Lê-se mas não se acredita

Leio no Haaretz que o ministro dos negócios estrangeiros francês cometeu uma monumental gaffe na sua visita a Israel:

The French satirical magazine Le Canard Enchaine reported in its September 14th issue that during the visit of French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy to the new Holocaust museum in Jerusalem's Yad Vashem on September 8, he asked - while perusing maps of European sites where Jewish communities had been destroyed - whether British Jews were not also murdered. Needless to say, Douste-Blazy's question was met by his hosts with amazement. "But Monsieur le minister," Le Canard quoted the ensuing conversation, "England was never conquered by the Nazis during World War II."

The minister apparently was not content with this answer, which, according to the magazine, was given by the museum curator, and persisted, asking: "Yes, but were there no Jews who were deported from England?"

Como a notícia partia do Le Canard Enchaîné a minha primeira reacção foi de um certo cepticismo, pois é difícil de acreditar. Mas o Haaretz investigou e garante que a história de passou exactamente assim.

Se a história for verdadeira, tenho a impressão que a Velha Europa tem que deixar de gozar com a suposta ignorância dos americanos.