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| Europe |
| Turin Book Fair celebrates Israel's 60th anniversary - outrage ensues |
| 2008-05-07 |
| Somewhere, Fallaci is smiling (ANSA) - Rome, May 6 - Political polemics and security concerns continued to mount on Tuesday ahead of this year's edition of the Turin Book Fair, which is commemorating Israel's 60th birthday with a celebration of its literature. Although a boycott of the fair in protest at Israel's treatment of Palestinians was planned months ago, tension has climbed a notch in recent days, ahead of the event's inauguration this Thursday. Last week, left-wing activists and the Free Palestine association burned two Israeli flags in a central Turin square, and on Monday, a leading Swiss Muslim academic, Tariq Ramadan, attacked Italian President Giorgio Napolitano for his involvement in the fair. Sun rises in the east ... Ramadan accused Napolitano, a former communist, of conflating criticism of Israeli foreign policy with anti-Semitism, and said the president's decision to inaugurate the fair was ''an extremely political act''. The president's office responded with a sharply worded statement underlining that Napolitano's attendance was routine at cultural events and dismissing as ''entirely false'' Ramadan's comments on anti-Semitism. ''Criticism of the Israeli government's policies is entirely legitimate, particularly its actions within Israel,'' the note said. ''What is not acceptable is any position that denies the legitimacy of the state of Israel, set up by the United Nations in 1948, and its right to exist in peace and security''. Long live Italy! On Tuesday, other political figures weighed into the debate, mostly expressing support for Israel and the president's decision to attend the fair despite the boycott. Rome's new right-wing mayor, Giorgio Alemanno, said the burning of Israeli flags was ''a disgrace'', adding that criticism of Israel was acceptable ''but no one can be allowed to question Israel's right to exist''. A group of MPs issued a cross-party statement of support for the president, describing it as ''a political and moral duty'' to attend the inauguration. The message, signed by members of Italy's main centre-right and centre-left parties, underscored the importance of protecting freedom of speech and ''condemning extremism in all forms''. Israel's ambassador to Italy, Gideon Meir, also discussed the boycott for the first time on Tuesday, saying it was an act by extremists ''who want to deprive Israel of its legal status''. Meanwhile, security preparations are being stepped up, amid fears about demonstrations planned in protest at the fair. A number of commentators have predicted a repetition of the disturbances that marred the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa. Between 300 and 400 officers will police a national pro-Palestine demonstration on Saturday, which hundreds are expected to attend, while the route of the march, originally scheduled to finish outside the Book Fair, has been altered. Security will also be tight at the inauguration of the fair but Turin's chief of police Paolo Padoin said the event would not be ''sealed off'' for Napolitano's visit. ''We are taking each day as it comes and we are feeling confident,'' he said, adding that his officers were working closely with police stations across Italy to prepare for Saturday's event. But the security arrangements have drawn criticism from those opposed to the Israeli focus, with complaints that police have shut off all access to protest. ''We don't want to create further aggravation or conflict but we must highlight the fact that the fair has effectively been sealed off,'' said the boycott's organizers. ''The police have banned leafleting or information stands in front of the fair, effectively creating a red zone''. Turin's International Book Fair, which runs until Monday, is the largest publishing event in Italy and the second largest in Europe after Frankfurt. |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #8 Thanks, mrp. I knew someone here would remember the details I'd forgotten. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-05-07 22:09 |
| #7 Poor Professor Ramadan is over there because the State Department denied him a visa to come over here and teach at one of the big private universities. The University of Notre Dame. The Lefties there were disappointed when the DHS said "ain't gonna happen". For the best background on Tariq Ramadan (who happens to be the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (Egypt)) and his US visa rejections, Daniel Pipes provides the skinny. LINK1 LINK2 |
| Posted by: mrp 2008-05-07 18:54 |
| #6 "WTF is he doing in Switzerland?" Poor Professor Ramadan is over there because the State Department denied him a visa to come over here and teach at one of the big private universities. If I recall correctly, they objected to his jihadi friends... although the State Department called them terrorists, or something like that. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-05-07 18:43 |
| #5 So here is this guy named Tariq Ramadan and he's trying to act like a normal human being. He's trying to act as if he thinks that civilized people should give a rat's ass what he says and I'm thinking to myself, "WTF is he doing in Switzerland?" |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2008-05-07 14:46 |
| #4 This is the same country whose main newspaper, in recent years, had a cartoon showing the infant Christ asking, while threatened by an evil Jewish/Israeli character, "Will they crucify me again?" Congratulations, Italy, on the movement of your national consensus! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-05-07 13:14 |
| #3 I'll believe someone's criticism of Israel when they criticizes all the other nations that actually torture, rape and imprison people that speak out against the government. Otherwise, they are nothing more than anti-Semites. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-05-07 11:24 |
| #2 viva Italia!!! INDEED!!! |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-05-07 11:18 |
| #1 I'd like to see the Alan Dershowitz piece on why anti-Zionism is really anti-Semitism replayed at least once a quarter. The days that these a**holes start applying their same standards to all countries, THEN I might believe that their criticism of Israel isn't Jew hatred in disguise. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2008-05-07 09:46 |