“While we agree that the Ambassador’s formal remarks were less strident than originally reported in the Israeli newspaper Ynet, nonetheless the Ambassador’s central point that adistinction must be made between Muslim anti-Semitism and traditional anti-Jewish hatred is seriously flawed, said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the Wiesenthal Center’s Founder and Dean and RabbiAbraham Cooper, the Center’s Associate Dean. “He overlooks the principal cause of contemporary Muslim anti-Semitism – the very existence of the Jewish State of Israel, not itspolicies. Since Israel has no intention of disappearing, Muslim anti-Semitism, like Christian anti-Semitism must never be excused or explained away, rather it must be vigorously confrontedwhenever and wherever it raises its ugly head,” the Rabbis concluded.
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