World Jewish News

British Prime Minister David Cameron asked by Jewish groups ‘to terminate Catherine Ashton’s term in office’

In a letter to David Cameron, the European Jewish Union and the European Jewish Parliament asked the British Prime Minister "to propose and actively pursue" the termination of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s term of office "with immediate effect" following her controversial comments on last month's Toulouse killings.
The letter draws Cameron’s attention to the fact that a petition initiated by the two Jewish groups calling for Ashton "to apologise or resign "following her inappropriate comments" on the horrific events in Toulouse "has been signed by thousands throughout Europe."
It also recalls that the British premier as well as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other world leaders firmly condemned the Toulouse events.
According to the Jewish groups, in her comments, Ashton "drew a despicable moral equivalence between events in Toulouse, Syria and Gaza."
"With her own words, Lady Ashton follows the reasoning of the Toulouse terrorist, justifies his acts and imports conflicts into Europe," they said.
Amid a flurry of critics from Israel and Jewish organizations, the EU official later denied that she intended to parallel the attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse, saying that her comments were "grossly distorted."
Ashton, a former British Labour politician, was appointed by the European Council, made up of the 27 EU leaders, in 2009. Her official title is High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. She is also Vice-President of the European Commission. Her term in office ends in 2014.
"We would therefore ask you to propose and actively pursue the termination of her term of office with immediate effect and prior to 2014. We would also ask you to make it abundantly clear to the Union that the British Government will not support any extension of her term when it ends," the European Jewish Parliament and the European Jewish Union said in the letter to David Cameron.
The European Jewish Parliament was established earlier this year in Brussels. It comprises 120 members from around 50 countries and serves as "a platform for European Jewry and presenting a new voice from Western, Central and Eastern Europe."
Among its objectives is the fight against anti-Semitism in Europe.

EJP