Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is in Europe at a time of acute tension between the two sides. The construction of the West Bank barrier and Europe's perceived latent anti-Semitism are major discussion points.

Europe's foreign ministers demanded Tuesday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stop the construction of the West Bank barrier at a time when EU-Israeli relations are going through a rough period.

The statement followed a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels in which Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom took part. The ministers, who threw their support behind an Oct. 21 UN resolution condeming the barrier, said the two-state solution to the Intifada was now physically impossible because of the barrier.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in Rome for a two-day visit with close European ally Silvio Berlusconi, didn't respond to the declaration. The right-wing Israeli leader, speaking to Jewish leaders before his visit last week, said that foreign criticism of Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories stemmed from an anti-Semitism that denied Israel's "birthright to exist," according to wire services.

His office said Sharon hoped Berlusconi, who's country currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, will lobby for Israel.

"(Berlusconi) is a staunch fighter against anti-Semitism and therefore I think he will be open to our complaints and also to action that can be taken in Europe to stop this," government spokesman Raanan Gissin told Reuters.

Foreign Minister Shalom called on Monday for an EU minister's council that focuses specifically on rooting out and defeating anti-Semitism.

Heightened suspicion in recent weeks

The comments come at a time of acute tension in an Israeli-EU relationship that has never been completely harmonious.

A deep-seeded belief that Europe takes the Palestinians' side in the Middle East has often meant Sharon's government doesn't take the EU seriously as a negotiating partner. In addition, the ghost of anti-Semitism, which Europe has been trying unsuccessfully to shake off, has reared its ugly head in recent weeks.

An EU poll earlier this month showing that Europeans believe Israel is the greatest threat to world peace further heightened tensions. Embarassing comments by a German parliamentarian describing Jews as a "race of perpetrators" and a firebomb attack on a Jewish school in a Paris suburb over the weekend have weakened Europe's position that it is cracking down on anti-Semitism.

Anti-Israeli sentiment has lead to an imbalance in the way the EU handles the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said a government spokesman ahead of Sharon's visit.

"There needs to be a more balanced European policy to Israel if they want to play a more constructive role," Gissin said referring to Europe's interest in participating in the Middle East peace negotiations.

Israel will stop boycott of EU diplomat

EU officials view the Sharon government's Palestinian policy as heavy-handed, leading to the United Nations resolution condeming the construction of the West Bank barrier. Brussels is also miffed that Sharon has refused to meet EU envoy Marc Otte because the Belgian diplomat met with Yassir Arafat in September.

Diplomats on both sides said they are trying to smooth out the EU-Israel spat. Shalom said foreign ministry officials will meet with Otte and break the boycott. He said the EU is willing to change negative perceptions.

"Europeans are ready to go the distance to bring about a change in the tone of their politics," he said.

Germany hopes to save its scandal-plagued effort to host the Olympic Games in 2012 by appointing new members to the Olympic committee positions left vacant by disgraced departing members.
 
Interior Minister Otto Schily announced on Wednesday that highly respected political and business leaders would take charge of Leipzig's beleaguered effort to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. Key figures had resigned in disgrace or were forced out after a series of scandals came to light in October.
 
Peter Zühlsdorf, a former top manager at Wella haircare group, will take over the chairmanship of the committee overseeing Leipzig’s bid. Schily described Zühlsdorf as a “patriot of practice,” and suggested that -- unlike his predecessor -- he would neither be tempted to use the position for personal gain nor would questions about his past come back to haunt him -- or the Olympic bid.
 
The same criteria seems to have gone into the selection of the former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who will take over the position as chairman of the supervisory board. Businessman Arend Oetker will occupy another position on the supervisory board.
 
In addition, a report was released that clears Leipzig Mayor Wolfgang Tiefensee and Saxon Premier Georg Milbrant of any wrongdoing related to financial irregularities in the Olympic bid.
 
Having cleaned house, Interior Minister Schily said he hoped the committee can now get down to business. “We have drawn a line under everything that has happened,” he said.
 
Heads roll
 
'Everything' began in October.

Then, Dirk Thärichen, who had headed committee overseeing the bid and was considered close to Leipzig Mayor Tiefensee, resigned after it was revealed that he had had ties to the East German secret police, the Stasi.

Burkhard Jung, a supervisory board member, was forced out after allegations surfaced that he had taken illegal commission payments worth more than €150,000 ($171,400).

Tiefensee's state secretary, Wolfram Köhler, was forced to retire after he came under fire for allegedly paying his wife high commissions for helping to find financial sponsors while he was the mayor of the town of Riesa.
 
Rostock too, which would host the Olympic sailing competition if the bid is successful, has not been free of scandals either. Harald Lochotzke, the chairman of the city's Olympic marketing committee, also resigned over allegations of involvement with the Stasi and complicity in a number of financial irregularities.

Tough work ahead
 
Zühlsdorf and company will have their work cut out for them in order to revive a bid that was considered a long shot from the start. Though Leipzig seems to have come out of nowhere to secure the position as Germany’s official candidate to host the 2012 Olympics, it still needs to fend off tough competition from other cities, including Paris and New York.

Plus, after being forced to face its own demons over the bribery scandal in conjunction with Salt Lake City winning the 2002 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) may be reluctant to choose Leipzig.

German Olympic Committee head Walther Tröger though, said Leipzig's chances hadn't been diminished. "Heads rolling over Olympic bids is nothing extraordinary," he said.

The newly configured committee will meet again on December 10 to approve the city’s final proposal, which is due to the IOC on January 15.

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