Shameful Editorial in Gazet van Antwerpen: Israel and Netanyahu to Blame for Attack on Jewish Museum

Hat tip Joods Actueel


It was inevitable. In the wake of the attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels, a Belgian newspaper editorial, written by Paul DeBruyn in the Gazet van Antwerpen (Antwerp), while lamenting that anti-Semitism is alive and well, has opined that the responsibility for the attack lies with Israel, its policies against the Palestinians, and Bibi Netanyahu.

Terry Davids, the editor of Joods Actueel, writes of her disgust in reading the article. The below link is in Dutch (Flemish)

http://joodsactueel.be/2014/05/27/antisemitismebestrijding-volgens-gazet-van-antwerpen/

Here is the article, also in Dutch:

http://www.gva.be/opinie/standpunt/antisemitisme-is-helaas-nog-lang-niet-dood.aspx

Final paragraph:


"Maar het blijft een feit dat de situatie van de Palestijnen onduldbaar is en dat daarvoor zo spoedig mogelijk een rechtvaardige oplossing moet worden gevonden. De onbuigzame houding van de Israëlische premier Benjamin Netanyahu heeft alle westerse bemiddelingspogingen doen stranden en de kwestie nog uitzichtlozer gemaakt. Dat is alleen de voedingsbodem voor nog meer haat. Geweld leidt tot meer geweld, een doorbraak in een conflict bereiken kan alleen door te onderhandelen. Echt onderhandelen."

"But the fact remains that the situation of the Palestinians is intolerable and a just solution must be found as quickly as possible. The unbending position of Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has thwarted Western mediation efforts. That alone is a breeding ground for more hate. Violence leads to more violence. A breakthrough in the conflict can only be achieved through negotiations. Real negotiations."

With all due respect, is this the time to point fingers at Israel? A statement like that can only feed the sense of justification for this foul deed and encourage further attacks "in the name of the Palestinian people". Was the killer a Palestinian? Maybe he was a Moroccan? If so, what was his stake in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? (I know the answer. Aside from a common religion, there is no stake.)

This is a time when everyone in Belgium (and Europe) should be engaging in some self reflection. What have they done to enable such an evil act be committed in their capital? Why are their cities places where Jews cannot walk around in safety?

For too long the Europeans and their media have accepted with an uncritical eye any version of the conflict offered up to them by Palestinian activists and propagandists including staged "atrocities" blamed upon the Israelis. Yet, depending on the identity of the shooter, even that may not explain the hate that led to this attack. Let us assume for the sake of argument that the shooter is a Belgian or native European. One could just as easily lay the blame for his anti-Semitism at the feet of the Belgian and European media for their biased and inaccurate reporting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That goes as well for the dozens of European NGOs who have served to spread public opinion against Israel-as Davids points out in her piece.

Talk about blaming the victims!