TV Host Refuses to Back Down After Calling Israel a “Cancer”
October 28, 2012 16:55 by Simon PloskerOn Tuesday 23 October, Irish broadcaster Vincent Browne referred to Israel as a “cancer” during his live show on TV3 channel’s Tonight With Vincent Brown.
In a discussion on the recent televised US presidential foreign policy debate between Republican challenger Mitt Romney and Democrat President Barack Obama, Browne lamented that Israel had barely been mentioned, stating:
Israel is the cancer in foreign affairs. It polarizes the Islamic community of the world against the rest of the world.
Unless you deal with the problem of Israel and the Palestinians in that part of the world, there’s going to be conflict and disharmony. It’s a massive injustice — they stole the land from the Arabs.
According to the Irish Independent:
Mr Browne admitted that his choice of language could have been better but insisted that the criticism was justified.
“What I resent is the suggestion that because you’re critical of Israel, you’re automatically anti-Semitic. I don’t think that’s acceptable,” he said.
Mr Browne refused to apologise for his remarks, saying that Israel was founded in 1948 by taking land from the Arabs.
He said it was “blackmail” to try to brand everyone who was critical of Israel as anti-Semitic. “I don’t think I differ too much from Irish or European foreign policy,” he said.
That Browne’s first response was to deny that he is an anti-Semite speaks volumes. Browne’s defense is often employed by some of Israel’s harshest critics who attempt to claim that supporters of Israel are smearing them as anti-Semites in a backhanded effort to silence them.
For while his comments were described as anti-Semitic, Browne himself has not been accused of being an anti-Semite. Instead, Browne cannot even bring himself to apologize, preferring to dismiss criticism as illegitimate.
The Jewish Chronicle reports:
Defending his remarks, Mr Browne said that by calling Israel a cancer “I didn’t mean it should be eliminated. It was an infelicitous use of the word.
“The reality is the Israeli state was founded by confiscation of land previously occupied by Arabs. That injustice is at the centre of the conflict.”
Vincent Browne evidently does not understand the difference between legitimate criticism of Israeli policy and his outrageous statements meant to demonize an entire country. It is doubtful that Browne would have referred to any other country as a “cancer” – a term used by anti-Semites aimed at Jews and Israel.
Indeed, Browne should have realized just how far beyond the pale he has gone when one considers that the most vocal proponent of such disgusting language is Iranian President Ahmadinejad who, in a diatribe last August, stated:
The Zionist regime and the Zionists are a cancerous tumour. Even if one cell of them is left in one inch of (Palestinian) land, in the future this story (of Israel’s existence) will repeat.
Israel’s deputy ambassador to Ireland Nurit Tinari-Modai said: “We today received phone calls and emails from outraged Irish people who intend to complain about Mr. Brown’s ongoing hateful comments towards the Jewish people and the Jewish state.”
According to the Irish Independent, however, a TV3 spokeswoman said she was not aware of any complaints being made about Mr Browne’s remarks.
Let’s see if we can change that. Send your considered comments to TV3 and demand an apology and the right of reply for a pro-Israel guest on Vincent Browne’s show - complaints@tv3.ie
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Jon
1:54 am
Oct 30, 2012
What is needed to counter statements like Browne’s is not just what the author writes, but an actual counter to his main claim that Jews were given lands that were taken away from Arabs. After all, if we cannot defend this statement, then looking back thousands of years or even a couple centuries will not help our cause. And calling people anti-semites and comparing them to Ahmadinejad won’t hepl either. Taking land from Native Americans is not in the collective minds of people these days, but a country only 64 years old is. So how do we go about convincing the world that the British Mandate allowed the world to split up the land? Suggestions welcome.Remember, we’re trying to convince others
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rosenhek esther
9:48 am
Oct 30, 2012
As for his claim that Israel “robbed” Arab land;
I’m not a Historian and I’m not religious but I do know that there have been Jews living in Israel for thousands of years, continuously, even at a time when there weren’t any Arabs in this world!!
The Palestinians were offered 98% of Judea and Samaria but they refused the offer and instead opened war (intifada) against Israel.
Israel withdrew from Gaza and instead of peace we’ve got a rain of bombs, falling almost daily over our heads!
If you look closely at the symbols of various Palestinian organizations, the Palestinian map is the whole state of Israel, including Tel Aviv, Haifa, etc…, which means that when they say “occupied territories”,
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rosenhek esther
9:49 am
Oct 30, 2012
they mean the whole State of Israel!!
We must ask the accusers who blame Israel for the conflict a few questions: Do they accept the existence of Israel as a State? (Otherwise there’s nothing to discuss!)
Does Israel have the right to defend itself? Do the Palestinians want peace with Israel or do they want Israel?
I, personally, would give the Palestinians everything: Gaza, Judea, Samaria and even Jerusalem, (even my own house!!!) if I thought we would have everlasting peace in the little remaining piece of land called Israel! And this is the BIG problem!! Again and again the Arabs have proven that there will NEVER be peace while we are here! Where should we go to? Where else could we live
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rosenhek esther
9:50 am
Oct 30, 2012
securely? (Not that we have security with all those bombs but at least, here in Israel, I can walk on the streets, as a Jew, without being spat upon and blamed for all the calamities in this world.)
As Golda Meyer once said: “We will only have peace with the Arabs (now Palestinians) when they love their children more than they hate us.”
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big jack
4:20 am
Oct 30, 2012
The man hasn’t a clue to history. Like most journalists these days , they want to write op-ed pieces.
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Leon
11:27 am
Oct 30, 2012
La France, l’Angleterre, l’Espagne, le Portugal, l’Allemagne, et d’autres encore ont régné sur des empires. Les juifs n’ont jamais revendiqué d’autre terre que la leur, Israël.
Vincent “Lebrun” prétend ne pas être antisémite. Alors pourquoi use-t-il du même langage et des mêmes arguments ? Le cancer renvoie à Ahmadinedjad, et le terme de voleurs à la rhétorique antisémite classique.
Ce journaliste ne peut prétendre informer tellement il ignore l’histoire. Faire de l’information c’est avant tout exposer des faits et non des opinions personnelles, encore moins répandre sa haine.
Quelqu’un peut-il me traduire ?
Please let somme one translate this in good english. Thanks.
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Steven kruh
3:25 pm
Oct 30, 2012
He said Israel was a cancer and created illegitimately. But, he didn’t say Israel should be eliminated. So, to embrace (at least tolerate) the Jews is to embrace (at least tolerate) cancer. And he’s not antisemitic, just anti Israel. And deligitimation of Israel legitimate and to attack it is illegitimate–in fact that it reinforces the legitimacy of the original criticism because it reveals the totalitarian or controlling/conspiring nature of Zionists. Such is the Tautology of Idiots (which is a pleonasm or redundancy). Such is the nature of antisemitism…and of leftism in general. To impede “progress” is to be a cancer.
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emes
4:10 pm
Oct 30, 2012
Everyone tells the Jews to “go home” – we went home and they tell us we stole the place! No, we had to purchase our own land back – every Jewish home around the world had a “blue-box” and that money paid for the dust bowl left by the arab squatters for the former 2000 years while we were incarcerated – we paid heavily, more per acre of descimated land than the finest soil in the US. We have paid heavily also in Jewish lives to maintain and secure a now flourishing country so of course the arabs want it. – They did nothing with it while they inhabited the place and if they had it again, it would return the the shit pile which they left it. Mr Brown by name and nature!
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Mr. Light-Bright
6:25 pm
Oct 30, 2012
The “islamic world” has never been peaceful – GO LIVE THERE, and in-fact don’t shy away from a Christian church on Christmas in Nigeria. Go get yourself blown up. Oh and If you want to die even quicker, just bring a shirt stating “I am part Jew,” and see how many seconds you live in a islamic dominated country.
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m
8:04 pm
Oct 30, 2012
Mr Light-Bright
“The “islamic world” has never been peaceful – GO LIVE THERE”
The trouble is, islam is a fascist hate filled ideology. It is a misogynistic death cult of fear and subjugation, hatred and violence. Where the hell do they get this “peaceful” bullshit from?!?! Where is the peace? Or dot hey mean “piece” as in a piece of you here and apiece of you there?
On the bright side (no pun intended), islam will never win even though the goal is to dominate the planet. You see, islam hates everything and everyone INCLUDING each other. That keeps them weak and divided. It is only the leftists like Browne that pander with political correctness to the death cult, thereby enabling it.
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Mr. Nielsen
10:17 pm
Oct 30, 2012
Ireland itself is a cancer!
The real symbol of the cancer, eating up all ambitions of a rich and prosperous EU is Ireland. Passing on the blame for your own incompetence to the Jews is a well known European exercise – what more is there to say?
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suzette ross
11:32 pm
Oct 30, 2012
Mr Browne……don’t you know anything….please learn your history before thinking you have the right to have an opinion such as yours…..and regardless of the history…it is the ONLY democracy in the Middle East…so if you go attacking anyone don’t you think Israel would be on the bottom of the list, not on the top.
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emes
12:25 am
Oct 31, 2012
How many empires around this world, all through history have there been, Mr Browne? How many empires around this world, all through history have been lost and forgotten Mr Browne and which body of people has been around to see them all off, Mr Browne? How dare you come up with your small-minded, ignorant assumptions and for what? for the matter of daring to go against a mass of people who have indoctrinated the world into believing that their oil will condone the wars and sick-minded beliefs which is fast becoming a total eclipse of our planet and which is the dark side of humanity, yet you have the affrontery to call Israel a cancer? Worry that such statements don’t come home to roost!
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Ed Frias
2:38 pm
Oct 31, 2012
Vincent Browne needs to learn history.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/747#.UJEbV8XAedI
The Myth Of The Palestinian People
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Ed Frias
2:51 pm
Oct 31, 2012
First the Arabs are all colonialists from Saudi Arabia. Every country besides Saudi Arabia was never Arab before the 7th century. Mohammad’s army invaded and colonialized the entire Mideast and North Africa in Mohammad’s invasion.
2nd, Israel existed 15 centuries before Mohammad was born. Mohammad also ethnic cleansed all the Jews from Saudi Arabia.
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Ed Frias
2:52 pm
Oct 31, 2012
Arabs already have 22 countries, 1 in Palestine (80% of the region), the judenrein autocratic kingdom of Jordan, given by England to one family from Saudi Arabia. They also control
judenrein Gaza and most of Judea and Samaria, given to Egyptian terrorist Arafat
and his PLO. Fatah also wants a country free of Jews and to flood Israel with millions of violent Arabs. Fatah also has a death penalty to any Arab who sells land to a Jew.
Israel doesn’t need another Arab terrorist country on its doorstep.
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Ray Hampton
3:36 pm
Oct 31, 2012
It is indeed an interesting point as some it would seem suggest that Mr Browne has a lapsed memory. Considering his own land which is still not completely free and at the millions of Irish who have over the centuries been enslaved, tortured, raped, abused and murdered and he being a supporter of the IRA and the hunger strikers would it would seem have a clearer view of oppression. He had written much about the IRA in the early to mid-1970s – while accepting that Browne had himself had never been involved in subversion or crime.)
He is not as some suggest ignorant, stupid or indeed vague but he is cold, calculating and dangerous and should be bought to book for this calculated statement.
Note, one will not see or hear him calling the British a Cancer (Not in public) and indeed in his own land the members of his own party ‘The Fine Gael’ that rejected him because of his loud mouth and hot headed approach to issues and his ingrained stubbornness. Where he is as unloved it would seem as he is so obviously here on this site.
My suggestion would be that there is no plausable reason whe he would have a mere political interst. He is not blind to opression and not so to the aggression of the Arab states and he certaily is not stupid. He has a phenomenal grasp of history and there is little that he will not speak loudly about if it is to his personal advantage.
Having read a little about him, it would seem obvious by his politics, his education and his religion – That these elements combined would and do say it all
They would lead us to two conclusions (1) He has a personal vendetta against Jewish people (2) He is indeed as suggested, Anti-Semetic.
He would need to be brought to book for this outrageous statement, we must remember that Ken Livingstone (UK) another Anti-Semite got away with it.. Mr Browne should not..
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Israel and the Palestinians | SGLBT.nl
1:06 am
Nov 01, 2012
[...] Irish Independent columnist Kevin Myers weighs in on Vincent Browne, who refuses to back down after calling Israel a “cancer.”To stigmatise an entire nation as a “cancer” is to declare that it has no redeeming features, [...]
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martin
1:56 pm
Nov 01, 2012
To the editor; sir, I am unable to find your email address on this site, so I am unable to forward you my complaint and reply received, Therefore, I will write it out for you.
I have contacted you before, but never receive a reply. And I do appreciate that you are probably very busy. So here’s one first to the wider audience. How do I read the previous page(s) please? I have also asked whether you can show the number of rockets/missiles/mortars falling om Israel one your home page. This is shown on the Finnish bolg Tundra Tablois. Many of your followersa are, I am sure, unaware at the whole tally, which is just under 16.000 since 2001.
I have that off my chest, here is copy following
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m
7:12 pm
Nov 01, 2012
Martin, I am not the editor, but if you are trying to see older comments you can.
Scroll down tot he bottom of the page, just above where it says
“Leave a Reply”
There you will see a link “Older Comments”.
Hope that helps.
If you are trying to contact Honest Reporting, try honestreporting.com
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martin
2:02 pm
Nov 01, 2012
To complaints@tv3.ie
This is a disgraceful attitude. Browne is right about Europe though. After all, money with the arabs counts for much and it only echoes the speeches by the mad dog Iranian leader. He too, called Israel a cancer and threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.
Hatred of thejEws is a real european/Christian/Islamic problem. Never mind, as Ireland frops further down, much like most of europe, the east is rising along with the sun.
Reply;
Thank you for your complaint.
We have investigated this matter and have brought your concerns to the attention of Vincent Browne. We would note that in response to complaints Vincent Browne clarified the remarks he made Cont.
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martin
2:08 pm
Nov 01, 2012
Cont’d
regarding Israel at the beginning of Thursday night’s episode of Vincent Browne.
We have also agfreed to arrange for an appropriate representative of Israel to join Vincent Browne on his propgramme in the coming weeks to discuss the recent remarks mnade by Mr Browne.
We regaret any offence caused to viewers of the programme
Kind regards Tech Dept TV3
This is not good enough and I will send a further response that Browne should keep his mouth shut and allow the representative (hopefully not one of peace now) to offer some historical facts and what is happening today. This kind of programme is what is driving to Jews being assaulted and insulted.
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emes
12:32 am
Nov 02, 2012
Well Mr Browne, everyone fears the word ‘cancer’ and even more, the words ‘secondary cancers.’ Why do I mention this? because it seems Ireland has again fallen into this category with the death of a policeman Mr David Black, a family man shot by ignorant and vindictive personnel with hardly a difference of opinion other than a belief; a belief practically the same as the opposition. So, Mr Brown with an e, you should not be so free to point a finger when your own roots can fall into much the same situation as that which you sneer and deplore!
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martin
1:48 am
Nov 02, 2012
Thank you m, it helped. although, I cannot see the whole download on this particular subject. It must be due to my age.
I sent a followup to tv3 rewally put the boot in and stated their objective will fail to rectrify the situation .Browne is unfit for purpose due to his hatred for Israel and prejudice. An ambassador is needed to represdent israel and fgive the facts of history and a breakdown of what is happening currently.
I suggested that the people of cork would nor happy, nor accept the situation of the peopel of Galway shooting nearly 16000 missiles against them since 2001 and still continuing today.
I let it be known that the whole scenario was disgraceful and lacked dignity
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m
3:24 am
Nov 02, 2012
No need to thank me.
BTW, my wife’s paternal ancestors were from Cork.
They left the old country long ago of course, but her dad has traced their roots all the way back to the 10th century in Cork!! Amazing eh?
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martin
12:54 pm
Nov 02, 2012
m, a coincidence. My best friend for many years was an Irish Catholic from Navan, Friends used to talk of the Kelly and the Cohen (my surname)
In fact, while I worked in Canada, his father and 2 brothers stayed at my apartment while visiting Paddy. Both brothers were priests and we many an interesting conversation. All the more reason why I was so annoyed at Browne’s hateful ignorance towards Israel and no doubt, the Jewish people. I never did take up the long standing invite to visit the family, Just I always wanted wanted to holiday in the sunshine without fear of rain all the time. Guess, I reland never did match that picture.
Certainly TV3 needs to look hard at Browne now
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m
4:40 pm
Nov 02, 2012
Actually, we ARE Canadians
My ancestors came from Austria and Ukraine (we think). That was back in the 1800s. My wife’s family has been here way longer.
Are you Jewish/Irish? Ashkenazi?
Ikh farshteyn a bisl Yiddish ober ken nisht red gut
I’m trying to learn more. S’iz a fargenign tsu hern.
Did you know that at one time there was a language spoken in Scotland that was a hybrid of Broad Scotts and Yiddish. I kid you not. It was used to keep the English in the dark … LOL.
Gei in gezunterheyt …
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