Zeman and the Jews

When Miloš Zeman spoke at the pro-Israel AIPAC conference in Washington last year, he declared that we must all now say, "I am a Jew," in the style of Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner." Zeman has always presented himself as a staunch supporter of Israel and the Jews. What has gone wrong of late? His biggest current disputes are with Jews. He closed his door to U.S. Amb. Andrew Schapiro, and Zeman's spokesman used a recent book to drill this in. Zeman's dispute with Terezie Kaslová led to a court ruling that her well-respected grandfather was anti-Semitic. Zeman's clash with Culture Min. Daniel Herman over a medal of honor for Jiří Brady split the government and caused thousands to turn out in protest on Old Town Square. Jan Kraus's talk show became a forum for calling for Zeman's impeachment. When Zeman visited his friend Vladimir Yakunin a month ago, instead of Shimon Peres's funeral, it was almost like saying, "I am no longer a Jew."