# EU poll: Israel 'biggest threat' to world peace **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 2, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918 "2003-11-02T01:24:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/1 "2003-11-02T01:24:12Z")
I guess all of Europe is anti-semitic.:rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Over half of Europeans think Israel poses the “biggest threat to world peace,” according to a controversial poll commissioned by the European Commission. > > The same survey has the United States beating out Iran, Iraq and North Korea – the trio dubbed the “axis of evil” by President George W. Bush – as well as Afghanistan in a ranking of what countries contribute most to world instability. [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE\_ID=35383](http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35383) ---
**Author:** ![jimbino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9bcb4/32.png) [@jimbino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbino)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/2 "2003-11-02T02:32:52Z")
Well, the greatest threat to my health and safety is my own Amerikan government, whether it is stealing my freedoms at home or endangering my life when I travel abroad. But it is true that the world would be a much better place if Israel ceased to exist. One must, of course, distinguish between Israel and the Jews, just as one distinguishes between the USSA, intensely hated, and the individual American, sometimes liked. It is a shame that the Brits and Yanks didn’t settle the world’s oppressed jews somewhere like the desert of Nevada instead of right where they were sure to cause the world unending grief for centuries. ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/3 "2003-11-02T02:40:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jimbino \* > \*\* It is a shame that the Brits and Yanks didn’t settle the world’s oppressed jews somewhere like the desert of Nevada instead of right where they were sure to cause the world unending grief for centuries. \*\* It is a vestige of the former British empire’s legendary ‘divide and conquer’ strategy. It is easier to create British Petrol monopolies when people are fighting in the area. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/4 "2003-11-02T02:41:33Z")
Answers my question: 50%. ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/5 "2003-11-02T02:43:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beagle \* > \*\*Answers my question: 50%. \*\* 😃 Very funny! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/6 "2003-11-02T04:34:24Z")
Uh, just HOW does Israel threaten world peace? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/7 "2003-11-02T05:10:02Z")
I would agree that it would have been better if Israel had not been created. The Jewish refugees should have been settled in the US, where they live better than they ever have anywhere else, Israel included. However, Israel does exist, and there is no way to undo it without another Holocaust. ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/8 "2003-11-02T05:51:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*Uh, just HOW does Israel threaten world peace? \*\* That is an interesting question. I would say that the curt answer would be her aggressiveness and influence on America’s invasion of Iraq, and America’s threats against Syria and Iran. ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/9 "2003-11-02T05:57:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adaher \* > \*\* > > However, Israel does exist, and there is no way to undo it without another Holocaust. \*\* The destruction of Israel is out of the question. Whatever happened in 1947 is moot and the majority of the people living there are humans and deserve peace tranquility and the opportunity for pleasant life (without having to worry about indiscriminate killing by Palestinian militants). I am guessing that the more logical (and realistic) solution would be more accountability for Israel’s actions and her countless breaches of UN sanctions. In addition, the Palestinian militants need to be reigned in and diffused so the majority of Palestinians that just want to live a normal life can exist without fear of an unfocused backlash of Israeli firepower. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/10 "2003-11-02T06:08:45Z")
Those are reasonable suggestions. The kicker is how to get them implemented. Both sides publics’ support the fighting. There is simply no way to impose a peace when the people want war. They are simply going to have to exhaust themselves. Personally, I see no reason to wring our hands over it. Both sides are getting exactly what they want. Let them have their war. ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/11 "2003-11-02T06:25:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adaher \* > \*\*Those are reasonable suggestions. The kicker is how to get them implemented. > > Both sides publics’ support the fighting. There is simply no way to impose a peace when the people want war. They are simply going to have to exhaust themselves. > > Personally, I see no reason to wring our hands over it. Both sides are getting exactly what they want. Let them have their war. \*\* I have two interesting points to raise about the public’s support and the exhaustion. Firstly, it seems that a decent chunk of moderate and liberal Israeli want to aggression to stop. [100,000 at memorial peace rally](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3234435.stm) Secondly, it looks like Israel is being financially [crippled by defence spending (along with financial aid to settlements and welfare for hordes of eastern European immigrants).](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3109752.stm) Finally, it seems that even Sharon is feeling the pinch in Israel’s wallet and is [ready to talk](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3230125.stm) with the Palestinain PM. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/12 "2003-11-02T06:31:36Z")
So how come everyone laughs at my idea to invite the _Palestinians_ come over here as a Freely Associated State, conveniently carved out of somewhere in Utah? ---
**Author:** ![2Thick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a88e57/32.png) [@2Thick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Thick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/13 "2003-11-02T06:44:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > \*\*So how come everyone laughs at my idea to invite the _Palestinians_ come over here as a Freely Associated State, conveniently carved out of somewhere in Utah? \*\* The first thing that pops into my head would be the mantra “old habits are hard to break.” In other words, wait until they get pissed about something. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/14 "2003-11-02T07:01:52Z")
Woo-hoo! We’re number 1! We’re number 1! Honestly - this poll says absolutely nothing about Israel, and quite a lot about Europe. I’m not saying (perish forbid) that all Europeans are anti-semites; I just think that when too many of them get the same idea in their head, it’s probably bad news. Just look at the history: at certain points millions of Europeans thought that feudalism, absolutism, communism, fascism and the Spanish Inquisition were all wonderful ideas. I’m not saying “Yurp hates us, so we must be right!”, but I’ll take the opinions of that wacky continent with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/15 "2003-11-02T07:14:41Z")
Europe does have a history of losing their minds on a regular basis. Anyway, there are significant minorities on both sides that want the fighting to end, and the price paid in blood and wealth has been extreme. But, both sides think it’s still better than the alternative. So it will continue regardless of what the US does. This is just one war that will have to be fought until one side cries uncle. It will happen eventually. No war lasts forever. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/16 "2003-11-02T07:55:12Z")
**Alessan** Don’t get all excited. This is a quote of the original website: [http://euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=13324](http://euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=13324) > [@](#): > > One pollster involved in the survey told the EUobserver that some questions being raised about the poll were unfounded. > > The questions were decided upon by both the polling organisations and the European Commission", the source said. Sorry, We’re not all anti-semites in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Owes\_Bess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c37758/32.png) [@Alan\_Owes\_Bess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Owes_Bess)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/17 "2003-11-02T09:15:20Z")
I how significant is the outcome of a poll whose rules of selection are not readily apparent. From one news source: > [@](#): > > Israel was rated first when pollsters presented a list of 15 countries and asked: “Tell me if in your opinion it presents or not a threat to peace in the world.” Fifty-nine percent of Europeans chose Israel [LINK](http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/10/1656549.php) As far as I can tell, there is nothing to stop a respondent from stating that every single one of the 15 countries listed was a threat to world peace. And how realistic is a poll that includes India as one of the fifteen countries on the list but omits Pakistan. [LINK](http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/031030153736.jdyshutd) All in all, on the information provided, the poll is a nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/18 "2003-11-02T09:21:02Z")
Seems like everyone is blaming the victims of Islamofascism rather than the Islamofascists. India, Israel, Armenia, Sudanese Christians, Kurds, Chinese, Russians… It’s always someone else’s fault. No, these goons just keep on killing non-Muslims and the non-Muslims respond to it forcefully. ---
**Author:** ![Stoneburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/19 "2003-11-02T11:05:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Europe does have a history of losing their minds on a regular basis. Completely unlike Asia and America, all of course being homogenous countries… Now the OP statement can NOT be construed as anti-semitic. It could _possibly_ be interpreted as anti-sionisti but even that is a stretch. They’re not saying they want Israel gone, they’re just saying they think of all the nations, Israel is the biggest threat to world peace. And looking at the situation, isn’t that a quite reasonable opinion? The list of countries that are percieved to contribute most instability except for Israel is: USA, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and North Korea. That seems very accurate to me. I would possibly add Pakistan at the end of that list. You need to stop reading more into this then there is. I agree that Israel is a big threat to world peace but I still support its right to exist, so I’m not even anti-sionist. > [@](#): > > Seems like everyone is blaming the victims of Islamofascism rather than the Islamofascists. India, Israel, Armenia, Sudanese Christians, Kurds, Chinese, Russians… > > It’s always someone else’s fault. No, these goons just keep on killing non-Muslims and the non-Muslims respond to it forcefully. Yes, when the truth is that Muslims are **evil** … right? We have a saying here which isn’t always correct but in this case very much so: It’s not one persons fault when two people fight. Islamofascism isn’t a country, unlike Israel, USA and Iran. The question wasn’t which “movement” was threatening peace the most. To re-iterate. The poll and the answers did not place a moral value on the countries. The people answering Israel can not be considered anti-semites based on their answers. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2003, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918/20 "2003-11-02T11:13:27Z")
Well the survey results shouldn’t come as a surprise… Israel is smack in the middle of the most sensitive region of the world and what do they do ? Build Cold War style walls… fire missiles into civilian areas… demolish houses as retaliation… say they are sorry they didn’t kill Arafat before… and then menace to throw him out, then they bomb Syrian territory. Would you like a neighbor like this ? #2 Position for a country invading with badly made up excuses, etc… etc… we know why people are scared of Bush and Bush’s pre-emptive strategies. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-poll-israel-biggest-threat-to-world-peace/210918.md?page=2)