Why Europe Is Irrational About Israel

[steevo]

I thought I'd post this because it's as good an explanation I can imagine about something hard to put a finger on. I do have the answer when it concerns the Left because they are haters of freedom and inhumane and Israel is a real democracy, but why so many ordinary everyday folks?

“The flowering of Jewish national life in Israel makes the Europeans crazy. It is not simply envy: it is a terrible reminder of the vanity of European national aspirations over the centuries, of the continent’s ultimate failure as a civilization. . . . Europeans cannot live with their past. They cannot live with their present, and do not plan to have a future, for they do not bear enough children to forestall demographic ruin at the hundred-year horizon. With its high fertility, national spirit, religiosity and unabashed national self-assertion, Israel reminds the Europeans of everything that they are not. Much worse: it reminds them of what they once desired to become. The idea of Israel as well as the fact of Israel are equally intolerable to them.”

pjmedia

[Teddy Bear]

It reminds me too as what I see as the Catch 22 for Jews.
Conscious of their vulnerability always being an exposed minority, many endeavor to contribute as much as they can to society in order to feel secure. However their successes, usually far in excess per person relative to the population, also creates resentment among the lower echelon mentality. They are scorned as 'the chosen people' and as we see throughout history, sought to be eradicated.

I would also say that the States, especially with the current government, is no different than most of the Western world in regard to Israel.
Here's something from the Huffington Post that I'm sure you will recognize as all too common in today's world. While this specifically concerns Ban Ki Moon, he is just a puppet for the majority of regimes who would willingly sacrifice Israel to buy time for themselves from the oppressive Islamic forces.

Dear UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

By David Harris

October 14, 2014

You have one of the toughest jobs in the world.

It can't be easy to balance all the competing interests and pressures that come with being the head of a complex global body with 193 member states. You are constantly walking on a tightrope.

Moreover, too often observers fail to distinguish between your role and the will of the member states.

You can't be held responsible for every decision taken in each UN body. That's determined by numerical majorities.

And I know you feel that your own work, often quiet and behind-the-scenes, is not always fully appreciated, as you often become a lightning rod for everyone's criticism of the UN.

But when you speak, the words are yours. And given the prestige of your position, those words will inevitably be carefully read and weighed.

Thus, I was struck by one sentence in particular in your remarks at the recent Cairo Conference on Palestine.

You said: "Yet we must not lose sight of the root causes of the recent hostilities [in Gaza]: a restrictive occupation that has lasted almost half a century, the continued denial of Palestinian rights and the lack of tangible progress in peace negotiations."

Respectfully, Mr. Secretary General, in that one sentence, in those 39 words, you have illustrated, I believe, a fundamental misreading of the actual situation, both past and present.

Please understand. I don't for a moment doubt your commitment to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, achieving a two-state agreement and building a new era of peace in the region. You have articulated that vision more than once.

I also want to believe that, as a South Korean, you have a special appreciation for Israel's regional challenges. After all, having the likes of Syria and Hamas-ruled Gaza on Israel's borders, with their anti-democratic regimes, lack of concern for human life and lust for weapons, surely evokes thoughts of North Korea and the profound dangers it represents to democratic South Korea, the larger Northeast Asian region and beyond.

Yet, by suggesting that the three root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are all seemingly linked to Israeli behavior, you not only miscast the history of the conflict, but also, however inadvertently, hurt the chance for ending it.

After all, why would Israel place its faith in those who fail to see any Palestinian responsibility for the "root causes" of the situation today?

Is absolving the Palestinians of their own unhelpful behavior going to prompt them to engage in the self-examination required to help move the process forward, or is it more likely, rather, to encourage them to continue the "blame game," suggesting repeatedly that it is Israel, and Israel alone, that must change its way?

Indeed, such one-sided analysis only tends to infantilize the Palestinians, allowing them to believe they can act as they wish, without accountability and any consideration of a course correction.

But in truth, the "root causes" of the recent hostilities have a great deal to do with the Palestinians, and not just with the Israelis.

First, those "root causes" actually go back to 1947, when the Arab world rejected the recommendations of the UN Special Committee on Palestine and the language of UN General Assembly Resolution 181 calling for two states, one Jewish, the other Arab, in Mandatory Palestine.

Second, the West Bank and Gaza were occupied by Jordan and Egypt, respectively, until 1967, yet there was no clamor for Palestinian statehood and no murmur from the international community about the repressive conditions faced by the local populations.

Third, in 2000-1, and again in 2008 and, most recently, in 2013-14, Israeli leaders, supported by the United States, made valiant efforts to achieve a two-state agreement with the Palestinians, only to be rebuffed. Apropos, President Bill Clinton, in his autobiography My Life, is clear about who was principally at fault for the first round of failed talks — the Palestinian leadership.

Fourth, Israel withdrew all settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, giving local residents their first chance in history to govern themselves. Israel's main fear was that the vacated territory would become a terrorist enclave, rather than an emerging Singapore. This is exactly what occurred in 2007, when Hamas ousted the Palestinian Authority in a violent coup and seized control of Gaza.

And fifth, Hamas to this day remains the principal authority in Gaza. Its charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel and uses classic anti-Semitic tropes, remains unchanged. Since joining with the PA in a "unity" government, it has yet to embrace the three conditions that the Quartet, including the UN, requires to become a legitimate partner for peace. And, as was graphically revealed this summer, it has chosen to divert considerable resources, intended for Gaza's construction, into an elaborate infrastructure to harm Israel.

Only when world leaders of stature begin to hold seriously the Palestinian side responsible, and not just the Israelis, for the "root causes," we may begin to see building momentum for a durable solution.

Palestinians must get the message that, like Israel, they will be judged by their actions. Otherwise, they will simply continue to act with impunity, while counting on others to do the heavy political and diplomatic lifting for them — and that, I dare say, is not a roadmap for a brighter regional future.

[steevo]

I would say our current government is no different, in contrast to the last government. There is anti-Jew/Israel sentiment amongst the population but it appears fairly contained in leftist academia and media. I think the press will accentuate (i.e. promote) voiced hatred but those people are still a fringe. That's not to say most here understand and appreciate Israel's predicament but there isn't a palpable anti-Jew strain running through society... yet.

[Teddy Bear]

Oct 15, 2014 14:19:10 GMT steevo said:

That's not to say most here understand and appreciate Israel's predicament but there isn't a palpable anti-Jew strain running through society... yet.

I wonder if most of German society would have been described similarly as the Nazis were rising to power?

[steevo]

I like to think that things are different and I like to think that here, if I was in Europe I would be more pessimistic. But by no means am I confident. People are increasingly being dummed down while history is continually 'revised' and that doesn't make for a beneficial outlook. Human nature never changes for the good unless we own up, but today's disposition is increasingly depraved.

[Teddy Bear]

I share your estimations Steevo.