The Jews of Europe

Fifty-seven years after the murder camps of World War II were brought to an end by the defeat of Nazi Germany, the lives of the 2.5 million Jews now still living in Europe are in doubt again.

Pretending that there is somehow a difference between the age-old anti-Jewish hatred which has been the perpetual landmark of European “civilization” and attacks upon Israel, the hate mongers are once more cursing “the Jews”, burning down synagogues and beating Jews in the streets.

There is of course no difference between anti-Jewish and anti-Israel conduct. They are the same because both seek the annihilation of the Jewish people whether in Israel or anywhere. Otherwise, the destruction of the synagogues in France would have no meaning. The message is clear. A worldwide campaign against all Jews is now in progress. That campaign is fueled by the Arab hate mongers whose religion prescribes that no one but they have a right to live. It is enhanced and augmented by European bigotry which is already making it dangerous for any Jew to live in Europe.

Consider these numbers: In 1939, at the opening of World War II, 3,300,000 Jews were living in Poland. 85% of these Jews were murdered by the German-Polish alliance. The 500,000 survivors were forced out of Poland after the war by the continued Polish anti-Judaism in force even now. Likewise, Russia has only 550,000 Jews today as 1.5 million were murdered there during the Holocaust. The Ukraine also has 450,000 Jews now. These Jews are in grave peril as the agitation against them is unceasing. Many are now going to Israel, others have come here. A permanent future for the Russian and Ukrainian Jews in not conceivable.

France has a larger Jewish population today than it had in 1939 when there were 300,000 Jews in that country. Today there are 600,000 Jews in France because many Jews moved to France from North Africa after the French abandoned their erstwhile colonies there and these colonies became independent Arab countries. Evidently, the Arabs never compensated the Jews they despoiled.

Now we find that 6 million Arabs have moved into France, outnumbering the Jews 10:1. These Arabs, with the implicit approval of the French government, attack Jewish community centers and assault Jews in the streets. They also burn down synagogues. A good example of the latter strategy is the arson which destroyed the Or Aviv temple in Marseilles and the arson at synagogues in Le Havre and in Strasbourg. Likewise the synagogue in Lyon was bombed. In Toulouse a kosher butcher shop was fired. In Rhone the Arab cowards attacked a pregnant woman.

Therefore, Ariel Sharon, prime minister of Israel, has invited the French Jews to move to Israel and added that he would pay them to do so. The French government denounced that invitation. The French fear that American Jews and non-Jews may refuse to import French clothes, perfumes, wines, cars and other goods if the French Jews leave France. It is of course a good idea not to buy anything French. Why should our money support hate mongers who seek our destruction?

There are now about 300,000 Jews in England (United Kingdom) so that nearly 1.5 million European Jews live in just three countries.

Germany, once more a leader in the general denunciation of Jews and Israel, has 60,000 Jews out of a total population of at least 83 million.

Lest it be believed that the Moslems of this world are only opposed to Jewish survival, it ought to be of interest to contemplate these facts: In South India the Moslem sect known as Deendar Anjuman has been bombing churches in the states of Goa and Karnataka. In Moslem Kosovo, located in the erstwhile Yugoslavia, Moslems “flattened” an Orthodox Church. These are the same people who benefited from the NATO air attacks against Serbia. So far 86 churches have been destroyed by the Kosovo Moslems even as the Allied “peacekeepers” look on and do nothing to prevent such atrocities.

In the Sudan, which has a large Christian population, the Arab government has systematically persecuted Christians, many of whom were sold into slavery in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi all religions other than Islam are forbidden. There are of course no Jews in Saudi. There are, however, a few foreign Christians. Recently 14 of these Christians were arrested by the religion police and jailed on the grounds of practicing Christianity in their homes. While in solitary confinement, these Christians were told they would be released if they convert to Islam.

In the Moluccan Islands churches and Christian schools have been burned to the ground even as Moslem forces shoot and bomb Christians.

In India, Moslems regularly attack Hindu temples and assault Hindus in their villages and homes. The Buddhist statues in Afghanistan were destroyed by gunfire during the reign of the so called Taliban Moslems there.

In the Philippines, a largely Christian country, Moslem killers explode bombs and murder civilians. For example, on April 21, 14 Filipinos were killed and 100 wounded when an explosion occurred in General Santos, a city in the south of The Philippines.

We could go on and on to show that there is a worldwide effort on the part of Islam to assault not only Jews but also members of any faith other than Islam.

In view of all this, Christians would do well to recognize that the attack on the tiny Jewish minority of only 13 million worldwide is also devolving upon the 2 billion Christians. Some Christians see and know this and stand with their Jewish friends against our mutual persecutors.

Yet, the European Parliament, as always concerned with the annihilation of Jews, is seeking to use economic “sanctions” against Israel. Not against Sudan or Saudi or Indonesia or Albania but against Israel. “How dare the Jews defend themselves,” argue the Europeans as they campaign against their Jewish minorities in a manner not seen since the demise of Joseph Göbbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister.

There are hardly any Jews in any Moslem country today. However, the Jews of Europe are once more in a precarious position. If the hate campaign of the Arabs in France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and other European counties is so popular as to again lead to synagogue burnings, we need to consider what can be done to bring the bulk of the European Jews to Israel. The argument that Israel is itself under attack is of course spurious since in Israel Jews can defend themselves while in Europe Jews are once more defenseless victims of potential mass murder.

The Arabs who instigate these hate campaigns caused so much misery for the Russian Jews that one million moved to Israel in the early 1990’s. If the Arabs succeed in Europe, then Israel is likely to gain one million more immigrants from European countries including France, Russia, Ukraine and Belgium. As usual, we can agree with the former foreign minister of Israel, Abba Eban, that “the Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

Shalom u’vracha.

Dr. Gerhard Falk is the author of numerous publications, including Stigma: How We Treat Outsiders.

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