Appeasing Arab hate puts the lie to 'Never Again': All civilized people can agree that killing Jews is wrong. Well, killing six million of them 60 years ago is wrong. Killing a couple of dozen every 48 hours or so, that's a different matter. The official position of Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, speaking from his beach in Barbados, is that Israel's response to the Passover massacre is "disproportionate." [...] In Marseilles, where one synagogue was burned to the ground on Sunday and another less conclusively torched Tuesday, the Grand Mufti, Soheib Bencheikh, told UPI that so long as "the violence in the Middle East" persisted "Arab youths in France would likely continue their campaign of attacks." They're not Palestinians, they're mostly French citizens of North African extraction. But "frustration" at what Israel is doing on the West Bank of the Jordan justifies French Muslims burning French Jews' houses of worship.

French police have detained five youths for questioning after firebombs were thrown at a synagogue just outside Paris, the sixth Jewish religious site to be attacked in France since last weekend.

A high-level EU peace mission to the Middle East stands little chance of success because Israel doesn't trust the European Union and Arab countries see the body as powerless in the dispute, experts said on Thursday.

Hmm. Gee. Wonder why.

Mind, if Israel doesn't trust Europe -- and it should not -- and Arab countries don't trust the US -- and they should not -- what country has sufficient prestige and power to be viewed as an honest broker? China, which is engaged in active and vigorous suppression of its Muslim religious minorities? Canada? (After that speech? I suppose if nothing else, it establishes Canada as completely independent of the UK/US orbit on this issue. It also pretty much ensures that every time the name of the country is mentioned in Israel, millions of people will spit. I mean, what on earth is a "proportionate" response to suicide bombing murderers? What?) Who can do it?

It's also noteworthy that, despite Europe's desire to get involved, the Arab states don't seem to care much about getting them in, either. Whether it's simply because the EU can't deliver Israel, or because the EU can't deliver the US (and a nasty realization that's becoming, too), or because the EU has no independent force projection -- they can't make anyone do anything -- who can say? The EU hasn't even unlimbered at Israel their most used weapon, trade sanctions. It hasn't even been mentioned.

Re trade sanctions: Yes, it has been, too. Switzerland is talking about cutting back on arms purchases, for one thing. (Of course, Switzerland isn't part of the EU.)

Well, it will be someday, whenever that vote is supposed to become effective.

In any event, from an FAZ article:
http://www.faz.com/IN/INtemplates/eFAZ/docmain.asp?rub={B1311FCC-FBFB-11D2-B228-00105A9CAF88}&doc={48365E61-DD61-4FBE-8A84-F200E030A0D0}

In view of these homemade difficulties, the Europeans are restricted to playing the role of bystander in the Middle East. The EU is Israel's and Palestine's main trading partner, but it is unable to make any political capital out of its commercial importance. For most EU governments, sanctions against Israel, such as the suspension of the free trade agreement, are seen as an unsuitable way of forcing Mr. Sharon along the road to peace. On the contrary, they would reduce the EU's already rather limited ways of bringing influence to bear, and as all trade between the EU and Palestine has to pass through Israel, sanctions would hit the Palestinians especially hard.