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by Michael Wilner

At a conference at the UN on Thursday hosted by The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor warned that counter-terrorism efforts are not adequately addressing the fetal stage of terrorism: incitement of hate for Jews in shops, homes and schools across Arab lands.

“Terrorism does not begin with an attack on a bus or a raid on a village. That is how terrorism ends,” Prosor said. “True counter-terrorism means disrupting the ecosystem of extremism in which terror thrives.”

Prosor cited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated calls for the destruction of Israel as a prime example, on the international stage, of a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which makes it a crime to “directly and publicly incite” to commit genocide.

The words of incitement were roundly slammed by Jewish groups. B’nai B’rith International promptly called on Erdogan to apologize for the “inflammatory” remarks.

“Religious intolerance – anti- Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination – are all too real in too many parts of the world,” the UN spokesman added. “We must stand united in confronting these life-and-death threats…more.