Majority of Israelis Want to Join "Anti-Semitic" EU

A European Commission poll in Israel has shown that 85 percent of Israelis want to join the EU but that the majority believe the union to be anti-Semitic. The poll, conducted by the Dahaf Institute for the commission, revealed that 60 percent are in favor of Israel applying for membership in the EU, and 25 percent "tend to support" the idea. But 74 percent of Israelis said the EU's attitude to Israel was "unfair" and that the EU sides with Palestine in the Middle East conflict. Moreover, almost two-thirds of the people polled said the EU's attitude towards Israel was "anti-Semitism disguised as moral principles." "The concern about anti-Semitic developments in Europe is absolutely legitimate," the EU's ambassador to Israel, Giancarlo Chevallard, said in response to the poll. (EUobserver.com)