A Belgian Muslim official in charge of promoting tolerance apologizes for his vitriol against Israel, which he called a modern Nazi Germany and “an identical twin” of the Islamic State terrorist group.
Youssef Kobo, the adviser on diversity for the minister in charge of equal opportunity in the regional government of Brussels, made these assertions in 2014 on Facebook. He referenced the jihadist group in posting a caricature of Israel cutting the throat of the Gaza Strip, where Israel that year carried out strikes against the Hamas terrorist group. He said of a video of Israeli troops: “21st century Nazis.”
Contacted by the La Capitale daily following criticism against him by the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism, Kobo, who is 28, says he was “young and stupid” when he wrote the Facebook posts, which he now says he “regrets,” the daily reports Tuesday.
He says he was “very emotional” following the strikes in Gaza, which followed rocket fire by Hamas on Israel.
Kobo works for a minister in the government of one of the three autonomous regions that make up the federal kingdom of Belgium.
— JTA
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