A survey carried out for the British Telegraph, asking Britons to rate almost two-dozen countries on the basis of 12 different criteria, has revealed that Britons do not think much of Israel.
More surprising is how little regard Britons are found to have for Israel.The violence and Israel’s continuing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza appear to have done immense damage to its standing. Israel comes top of the list of countries where people would least like to live and would least like to take a holiday.It is also the country thought least deserving of international respect. Despite being the only fully democratic state in the Middle East, it is also thought to be among the world’s “least democratic countries”.Of the 12 criteria set out in YouGov’s check-list, Israel comes out bottom in four cases and among the bottom five in a total of eight. Only Russia has a worse overall score.Britons clearly regard Israel and Russia in the same dim light that H L Mencken regarded Mississippi.
As pointed out by Backspin, it is the biased media coverage which has caused the damage to Israel’s reputation, not the violence or “occupation” itself. So the Telegraph should not be too “surprised” at all.
What can I say? It is a shame that many Britons believe everything they hear – they are truly missing out on one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
Oh..and suffer in ya jocks.*
* Australian slang for “serves you right”
