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No less dangerous than anti-Semitism
By Yair Sheleg
Tags: Europe, Anti-Semitism

Of all the Western countries, it is those in Europe - and European public opinion even more so than those countries' leaders - that are the most critical of Israel's policies in the territories. Opinion polls conducted in Europe repeatedly point to Israel as one of the greatest dangers to world peace, and one of the greatest violators of human rights. In a survey of this kind carried out in July 2007, some 45% of Europeans compared Israel's policies in the territories to those of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Parallel to this, European countries have been prominent in the past decade in marking the Holocaust. They have dealt extensively with their own roles during the period of extermination and expressed regret over collaboration during the time of the extermination, or over the looting of Jewish property after that.

This duality is so obvious that there are many Jews and Israelis who try to claim that the commemoration and the criticism are two sides of the same coin which tries to relieve Europe of the heavy cloak of guilt that covers it. On the one hand Europe admits to its past and asks for forgiveness, and on the other hand it attacks the Jewish state and in this way creates some kind of "moral balance" between it and that Europe, as if to say 'when you have the power it turns out that you are no better'. Many others regard the excessive criticism of Israel as some sort of anti-Semitism.
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But one fact spoils this theory: Israel is not alone in facing the arrows of European criticism, but rather stands alongside the United States. Uncle Sam is also constantly attacked by European public opinion for having aggressive policies; the clearest example of the past few years being, of course, the American invasion and control of Iraq.

And indeed there is a common denominator to the European criticism of Israel and the U.S., and this common denominator apparently also stems from the lessons of that war. It is the phenomenon of European pacifism, the desire to avoid the use of any kind of force, to avoid any forceful confrontation even with evil regimes.

This instinct is particularly salient when talking about a confrontation of a Western country with a society from the developing world, such as the confrontation between the U.S. and Iraq or between Israel and the Palestinians.

That is because another European instinct then comes into play, one that also belongs to the history of their colonialist heritage. This instinct guides the Europeans to identify any conflict between the West and the developing world as a colonialist conflict in which one must identify with the underdog, the one who seems to be weak. In that context, Israel is indeed discriminated against by the criticism leveled at it; not necessarily because it is a Jewish state, but rather mainly because it is a Western state.

That is to say, the European sin is not anti-Semitism but rather pacifism, especially when dealing with the Europeans' attitude toward force on the part of a Western country. But this is not a sin that is any less dangerous than anti-Semitism. It was precisely the Holocaust that proved how dangerous silent acceptance was, even if accompanied with the most lofty excuses of preventing war and bringing "peace in our time" in the face of the forces of evil threatening openly to gain control, ruin and destroy - such are also the forces of fundamentalist Islam of our day.

World War II also proved that at the end of the day, this kind of policy is not effective - it merely raises to a great extent the price that will have to be paid in order to deal with the forces of evil when they grow even stronger. With the means of mass destruction existing today, who knows if it will not be too late.

In this sense, there is apparently a deep connection between the Europeans' pacifism and the low birth rates on the continent; both of them indicate a policy of "eat and make merry because tomorrow we may die;" a deep lack of trust in life in the long run because the wish to live - which is not merely that of an individual but rather of the civilization in which he lives - does indeed demand victims.

It requires the effort that is involved in raising children as well as the effort and the risk involved with waging a war on behalf of the values of freedom or on behalf of a national and sovereign existence so that these may be ensured for generations to come. This is true in Europe just as it is true in Israel.
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  1.   Israel needs to ignore the BBS` loaded polls 09:33  |  Denise Thompson 30/04/08
  2.   Initially, Hitler did not want to eradicate the Jews 09:44  |  Denise Thompson 30/04/08
  3.   The Europeans were spot on 09:55  |  Natallie Durson 30/04/08
  4.   Comedy 10:04  |  KJWalsh 30/04/08
  5.   Israel is obviously the greatest violators of human rights & ... 10:10  |  Roxana from IRAN 30/04/08
  6.   Here we go again...the great silencer card 10:11  |  Palestinian in UK 30/04/08
  7.   Lessons of the Holocaust 10:13  |  Martin Miller 30/04/08
  8.   Let us include Zionism in this category 10:32  |  El-Birawi 30/04/08
  9.   #5 Roxana from the mullahs` country 10:46  |  Sarah 30/04/08
  10.   palestinian in uk 10:47  |  yair 30/04/08
  11.   Excellent article 10:49  |  Sarah 30/04/08
  12.   Roxana, Eh Kalak, You`ve Been Weaned On Your Lying, Regime ... 10:50  |  Lavi 30/04/08
  13.   pal in uk "israel is the greatest danger in the world" 10:53  |  yair 30/04/08
  14.   Hindsight gives everyone perfect vision 10:55  |  Clickfool 30/04/08
  15.   uk pal "morally repugnant" 10:56  |  yair 30/04/08
  16.   uk pal let the palestinians within israel vote 11:00  |  yair 30/04/08
  17.   uk pal israel has offered palestinian towns and villages 11:03  |  yair 30/04/08
  18.   PAL in UK.do not get too smug or too comfortable 11:05  |  PETER SM 30/04/08
  19.   Israel?s ?forces of evil? 11:20  |  Ken 30/04/08
  20.   Why many Europeans have a problem with Israel and the U.S (1).... 11:25  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/04/08
  21.   Jewish, Christian and Muslim Fundementalism are dangerous 11:36  |  El-Birawi 30/04/08
  22.   All Eurpoeans are NOT the same! 11:41  |  Sarah 30/04/08
  23.   uk pal and "morally repugnant" israel 11:43  |  yair 30/04/08
  24.   Pacifism equals antiSemitism! 11:45  |  Vinegar Hill 30/04/08
  25.   swiss dino it was your parents .do you disown them 11:48  |  nominarets 30/04/08
  26.   swiss dino who is europe to ajudicate our "deal" 11:56  |  nominarets 30/04/08
  27.   Why many Europeans have a problem with Israel and the U.S (2).... 11:57  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/04/08
  28.   swiss dino "we had nothing to do with it" 11:58  |  nominarets 30/04/08
  29.   swiss dino the body language of european leaders 12:03  |  nominarets 30/04/08
  30.   The European Truthfulness, so Great? 12:05  |  The Archives 30/04/08
  31.   # 25 nominaretes 12:08  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/04/08
  32.   Regarding backroom deals an Europe 12:31  |  Denise Thompson 30/04/08
  33.   PETER SM do not get smug or comfortable 12:35  |  Warren J 30/04/08
  34.   YES... BUT DON`T FORGET THE HOLOCAUST AGAINST PALESTINIANS 12:36  |  TripleJump 30/04/08
  35.   ROXANNE Arabs weere killing Jews in Palestine before Hitler came 12:48  |  PETER SM 30/04/08
  36.   #34 has aayone reported on this lunatics mental health 13:13  |  v hardman 30/04/08
  37.   Repugnant Israeli behaviour 13:14  |  Palestinian in UK 30/04/08
  38.   TRIPLEJUMP OBVIOUISLY YOU DO NOT KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD. 13:14  |  PETER SM 30/04/08
  39.   warren 13:15  |  30/04/08
  40.   swiss dino you opened the subject 13:20  |  nominarets 30/04/08
  41.   WARREN J. Extreme irony 13:21  |  PETER SM 30/04/08
  42.   Clickfool 13:23  |  Sarah 30/04/08
  43.   triple jump you have no education to speak of 13:23  |  salah a din 30/04/08
  44.   Denise Thompson-#32 If you followed a good news provider 13:37  |  examiner 30/04/08
  45.   Tripple Stupid at it again #34 13:41  |  Hastaroth 30/04/08
  46.   Anti-semitism and Islamic fundamentalism 13:48  |  Said 30/04/08
  47.   #31 Swiss Dinjosaur,just one question 13:48  |  Hastaroth 30/04/08
  48.   Roxana #5 13:50  |  Raad 30/04/08
  49.   IF NOT BECAUSE OF MUSLIMS PROTECTION 13:50  |  indrajaya 30/04/08
  50.   For Vinegar Hill # 24 13:58  |  Clickfool 30/04/08
  51.   PAL IN UK.Repugnant Pal behaviour,targetting Israeli civillians 14:06  |  PETER SM 30/04/08
  52.   uk pal avoids a showdown 14:34  |  yair 30/04/08
  53.   uk pal "stench of israel`s hypocrisy" 14:36  |  yair 30/04/08
  54.   pal in uk "whine about antisemitism" 14:38  |  yair 30/04/08
  55.   uk pal "israeli atrocities" 14:41  |  yair 30/04/08
  56.   uk pal "starving the palestinians" 14:49  |  yair 30/04/08
  57.   uk pal "israeli discrimination against israeli pals" 14:52  |  yair 30/04/08
  58.   # 40 nominarets 14:52  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/04/08
  59.   uk pal too many adjectives and too liberally used 14:54  |  yair 30/04/08
  60.   Old news 14:58  |  W 30/04/08
  61.   # 47 Hastaroth 14:58  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/04/08
  62.   Dera hastaroth 15:05  |  North American 30/04/08
  63.   swiss dino splits hairs. 15:09  |  nominarets 30/04/08
  64.   May be Roxana (5) got perfect teeth and may be 15:24  |  Karl 30/04/08
  65.   # 5 Roxana...well, I must congratulate you 15:28  |  Lynn 30/04/08
  66.   US must remain in Iraq and in Afghanistan 15:29  |  Mawloud Ould Daddah 30/04/08
  67.   Swiss....so, why is it so many of your countrymen 15:34  |  Lynn 30/04/08
  68.   Zionist racists calling the kettle black 15:40  |  Chanalau, Tova 30/04/08
  69.   UK Palestinian...nothing is more repugnant 15:42  |  Lynn 30/04/08
  70.   # 34 tripplejump....there is no Palestinian Holocaust 15:46  |  Lynn 30/04/08
  71.   A documentary worth watc