Premier Zeman angered the EU this week by saying in Israel, in English, that Yasir Arafat can be compared to Adolf Hitler and that the Palestinians could be expelled from Israel the way the Germans were from post-war Czechoslovakia. Zeman claims he was misquoted and was victim of a misplaced period. Anyone who has heard him in person knows that, even in English, he is an extremely quick-witted and funny speaker. But he learned his English from a book and knows just enough to get himself into trouble. It's not unusual for him to answer a different question from the one asked, simply because his English listening skills are vastly inferior to his speaking skills. This might have played a role in Israel, but the media and diplomats showed little compassion because Zeman has such a long history of proudly making abusive comments.