Just a few stories this week from a world grown increasingly terrifying . . .
Liberia has closed its border, quarantined many communities, and has seen even top experts stricken with the dreaded Ebola virus. Sick officials made it onto international flights despite stringent precautions by the Liberian government. West Africa has seen the most serious outbreak of the extremely contagious disease yet. No end in sight.
Libya faces its worst violence since 2011, causing several nations to shut down their embassies there. The country's "fragile government and fledgling army" currently struggle to keep control of the capital's international airport.
War continues in Gaza. Secretary of State John Kerry continues to undermine the cease fire agreement supported by Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority in an effort to kowtow to Hamas extremists.
Boko Haram crossed the Nigerian border, raiding Cameroon. The terror group best known for kidnapping hundreds of young girls seized the wife of Cameroon's vice prime minister. Cameroon has suffered three attacks from the terrorist group.
European Jews, particularly in France, are fearful of a continent wide spike in active anti-Semitism. Could this produce an exodus from Europe to Israel and the United States? An ambassador appointed by Hungary to represent that nation in Italy resigned after criticism of his "raging" anti-Semitism.
US intelligence officials released images that seem to show Russian artillery firing into Ukraine in support of separatists there. This threatens to escalate the conflict into a full scale war between two of the European continent's largest nations. With Ukraine the home of some of Europe's most productive farmland, a full scale war could disrupt food supplies for millions.
While the female mutilation edict attributed to ISIS may be fake, Christians have fled areas under its control by the thousands. Islamicist officials have imposed prejudicial sanctions on Christians which have not existed in Iraq in generations. Islamic State officials also ordered the destruction of the tombs of Jonah and Daniel, figures holy to the Jewish, Christian, and other faiths.
Meanwhile China, which has threatened the neighboring countries of Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines in recent years, has accelerated its naval program. Iran also continues its quest for more effective weapons capable of hitting Europe and North America.
Showing posts with label anti-semitism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anti-semitism. Show all posts
Monday, July 28, 2014
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Is European Anti-Semitism Back?
One in three European Jews has felt at some time or another recently that Europe has grown so hostile that they considered moving.
This comes from an online survey conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. The same survey revealed that one in four Jews had suffered either harassment or direct attacks due to their faith.
Reason magazine reported these findings in a broader piece underscoring the growing problem of anti-Jewish intolerance in Europe.
Anti-Semitism was blamed on left wing politics and Islamic extremism. Only 19 percent blamed "right wing" individuals or groups. It should be noted, of course, that some neo Nazi groups have come together in Central Europe. They, presumably, cling to the traditionally irrational hatreds. Many misidentify Nazis as "right" when their traditions and ideology speak to a leftist origin.
A Norwegian academic even resurrected the old czarist hoax "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." This was a tract concocted by the Russian secret police to discredit that country's Jews. It distracted attention away from the tottering Czar and directed it toward the vulnerable Jewish community. Treating it as legitimate reflects a horrifying tendency among European leftists to more brazenly unearth centuries old hatreds and stereotypes thought dead for decades.
This is no sign of the return of the nightmare of the Holocaust, but the dangers of prejudice and persecution are real. European peoples do not enjoy the same constitutional protections taken for granted in the United States. Rights and liberties are more easily infringed upon (for example, Britain is considering legislation that could seriously impact the right of the free press in that country.)
Americans in love with what they think is the superior European culture should look again at the dark underbelly of prejudice that lurks just beneath its urbane surface.
This comes from an online survey conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. The same survey revealed that one in four Jews had suffered either harassment or direct attacks due to their faith.
Reason magazine reported these findings in a broader piece underscoring the growing problem of anti-Jewish intolerance in Europe.
Anti-Semitism was blamed on left wing politics and Islamic extremism. Only 19 percent blamed "right wing" individuals or groups. It should be noted, of course, that some neo Nazi groups have come together in Central Europe. They, presumably, cling to the traditionally irrational hatreds. Many misidentify Nazis as "right" when their traditions and ideology speak to a leftist origin.
A Norwegian academic even resurrected the old czarist hoax "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." This was a tract concocted by the Russian secret police to discredit that country's Jews. It distracted attention away from the tottering Czar and directed it toward the vulnerable Jewish community. Treating it as legitimate reflects a horrifying tendency among European leftists to more brazenly unearth centuries old hatreds and stereotypes thought dead for decades.
This is no sign of the return of the nightmare of the Holocaust, but the dangers of prejudice and persecution are real. European peoples do not enjoy the same constitutional protections taken for granted in the United States. Rights and liberties are more easily infringed upon (for example, Britain is considering legislation that could seriously impact the right of the free press in that country.)
Americans in love with what they think is the superior European culture should look again at the dark underbelly of prejudice that lurks just beneath its urbane surface.
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