<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><span style='color:red'>Primary Candidate for UNESCO Head says will Burn Jewish Book if found in Libraries!</span>
<img src='http://www.nysun.com/pics/1120_large.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
UNITED NATIONS â Egypt's culture minister is a top candidate to head the United Nations's main intellectual body, but his declaration that he would burn books by Israeli authors has forced him to walk a fine line between appeasing extremists in his country and satisfying Western critics.
Several diplomats familiar with the selection process for director-general of the U.N. Education Scientific and Cultural Organization said yesterday that Farouk Hosni's candidacy could now be doomed, after he told the Egyptian parliament that if any Israeli books were found in Egyptian libraries, he would burn them.
Such a statement is "couched in the language and actions of Nazi 'Minister of Culture' Josef Goebbels," the director for international relations of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Shimon Samuels, said in a letter to the current Unesco director-general, Koïchiro Matsuura of Japan. "An aspirant book-burner, who threatens to wield culture as a weapon, cannot head the intellectual arm of the United Nations."
"Anyone who presents a candidacy for the top U.N. education body should know that incitement is one of our region's worst problems," an Israeli U.N. ambassador, Daniel Carmon, said. "Hatred helps to create the infrastructure of terrorism."
A Unesco spokeswoman, Sue Williams, declined to comment directly on the statement, but said: "Unesco does not condone book burning of any sort."
After Mr. Hosni's remarks were made public last week, he tried to backtrack, telling Western news agencies in Cairo that they were "hyperbole." While he said he supports cultural "normalization" with Israel, he added that such ties can happen only after there is "just and global peace" in the Middle East.
Last week, a Muslim Brotherhood member of Egypt's parliament complained about Israeli books being in Egyptian libraries. Denying that such publications were available there, <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Mr. Hosni retorted: "I'd burn Israeli books myself if I found any in libraries in Egypt."</span>
Unesco's 193 members are expected to vote on Mr. Matsuura's replacement in fall 2009.
http://www.nysun.com/foreign/egyptians-bid...urn-quip/78844/
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Looks like they want to reserve this post for a faithful this time. India being a strong dar-ul-islam, let a faithful from India lead the post. May I suggest M F Hussain? Or Why not try ex-candidate for UN Sec General of Congress-I? Or even Ambika Soni!! What about T R Baalu?
At any rate India will be supporting this Moron for this post anyways.
<img src='http://www.nysun.com/pics/1120_large.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
UNITED NATIONS â Egypt's culture minister is a top candidate to head the United Nations's main intellectual body, but his declaration that he would burn books by Israeli authors has forced him to walk a fine line between appeasing extremists in his country and satisfying Western critics.
Several diplomats familiar with the selection process for director-general of the U.N. Education Scientific and Cultural Organization said yesterday that Farouk Hosni's candidacy could now be doomed, after he told the Egyptian parliament that if any Israeli books were found in Egyptian libraries, he would burn them.
Such a statement is "couched in the language and actions of Nazi 'Minister of Culture' Josef Goebbels," the director for international relations of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Shimon Samuels, said in a letter to the current Unesco director-general, Koïchiro Matsuura of Japan. "An aspirant book-burner, who threatens to wield culture as a weapon, cannot head the intellectual arm of the United Nations."
"Anyone who presents a candidacy for the top U.N. education body should know that incitement is one of our region's worst problems," an Israeli U.N. ambassador, Daniel Carmon, said. "Hatred helps to create the infrastructure of terrorism."
A Unesco spokeswoman, Sue Williams, declined to comment directly on the statement, but said: "Unesco does not condone book burning of any sort."
After Mr. Hosni's remarks were made public last week, he tried to backtrack, telling Western news agencies in Cairo that they were "hyperbole." While he said he supports cultural "normalization" with Israel, he added that such ties can happen only after there is "just and global peace" in the Middle East.
Last week, a Muslim Brotherhood member of Egypt's parliament complained about Israeli books being in Egyptian libraries. Denying that such publications were available there, <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Mr. Hosni retorted: "I'd burn Israeli books myself if I found any in libraries in Egypt."</span>
Unesco's 193 members are expected to vote on Mr. Matsuura's replacement in fall 2009.
http://www.nysun.com/foreign/egyptians-bid...urn-quip/78844/
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Looks like they want to reserve this post for a faithful this time. India being a strong dar-ul-islam, let a faithful from India lead the post. May I suggest M F Hussain? Or Why not try ex-candidate for UN Sec General of Congress-I? Or even Ambika Soni!! What about T R Baalu?
At any rate India will be supporting this Moron for this post anyways.