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Last update - 09:31 10/10/2008 It's no longer the Jews By Avirama Golan Tags: Jews, Europe, Israel News  Two events were supposed to jog Europe's memory this year. The first took place in Italy, where the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that it is possible to discriminate against gypsies "on the basis of the assumption that they are thieves." The second resulted from Austria's parliamentary elections, in which the extreme right doubled its representation. As if the world had never known fascism, the Italian judges approved Interior Minister Roberto Maroni's new regulation, according to which fingerprints must be taken from every gypsy, including children; the judges also canceled the conviction of six people who had attacked gypsies in Verona. And as if Austria had not collaborated with the Nazis, the leader of the racist right, Jorg Haider, won sweeping support in the elections. In this current nasty round, the wave of racism and hatred that has brought in the extreme right's leaders in Europe is not directed at the Jews. True, traditional anti-Semitism continues to exist, but it is marginal and not considered fashionable. However, the very same murky excuses that used to explain it now nurture a new kind of xenophobia. The politically correct definition of the new targets of hate is "work migrants." This refers to migrants to countries where a colonial past, globalization or nearby ethnic conflicts have turned them against their will into countries of immigration. Advertisement The migrants can be divided into four main categories: immigrants from areas that had previously been conquered (India, Pakistan, North Africa and black Africa); legal workers who emigrate for limited periods; migrants with families who hope to become absorbed as citizens, most of them for economic reasons (e.g. Finns in Sweden, Ukrainians in Italy); and refugees from Europe's wars and political changes (e.g. Serbs, Bosnians and Albanians). No country in Europe keeps an exact list of migrants, and only some of them deal with the phenomenon with courage and honesty. According to various estimates, there are around 1.5 million migrants in Germany today (but some 3 million Muslims who immigrated there in the past 40 years). The number in France is similar, with one estimate saying there are around 5 million Muslims there, most of them veteran immigrants who hold French passports. This is also true of Belgium. Spain reports immigration of some 30,000 people in each of the past five years, while Italy declared a state of emergency this year because of "the stream of illegal foreign workers." In Britain and the Netherlands there are reports that the number of residents "of non-European origin" is similar to that in Germany, Sweden and France; that is, about 7 percent of the population. In other countries like Greece and Switzerland the number of migrants has reached hundreds of thousands. Europe is having difficulty admitting that despite the problems caused by migration, migrants have breathed new life into societies that had begun to stagnate. Ever since the strong economic growth and baby boom of the 1950s and 1960s - two phenomena that followed the losses and destruction of World War II - there has been a dramatic change in Europe. It has lagged far behind the New World in technological development, and has maintained the close political ties to an agriculture that is outdated and expensive. At the same time, the rise in life expectancy and the changes in the way family life is perceived have put the population's natural increase at nearly zero; in certain countries there is even a negative trend. If the migrants are not taken into account, the number of people in Europe of working age is declining very fast. Who will provide the money for the good life that Europeans have grown used to? A few countries have already taken preventive steps, such as raising the retirement age, encouraging births - in Greece and Germany they grant a generous sum for the second and third child - and restraining and privatizing the welfare system. Others that understand that migrants are also an asset have moved to integrate tens of thousands of veteran illegal immigrants and have set up mechanisms at the community level that help them do so, notably in Rotterdam, Cologne and Antwerp. All these steps have not succeeded in erasing the fear and hatred that will apparently increase with the worsening economy. But not everywhere. In Sweden, where 7.5 percent of the population is not Swedish, including some half a million Finns and around 200,000 Muslims, and where one-third of schoolchildren are the children of migrants, there are free social services that help close the gap with veteran Swedes, a high minimum wage, and affirmative action. And while Europe is busy promoting legislation that will make it possible to expel and jail migrants, the Swedish government grants subsidies to people who employ them, and 18 of the 349 members of the Swedish parliament are themselves immigrants. The solution therefore lies at Europe's threshold, but despite some of its leaders' enlightened speeches, and despite the boldness of others like French President Nicholas Sarkozy, who appointed five immigrants to his cabinet, it is difficult to believe that the solution will be adopted. After all, it is much easier to hit out at the gypsies. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Produce problems Jordan Islamists protest imports of fruit grown on 'land taken by Zionists.' Payback time? America's opponents in the Mideast: Financial crisis is divine punishment.   1.   No, they are the target of left wing hate 11:10  |  Israeli citizen 10/10/08   2.   This article is objectionable 11:16  |  Jean-Paul DOGUET 10/10/08   3.   ANTI SEMATISM IS ALIVE AND WELL IN EUROPE 11:27  |  zionist forever 10/10/08   4.   Ex-fascists love Israel, hate gypsies. 11:51  |  Michael 10/10/08   5.   Left wing anti-semitism is much more widespread 12:38  |  SystemF 10/10/08   6.   This article is far more than objectionable 12:38  |  zmogus 10/10/08   7.   1/ israeli citizen 12:45  |  Anne 10/10/08   8.   A nice example how ideology determines facts 12:55  |  AA 10/10/08   9.   Dear author, sorry, I have a problem with this too: 13:17  |  zmogus 10/10/08   10.   Rectifying Golan`s article a bit 14:24  |  Alicia 10/10/08   11.   A.Golan`s blunder upon blunder 14:50  |  zmogus 10/10/08   12.   Leave for Antwerp now and see 14:57  |  In the know 10/10/08   13.   Roma ("Gypsies") 15:36  |  Ian Hancock 10/10/08   14.   There are 2 types of Neo-Nazi these days 17:31  |  sean 10/10/08   15.   A. Golan, sorry, it`s really desperate (2nd try) 18:05  |  zmogus 10/10/08   16.   A.Golan`s blunder upon blunder (2nd try) 18:06  |  zmogus 10/10/08   17.   How true 18:24  |  Danite 10/10/08   18.   Dear Euro Jews 18:26  |  Danite 10/10/08   19.   "Jews no longer target of Europe Right-wing hate" Avirama Golan 20:05  |  Akram Zekaria 10/10/08   20.   Danite #18 21:51  |  SystemF 10/10/08   21.   No more hard core right wing nowadays 21:58  |  Joelle 10/10/08   22.   #18 Danite: will you support us?? 22:11  |  Benjamina 10/10/08   23.   # 4 Michael - "and the paranoia that turns every minor crisis 22:17  |  17 10/10/08   24.   Danite and `notions of tribe` 23:36  |  european 10/10/08   25.   Right wing no! leftists and muslims, arabs YES!!! they are the en 00:39  |  ralph 11/10/08   26.   Benjamina 00:59  |  Danite 11/10/08   27.   European 01:01  |  Danite 11/10/08   28.   System F 01:03  |  Danite 11/10/08   29.   Jean Paul Doguet # 2 02:08  |  Philippe 11/10/08   30.   To #9 07:13  |  Gordon 11/10/08   31.   To #8 07:18  |  Gordon 11/10/08   32.   To Danite 07:23  |  Gordon 11/10/08   33.   Danite 07:48  |  Benjamina 11/10/08   34.   An appallingly ignorant article 08:00  |  Clothilde 11/10/08   35.   gas chambers 09:24  |  ron 11/10/08   36.   muslims in sweden 09:35  |  sweetheart 11/10/08   37.   # 34 to clothilde re: "religious affiliation" 10:25  |  eric 11/10/08   38.   fritz t. 10:58  |  Gypsies as thieves 11/10/08   39.   #36 to eric - are you thinking of somebody else ? 11:34  |  Clothilde 11/10/08   40.   Berlusconi methods are repugnant 11:38  |  Clothilde 11/10/08   41.   Perhaps not in Europe 12:37  |  Mark Lincoln 11/10/08   42.   I believe that Gypsies & 3-rd world foreigners have a legitimate 12:49  |  a Pol. Corr.Italian 11/10/08   43.   Lol 13:21  |  Flying Carpet 11/10/08   44.   Not so simple 13:33  |  Nick 11/10/08   45.   Europe and his "low-intesity" Anti-Semitism (1) 13:43  |  Daniel (Switzerland) 11/10/08   46.   The problem of the immigration waves (2) 13:51  |  daniel (Switzerland) 11/10/08   47.   #27 Danite 14:13  |  european 11/10/08   48.   There is nothing new about prejudice against Gypsies 14:59  |  Realist 11/10/08   49.   Gordon 16:01  |  Danite 11/10/08   50.   Benjamina 16:08  |  Danite 11/10/08   51.   European 16:11  |  Danite 11/10/08   52.   General note 16:13  |  Danite 11/10/08   53.   Mark Lincoln 16:14  |  Danite 11/10/08   54.   European National stereotype or national identification? 16:16  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 11/10/08   55.   Danite 18:32  |  european 11/10/08   56.   european (jew) 18:53  |  Sarah 11/10/08   57.   Sarah-only if 20:08  |  european 11/10/08   58.   Danite will never cease to surprise me 01:16  |  zmogus 12/10/08   59.   MICHAEL Israel dealt with S.Africa as did many others 09:13  |  PETER SM 12/10/08   60.   CORRECTION!! Its no longer mainly the Jewish minority. 09:22  |  PETER SM 12/10/08   61.   #30, Gordon. Mind a friendly lesson? 1. (2nd try) 10:17  |  zmogus 12/10/08   62.   #30, Gordon. Mind a friendly lesson? 2. (2nd try) 10:20  |  zmogus 12/10/08

Read & React Livni tells residents of Acre: Don't take law into your own hands Responses: 360 Three Jewish rioters hurt, Arab home set ablaze in latest Acre violence Responses: 180 Israel grants rare entry to cancer-stricken Iranian boy Responses: 121 Mideast Muslims hail U.S. financial crisis as divine punishment Responses: 130 Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider dies in car crash Responses: 84 More Headlines 10:35 Opening of T.A. exchange on hold 45 minutes as Maof index plunges 9% 08:41 Three Jewish rioters hurt, Arab home set ablaze in latest Acre violence 10:23 Gideon Levy / Acre Jews warn 'The Arabs will kill you with knives' 08:43 IN DEPTH / The 24 hours that could have saved Gilad Shalit 03:34 ANALYSIS / Gilad Shalit is still in captivity - who is to blame? 09:13 Ultra-Orthodox wig shop unveils 'Sarah Palin Wig' based on Alaska governor's famous locks 09:43 ANALYSIS / Will Haider's death pave way to unified far-right in Austria? 21:14 Mideast Muslims: U.S. financial crisis is divine punishment 03:22 Bank of Israel, treasury may intervene in markets 08:27 For U.S. Jewish groups, crisis means less in donations, more needy 02:34 Fake report about Lehman Brothers moving $400 billion to Israel gets broad circulation 03:15 How many Israelis will lose their jobs due to financial crisis? 06:44 Kadima, Labor make 'significant progress' in coalition talks Previous Editions Select Day 10 oct 09 oct 08 oct 07 oct 06 oct 05 oct 03 oct 02 oct 01 oct 30 sep 29 sep 28 sep

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