Europe's Problem with Israel

This article first appeared in New English Review. 

Spain has just announced it is recalling its ambassador to Israel back home for consultations. This is reportedly in response to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, referring to the Spanish government as "anti-Semitic" and "corrupt".  In addition, Israel has banned entry to two Spanish cabinet members. All this comes in the middle of a diplomatic crisis between the two countries due to the fighting in Gaza. Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, has called it a "genocide" (against the Palestinians) while announcing sanctions against Israel. Not surprisingly, Hamas has greeted the Spanish actions with great approval.

This, of course, follows the actions of France and Britain in calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state. More recently, Belgium has jumped on the bandwagon with its own plans to recognize "the State of Palestine". It matters little to them that a nation called Palestine has never existed. They might as well recognize the lost city of Atlantis as a state.

My reaction is that these countries should worry about their own problems, which include riotous mobs taking to the streets with their Palestinian flags in support of the terrorist organization of Hamas. And that is just part of the problem. All of these countries, as well as others in Europe, are dealing with millions of so-called asylum-seekers, refugees, and illegal migrants who are wreaking havoc on the streets of their cities, committing violent crimes, such as robberies, rapes, and murders. And then there is the problem of terror attacks by young Muslim men, the attacks against churches and synagogues, and the downright hunting down of Jews on the streets. The fact is that innocent people are dying every day in Europe from these attacks, both random and targeted. Rapes and bombings have now become commonplace. Returning to Spain, they are plagued by migrants storming their borders in Melilla and Ceuta by the hundreds at a time. The Spanish people are being victimized every day by these illegal migrants. Yet, their prime minister is focused on Israel.

So here we have Europe wringing its hands and worrying about "genocide" in Gaza. The word is inaccurate and springs from the lies that Hamas feeds to the all-too-receptive foreign press. If Israel intended to commit genocide against the Gazans, it would have been done within weeks of the barbaric attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

If Israel were committing genocide in Gaza, why are they allowing food convoys into Gaza, most of which have been hijacked by Hamas?

If Israel were committing genocide, why do they go to great lengths to prevent civilian casualties, even going so far as to alert people in buildings that they need to evacuate because the building is going to be bombed? And why are they striking these sites in the first place?  Because they are used by Hamas as military operations centers. The bloodthirsty terrorists of Hamas deliberately insert themselves within their own civilian population, knowing that if Israel strikes their location, they can show dead civilian bodies to the world. (Sometimes after being photographed by Hamas, these dead bodies get up and walk away.)

It seems that much of the world, after expressing the appropriate shock and condemnation of October 7, 2023, wasted no time in going back to the Palestinian side. In universities on both sides of the Atlantic, the pro-Hamas students and professors immediately began demonstrating against Israel even before Israel struck back.

Yes, October 7 is a distant memory.

My opinion is that these European countries are kowtowing to the restive pro-Hamas mobs on their streets. They are also afraid of all the other aforementioned newcomers who are prepared to go out and randomly kill people, heretofore for the sake of Allah, but now in the name of Palestine as well.

But what about Europe's Jews, who dare not walk the streets of the cities in Jewish garb? Don't they count? Indeed, every time a Jew is murdered in France, the president and interior minister rush to the microphones to condemn the latest horrendous act. Yet, what do they do to stop such killers from entering their country? What are they doing to remove these people? Not much. After all, Morocco, Tunisia, and other places, from where these killers come, often refuse to take them back. So what to do?  

As for the Jews, who are leaving Europe in droves, it seems they are not all that important as an "interest group". All they can do is ask the government for more protection. After all, they are not going to riot in the streets, burn cars, attack churches, attack cops, or bomb buildings to get what they want. They are not numerous enough to count in elections. In that vein, it was just a few years ago that in Malmö, Sweden, a place now notorious for immigrant crime and anti-Semitism, the then mayor, Ilmar Reepalu, told the city's Jews that if they felt persecuted because they supported Israel, they could leave. (I am paraphrasing). Many indeed left.

To be fair, our own country has its share of crazies and feckless politicians who share the same feelings as the feckless leaders in Madrid, Brussels, Paris, and London-not to mention other European capitals. But we do have a president and administration that is on Israel's side, regardless of what the European governments do. 

If European leaders think that by siding with Hamas, they are going to buy peace in their own countries, they are totally mistaken. They have a serious existential problem on their hands, one that will not be cured by throwing Israel under the bus.