Chirac Blocks EU Condemnation of Anti-Semitic Outburst

French President Jacques Chirac has blocked the European Union from issuing a statement condemning Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who said on Thursday that "Jews rule the world by proxy."

"The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy," complained Mahathir to a meeting of Islamic leaders gathered in Malaysia. "They get others to fight and die for them."

At an EU summit meeting on Friday, leaders considered issuing a statement that would have denounced Mahathir's remarks as "false" and "offensive," but Chirac led a move to block any criticism, insisting that there was "no place" in an EU declaration for such a statement.

Instead, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi blasted the Malaysian anti-Semite at a post-summit press conference.

Michael Miller, vice president of the Jewish Community Relations Council, condemned Chirac for blocking a formal EU response, telling the New York Post, "Considering the history of the Holocaust, the European Union should be the first to stand up and to issue a very strongly worded condemnation."

"France's behaviour [in this episode] will do nothing to help mend diplomatic fences badly damaged by the Iraq crisis," said Britain's Independent newspaper.

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