Europe makes its choices
6 November 2020

A weekly reflection on current global affairs concerning Israel and
the Jewish people from a Biblical perspective. 

It is tempting to devote this Update to the US elections, the outcome of which will inevitably have major repercussions for Israel and the region. But as the results are still uncertain, we’ll keep our eyes on other developments.   
 
Two dramatically opposing stories stick out. The first is about 140 youngsters who, supported by Christians for Israel, flew this week from Kiev to Israel, to start a new life in their new homeland. It is a story of courage. These young Jews have chosen to leave Europe behind them, and build their futures in the Promised land. 
 
Contrast that with the tragic shooting incident close to the Jewish quarter in Vienna last Monday evening which shocked the world, on the back of vicious attacks in France, including two beheadings. Fear is gripping European cities. No-one knows where or when the next attack will occur, but one thing is for sure: Europe is under siege. 
 
President of France Macron has declared war on Islamic extremism. His stance (openly supported by several European leaders) has attracted violent verbal responses from Turkish President Erdogan amongst others. 
 
The irony is that it was France in the 1960’s – soon joined by Britain, Germany and the other European nations - that pushed for closer ties between Europe and the Arab Islamic world. It was to be an alliance in which Europe embraced the Islamic world, and essentially capitulated to Palestinian terrorist demands. President de Gaulle laid the foundations of the current EU policy which demands the establishment of a judenrein Palestinian state, involving the removal of Jews from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. 
 
This week – despite recent promises by the German and Dutch Foreign Ministers that their countries would push back against anti-Israel bias in the UN – Europe’s leaders again voted in the UN in favor of the annual condemnations of Israel for violations of Palestinian human rights. No European condemnations of Palestinian, Turkish, Syrian or Saudi Arabian breaches of human rights. The result of this constant stream of resolutions is to vilify and demonize the Jewish State of Israel. It seems Europe is having difficulty deciding where its allegiances lie. 
 
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
 

What normalization? Europe and Arab states vote as usual to condemn Israel 

Raphael Ahren At Times Of Israel: “A committee at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday passed with overwhelming majorities a series of resolutions critical of Israel, lambasting the Jewish state, among other things, for ostensible human rights violations against Palestinians and “repressive measures” against Syrians in the Golan Heights. The three Arab countries with which Jerusalem recently signed normalization agreements — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan — did not change their traditional voting pattern and supported all resolutions critical of Israel. … countries like Germany and the Netherlands, which supported the resolutions, broke their recent promises to oppose anti-Israel bias at the UN.” Read more..

The Real Palestinian Pandemic: Palestinian Sclerosis

Prof. Hillel Frisch at BESA: “A generation-old political sclerosis among the Palestinians is likely to end in anarchy and warlords unless some form of autonomy with links to Jordan is supported by the international community.” Read more..


France’s showdown with the Islamic world 

Dr. Raphael Bouchnik-Chen at BESA: “The beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty, which occurred two weeks after a momentous speech by President Emmanuel Macron in which he unveiled a plan to defend French secular values against “Islamist radicalism,” marked the start of what might turn out to be an all-out war between France and the Islamic world, with Turkey’s Erdoğan leading the Muslim charge. By taking a stand against Muslim extremist violence and suppression of freedom of speech, Macron might find himself facing a new wave of Islamic terror.” Read more..