RUTHFULLY YOURS

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A British MP attempted to catch Czech President Milos Zeman off guard by asking how peace in the Middle East can be obtained during a Council of Europe discussion. Zeman responded with pro-Israel statements that stunned the others in the room.

Even though it is only an observer in the Council of Europe, Israel was the recipient of usually blunt support during a discussion in France. When a British official asked Czech President Milos Zeman about the conflict in the Middle East, Zeman responded with pro-Israel remarks, which surprised the other European officials in the room.

The Council of Europe, headquartered in Strasbourg, deals almost exclusively with the cooperation between EU states regarding human rights, democracy and international law. However, the British MP attempted to change the topic of the discussion by surprising Zeman with the following question: “What can you do, and what can we do, to bring peace to the Middle East?”

Zeman did not hesitate and after a very brief pause, he firmly answered the British official: “My response will probably be [a] deep disappointment for you. I am a friend of Israel, [a] deep friend of Israel, and that is why I think that the peace in the Middle East…is to be based primarily in [sic] the safety of Israel.”

“I know the history of all [the] wars starting in [sic] 1948,” he added. “Every war was victorious for Israel…[because] being defeated would mean the end of this state, the Jewish state.”

“I think, unfortunately, that in some countries or movements- let us mention Hezbollah, Hamas and others-…survives the tendency to diminish Israel, to destroy Israel,” he continued. Regarding the way to achieve peace, Zeman said that the terrorist organizations in the Middle East need to be disarmed, explicitly mentioning Hamas and Hezbollah by name.

Zeman’s speech left those in the room stunned even though the Czech Republic and Israel have very good relations. Recently, The Czech parliament recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In addition, Prague decided to condemn UNESCO following its anti-Israel resolutions.

In an interview with Channel 2 News Online, Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO and the Council of Europe Carmel Shama-Hacohen said that Zeman is “a true friend of Israel who told the simple truth about Israel.”