Belgian editor defends ‘ugly noses’ anti-Israel column

THE ANGRY response to a Flemish newspaper column that referred to Israelis’ “ugly noses” was just an attempt by critics to silence criticism of Israel, the outlet’s editor has said.

The column, which was published in the De Morgen daily last month, described Jews in Israel as “land thieves with a religious superiority complex” and described their noses as ugly.

In a sarcastic tone, it claimed Jews and their supporters regard themselves as “chosen” and God’s “darlings”, and use biblical interpretation to subjugate Palestinians, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

The column, which was written by Belgian journalist and poet Dimitri Verhulst, continued: “As soon as you mention Israel and the fate of the Palestinians, they look at you like you masterminded the Holocaust yourself.”

It also misquotes the singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg with the words: “Being Jewish is not a religion, no God would give creatures such an ugly nose.”

The interview triggered complaints to Belgium’s journalism watchdog.But the newspaper’s editor Bart Eeckhout said the column had been written in a “hard, sarcastic fashion”.

“It foretells the current uproar [by] stating that any hard criticism on Israel will always be reinterpreted as antisemitism,” he said.

“Antisemitism is a very serious allegation, which we think is used too easily in this case, in a way to silence the debate about Israel’s policies.”