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20.06.03, 08:13
Jewish MP compares Gaza to Warsaw ghetto
Oona King angers embassy
DEBORAH SUMMERS
A JEWISH MP yesterday likened Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip to the Nazis' creation of the Warsaw ghetto.
The controversial comparison by Oona King, Labour MP for Bethnal Green and
Bow, was immediately criticised by the Israeli embassy in London and came as
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli finance minister, met Tony Blair at Downing
Street.
Ms King described Gaza conditions as "the same in nature" as the infamous
Polish ghetto. "No government should be behaving like that, least of all a
Jewish government," Ms King said.
Her comments were made at a Westminster press conference after a fact-finding
trip to the region organised by Christian Aid. Ms King said the visit had
opened her eyes.
The MP, a member of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, said: "I
recognise the terror many Israelis live with as a matter of their daily
lives. I was more surprised perhaps by the everyday terror that Palestinians
live, the detail and nature of which I had not understood.
"We must support the moderate voices as opposed to strengthening extremists."
Referring to Warsaw, scene of the historic uprising by its Jewish
inhabitants, Ms King said: "It is the same in nature but not extent."
She stressed the "very, very big difference" between Gaza and the ghetto
established by the Nazis in Poland's capital.
"Palestinians are not being rounded up and put in gas chambers," she said.
However, the MP added: "What makes it similar is what happened to the Jewish
people in that time which was the seizing of land, being forced from
property, torture and bureaucracy - control used in a demeaning way over the
smallest task.
"On top of that, building a wall around them, and that is precisely what the
Israeli government is doing. In doing so, it is building a political ghetto.
I don't think it can escape that conclusion."
Ms King said: "As a Jewish person, I hoped I would never live to see the day
I was ashamed of the actions of the Jewish state."
The situation had worsened considerably since she last visited with Labour
Friends of Israel, in 1998, she added.
Jenny Tonge, LibDem MP for Richmond Park, who was also on the trip,
agreed: "You are almost getting a situation like the Warsaw ghetto. People
can't get in or out. They can't work, they can't sell anything. There is this
gradual squeeze.
"It was an apartheid system."
Ms Tonge said she wanted to see economic sanctions against Israel unless the
situation improves and says EU or UN troops should be sent to keep the peace.
"Israel says everything it does is for security but they are not addressing
the cause of terrorism, only terrorism itself," she added.
Shuli Davidovich, spokes-woman for the Israeli embassy, said: "It is a
terrible shame that a British member of parliament could make this
comparison. We were shocked by the ignorance of comparing Gaza to the Warsaw
ghetto."
After Mr Blair and Mr Netanyahu discussed the peace process, the prime
minister's official spokesman said: "The prime minister reiterated his
commitment to see the road map implemented and his willingness to do
everything that he and the British government can to help."
Mr Blair has been instrumental in the renewed US impetus in reviving the
peace process, with his behind-the-scenes pressure prompting the US president
to act.
Fresh trouble broke out in the region yesterday when police trying to
dismantle a West Bank settlement were attacked by angry settlers. About 200
blocked the road with cars, burning tires and sharp objects.
In a separate incident an Israeli grocer was killed by a Palestinian suicide
bomber.
How The Two Compare
The Warsaw Ghetto
Before the second world war, there were 375,000 Jews living in Warsaw.
Set up on October 12, 1940, the ghetto comprised 2.4% of the city's land but
contained 30% of its population, according to the US Holocaust Museum.
Annual death toll in 1941 reached 43,000 or 10% of the total ghetto
population.
Official daily rations were as follows: 2614 calories for Germans, 669
calories for Poles, and 184 calories for Jews.
Life expectancy was in months rather than years.
A total of 450,000 Jews were forced to live in appalling conditions.
Gaza Strip
Covers an area of 360 square kilometres with a population of approximately
1,300,000.
Birth rate: 41.85 births per 1000 population.
Death rate of 4.12 deaths in every 1000 live births.
Average life expectancy: 71.2 years.
Religion: Muslim 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%.
GDP: US$750m, according to a 2001 estimate.
Unemployment rate: 26%. - June 20th
