52% of Germans would support their country imposing a sea blockade on a threatening neighboring country, but only 30% support Israel�s right to do so.

These findings, in a YouGov poll commissioned by Brussels leading pro-Israel advocacy group Europe Israel Public Affairs/Press association (EIPA) reveal an apparent double standard when it comes to national security concerns.

The poll comes as another flotilla of European ships tried to challenge Israel�s naval blockade on Gaza, echoing previous attempts which saw Israeli soldiers stabbed and thrown overboard when they boarded the Mavi Marmara ship in 2010.

The poll also found that 44% of Germans oppose the Israeli blockade of Gaza, 17% strongly oppose it.

30% of Germans believe that humanitarian aid should be allowed into Gaza without inspection and supervision by Israel or any other monitoring body.

Only 13% support Israel�s right to monitor the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

But when Germans were asked the same questions regarding a hypothetical situation in which a neighboring country was taken over by a terrorist organization who began firing missiles on Berlin and other parts of Germany, 52% of those polled supported a naval blockade.

�It appears that Germans feel there is one rule for them and another for Israel when it comes to national security concerns. This is a bizarre discrepancy to say the least,� commented EIPA founder Rabbi Menachem Margolin.

�It is clear that there are significant gaps in what Germans perceive as their own moral and security rights compared to how they view Israel�s. We gave the German public a hypothetical situation which exactly mirrored what is happening in Israel today. Alarmingly they chose to unambiguously protect themselves whilst not affording Israel the same right,� Margolin said.

He stressed that �at EIPA we work vigorously to expose the European public to the realities of daily life for Israeli citizens within the context of the Israeli Palestinian conflict,� adding that �based on these findings, we need to do much more.�

The survey was carried out in the middle of June via a web panel of 1991 adults. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all German adults (aged 18+).

(YWN � Israel Desk, Jerusalem)