Europe needs to stand up to its anti-Jewish problem

Following last week’s Amsterdam Muslim attack on Israeli tourists, who came to cheer on their soccer team at the Europa League match, more of the same is taking place throughout Europe.  

“Players for Tus Makkabi, a youth under-17 soccer team in Berlin, were reportedly chased and assaulted by a crowd wielding sticks and knives, according to German news site Tagesspiegel daily.”

For those who contended that last week’s Amsterdam attack was the result of rowdy Israeli fans who goaded the Muslim community, by hurling slurs at them, during the game, how about taking the word of my neighbor, who arrived on Monday, prior to the game, and saw that a few anti-Jewish incidents had already occurred. 

And where is the connection between Israel and a group of soccer-playing German, Jewish youth who became the next victims? Or what about social media posts, calling for “local youth to organize a Jew hunt” in Antwerp Belgium?  

N12 news reported that the Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, has cautioned Israelis vacationing in Thailand, a popular destination among them, that they are also in the sights of an enemy attack.

Finally, an incident in Milan, involving the vandalism of a Holocaust mural, was reported on Tuesday, erasing the Jewish star on the shirt of a Holocaust survivor with the word “Jude” as well as the face of the woman in the picture.

All of this, within the span of a week’s time – as we are witnessing a troubling uptick in tangible evidence pointing to an ongoing wave of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment which is rapidly spreading, causing Jews, whether Israeli or not, to wonder if it’s still safe to travel abroad.

It’s gotten to the point where charts are being drawn up, outlining which European venues show a high or very high risk of physical assault. Take note that they include Germany, France, Italy U.K. and many other places which, up until a year ago, were the hottest tourist destinations on the planet. No more!  

They have, sadly, been taken over by the same ones who quietly invaded the best vacation spots imaginable. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t by accident – especially when considering that their goal was to wreak havoc throughout the globe!   

None of this can be denied any longer! Something has been unleashed, and that needs to be confronted by every individual who claims to possess the slightest bit of decency, morality and ethics. What most of us have only read about, in history books, is now reappearing right before our eyes. The public squares of European capitals are now becoming the likely venue of anti-Israel demonstrations, no longer contained to angry protests but the spot from where “Jew hunts” are being initiated.

Clearly, Europe has an anti-Jew problem, but when the same activity spreads to the Asian paradise of Thailand, then the only conclusion is that we are watching a re-emergence of pre-Holocaust days when the safe, free movement of Jews was no longer a guarantee. 

We have officially entered the same dark days which ushered in the greatest evil known to man in modern times – the belief that the world would be better off without the Jewish people. But if they are no longer around to blame and castigate, who will take their place? Because there must always be some subset of humanity to which everyone can point the finger in order to make them feel more righteous and worthy!

My guess is that the next in line will be people of faith who represent a moral reflection of what we are able to become without guidance and reliance upon the Almighty! No one wants to be reminded of that, especially those who get a thrill out of hunting down the chosen.  

None of these events, or personally held prejudice, can be hidden any longer. They are on full display mode, and it is now up to the authorities of each country to recognize what is going on and commit to putting a swift and decisive end to those who are planning to harm the Jewish community in their midst. Because failure to do so will be a damning indictment on those nations who either choose to turn a blind eye to what’s happening or who, for the sake of being “politically correct” continue to allow the presence of hateful demonstrations and provocations against their Jewish citizens.

If ever there was a valid definition of a hate crime, it is the vilification of a particular ethnicity who is then hunted down and physically attacked for no reason. There can be no violation of human rights, when it comes to denying the assembly of people who are there to instigate a lynch fest. 

Yet, such haters continue to protest their right to defy a ban of assembly, as was the case in Amsterdam, on Tuesday, when Dutch police detained six people who held up banners in front of the City Hall, following the burning of a tram, just the previous evening, at an Amsterdam square.

As these individuals become more emboldened and daring in their hostilities, even to the point of physical force, local authorities will need the resolve to eradicate these groups before they organize and take matters into their own hands. Otherwise, they will overpower police and even public sentiment, which will, little by little, be quelled for fear of what will ensue if they dare to speak out against those who have invaded their country with the toxic ideology that can only end with a mass exit of Jews from Europe.

And that is where it is heading. History has taught us that those who waited too long, to make their way to safer lands, ended up trapped in the countries who failed to protect them, either because they were complicit or too weak and fearful to do so. We are now at that moment which demands a reckoning.  

Will European countries make the choice to protect their Jewish communities, seeing them as valued citizens who contribute to the betterment of their societies, or will they shirk their responsibility and cower to the migrants who imported their hatred and were able to influence the local community which didn’t need too much convincing in the first place?