Kaia Kallas, the European Union's external relations chief, compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime in South Africa.
According to a report today (Friday) on the "Euractiv" website, Kallas - former Estonian Prime Minister - visited Mexico City last month, as part of a delegation of senior European officials - and in closed meetings, in the presence of representatives of the Mexican government - she compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria to South Africa's policy during the apartheid era.
According to a report in 'Kan News', diplomats, including those who were present at the meeting, said that Callas described how moved she was by her recent visit to South Africa and the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.
A European diplomat told the website that the European Union is critical of Israel. "The comparison is unacceptable and not in the policy of the European Union. It is a big problem that it makes statements of this kind, while it officially represents the Union on the world stage," he said.
There was no response from Callas' office.
The chairman of the Union of Jewish Organizations in Europe, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, responded: "Kallas's statements about "apartheid" are anti-Semitic. It is a shame that after such a promising start, she is returning to the patterns of action of her predecessor. She should know that Jews played a role in the struggle against the apartheid police in South Africa - and many of them even risked their lives.".
