Avi Benlolo
National Post, Sept. 1, 2023
“To put this into perspective, in 2021, Libya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $42.82 billion USD. In comparison, Israel’s GDP for the same year was $488.5 billion USD. Israel’s economy is 11.4 times larger than Libya’s.”
Headlines in the media this week accused Israel of provoking a backlash over its meeting with Libya’s foreign minister, a meeting that was meant to initiate diplomatic ties. Israel’s Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, found himself defending his ministry’s press release which announced the historic meeting.
For their part, while agreeing to the meeting, the Libyans pretended that the encounter was a catastrophe. Libyan Foreign Minister Najila Mangoush who undoubtedly was sent to meet with Cohen to establish ties, was first suspended and then fired for meeting with a Jewish-Zionist. Apparently, the outrage was so deep in Libya that Mangoush had to flee for her life, ending up in Turkey.
When it comes to diplomacy, no country other than Israel must deal with double standards grounded antisemitism. Why should we accept this behaviour and blame Israel, especially with respect to a broken country with a history of terrorism?
Libyans must think highly of themselves. They shamelessly took to the streets once the news of the fateful meeting broke headlines. For all this righteousness, Libya apparently still holds onto Moammar Gadhafi’s disgusting policy of not recognizing the Jewish state. While numerous Arab nations have normalized relations with Israel and moved their nations forward, Gadhafi’s hateful ethos still resonates among Libyans.
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