Ki-Moon on Israel (from UNIIC Press summary): "excerpts of Ban Ki Moon's interview with Yediot: Yediot: Ban Ki-moon concerned by smuggling of weapons between Lebanon and Syria: UN has not seen a secretary-general as sympathetic to Israel in 60 years. The United Nations has not seen a Secretary-General as sympathetic to Israel in 60 years, the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot said in the lead to a long interview with SG Ban Ki-moon, the Beirut daily Al-Akhbar reported today. According to Al-Akhbar, the Israeli paper revealed that the SG had given the Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, his personal mobile number "so that they can talk in the evenings or at the weekends." In the interview, which Yediot is due to publish in its weekend edition today, Ban, who hails from south Korea, said he was sympathetic to the Israelis and that he used to call the Koreans "the Jews of Asia." Ban said he is very sympathetic to Israel and its government and added that the UN did the right thing in canceling a resolution that characterized Zionism as racist. Yediot Aharonot said Ban had also informed Israel's Ambassador to the UN that he admired Israel's "excellent achievements" and that "South Korea, a small state, had been through many wars against a difficult enemy but had managed to achieve wonderful achievements," Al-Akhbar reported." (thanks Amal)