Which is Worse?

It seems time to start a new feature here. I am going to call this "Which is Worse?" It is not to understand. I am going to give the reader two choices and he or she gets to pick which of the two is worse. Then we can discuss the reactions of others.

Here we go with the very first choice in "Which is Worse":

Which is worse
1) Construction of a new light rail public transportation line in Jerusalem, or
2) The calls by the leader of Hamas for the destruction of Israel, the "redemption" of all Palestine, and the death or ouster of all Jews in that area.

If you were a member of the European Union, the choice would be a no-brainer. For the EU, the light rail system is heinous while the calls for mass killing and the destruction of a state are just to be discouraged. For the EU, the new public transportation line is by far the less desireable of the two.

For those of you with even a little intelligence, the choice clearly should go the other way. A public transportation system alleviates traffic congestion, reduces air pollution, and allows those without cars the freedom to travel to work and for pleasure. A public transportation system provides benefits to the entire metropolitan area. So what is it that has led the EU to condemn the new light rail line operating in Jerusalem? You probably guessed. One end of the line starts in a "settlement". It starts in a neighborhood that was built in the last thirty years on land that was ruled by Jordan prior to the 1967 war. To put this in context, you need to understand that the area in question is about four miles from the Israeli parliament building in the national capital. The EU treats this land as if it were located in Central Asia thousands of miles away from Israel rather than within metro Jerusalem itself. According to the EU, the light rail line promotes settlement activities, so the EU has condemned the line and its operation.

And what of the calls by the Hamas leadership for mass death of Jews and the destruction of Israel? The EU does not even ask Hamas to change its position. Instead, in the context of a statement castigating and condeming Israel for settlements, the EU says that Hamas should hold off making further statements of this sort. In EU parlance, it is perfectly acceptable for Hamas to work for the death of all Israeli Jews, but the EU would prefer if Hamas stopped voicing that goal.

The next time someone tells you that Israel ignores "world opinion", keep in mind just what that opinion is.