incident happened yesterday at a Royal Institute
of International Affairs (RIIA) lecture on US foreign policy given by David
Johnson, who is the second in command at the American embassy in London.
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- During the question-and-answer session he was asked:
"Will the US ever be willing to impose an equitable peace settlement
in the Middle East, or is it perhaps that the Jewish lobby in America is
too strong to make that feasible?"
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- Mr Johnson responded indignantly, saying: "I am
highly resentful of the last part of your remarks, just because of its
ethnic slur." And he went on: "During my time here I have become
increasingly troubled by the willingness of European audiences to skirt
up to the side of anti-Semitic language as a political criticism."
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- A retired US diplomat, now living in Britain, rose to
defend the earlier questioner, objecting that Mr Johnson's remark reflected
the American tendency to associate criticism of Israeli policy with criticism
of Jews. "There is nothing racial about drawing attention to the existence
of a particular ethnic group," he said, noting that the US had not
only "a strong Israeli lobby" but Irish, Polish and other ethnic
lobbies.
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- There was a shout of "hear, hear" from the
audience and applause rang around the crowded hall.
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- Mr Johnson, who was US policy co-ordinator for Afghanistan
before arriving in London in August, is an experienced State Department
hand with extensive service in Europe.
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- One of his tasks in London appears to be to woo back
members of the British political, academic and media circles who felt alienated
by George Bush's foreign policy, especially the war in Iraq, which is unlikely
to be advanced by the exchanges.
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- Later, Mr Johnson said he held "no animus"
towards the questioner, saying that what he found unacceptable about the
use of the term was its inference that "somehow the Jews control the
US". He said he was surprised that the term was still so current in
Europe, and especially in Britain, noting: "That is an unacceptable
formulation."
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=483856
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