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Sharon hits at critics as anti-Semitic 

November 13, 2003: (Reuters) Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said foreign criticism of Israel's use of force against Palestinians in a three-year-old uprising is motivated by a new form of anti-Semitism.

"Around the world, time and again, Israel is criticised for exercising its right of self-defence by using excessive force," Sharon, speaking in English, told visiting Canadian Jewish activists late yesterday.

Those who reject Israel's "right to use force to defend itself" also effectively deny its "birthright to exist" in its ancestral homeland, he added. 

"Regrettably, we see this phenomenon among many nations in the world community and I would say that this is a new form of anti-Semitism," Sharon said.

Israel says it uses force in Palestinian territories to defend itself against suicide bombers who have killed hundreds of Israelis since the uprising began in September 2000.

Sharon's remarks followed a recent European Union poll that found that a majority of EU citizens see Israel as the greatest threat to world peace. The survey caused an uproar in Israel. - Reuters