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Columnist Deborah Orr defended Ambassador Bernard in the Independent. But the French Foreign Ministry stood behind their ambassador, calling assertions that BernardвЂ™s remarks were anti-Semitic 'malevolent insinuations.' 4 Those people? Moderates heard echoes of old-fashioned anti-Semitism.

James, Daniel Bernard, told his companions at a London dinner party that Israel is a вЂњshitty little country,вЂќ вЂњWhy,вЂќ he asked, вЂњshould the world be in danger of World War Three because of those people?вЂќ 3

Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism flourish among the few, but those few are over-represented in EuropeвЂ™s newspapers, its universities, and its left-wing political parties.ДЇor Americans who do not read the European press, the level of raw anti-Semitism in European intellectual circles can be shocking.ДЄ couple of years ago the French Ambassador at the Court of St. The studyвЂ™s other interesting finding was that only a small fraction of Europeans believe any of these things. In a survey of 5,000 Europeans in ten countries, people who believed that the Israeli soldiers вЂњintentionally target Palestinian civilians,вЂќ and that вЂњPalestinian suicide bombers who target Israeli civiliansвЂќ are justified, also believed that вЂњJews donвЂ™t care what happens to anyone but their own kind,вЂќ вЂњJews have a lot of irritating faults,вЂќ and вЂњJews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want.вЂќ

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Kaplan and Small ask whether individuals expressing strong anti-Israel sentiments, such as the statement by Ted Honderich, Emeritus Grote Professor of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic at University College London, that вЂњthose Palestinians who have resorted to necessary killing have been right to try to free their people, and those who have killed themselves in the cause of their people have indeed sanctified themselves,вЂќ are more likely than the general population to also support in such old-style anti-Semitic slurs as вЂњJews have too much power in our country today.вЂќ Their paper, вЂњAnti-Israel Sentiment Predicts Anti-Semitism in Europe,вЂќ appears in the August issue of the Journal of Conflict Resolution.

Small, Director of Urban Studies, Southern Connecticut State University, decided to examine the issue in formal way. Beach Professor of Management Sciences at Yale, and Charles A. Two Connecticut professors got curious about the constant denials that extremely harsh critics of Israel were anti-Semitic. IsraelвЂ™s highly-educated critics do not refuse to dine in restaurants that serve Jews, use epithets like вЂњkike,вЂќ or believe that Jews control the international financial markets and are more likely than others to engage in shady business practices.ДЄt least that is what I assumed until someone did the study. After all, this is not your grandfatherвЂ™s anti-Semitism. On any given day one can find some eminent European вЂ“ a university professor, high-ranking churchman, a parliamentarian вЂ“ gravely explaining to reporters that harsh and disproportionate criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic.ДЄnd their protestations sound plausible. Zapatero had donned the black-checked keffiyeh that is the symbol of Palestinian determination to destroy the Jewish State and criticized Israel for using вЂњabusive force that does not protect innocent human beings.вЂќ 1 This week, the Spanish Foreign Minister felt compelled to defend Prime Minister Zapatero from charges of anti-Semitism.

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