Skip to content

Why Should The World Care About Terror in Israel?

  • by

It is often said that France woke up on January 7th of 2015, when armed men stormed a satyrical newspaper and a kosher supermarket killing unarmed civilians. Most French felt that it was the first attack on them as a nation. However the attack on them started long before that. It was the type of attacked planned at them all along but practiced on the Jewish population. After Hebdo signs of a new attack were everywhere, signs that French learned to ignore that would later spell another and far more serious attack when terrorists came to Bataclan. This attack was a sign of things to come not just to France, but all of Europe.

It is common today that an attack on unarmed civilians in two geographically different place will be called differently in the media. It will be a terrorist attack in Iraq and Belgium but an act of frustration in Israel. It will be called a natural thing to kill a Jew, because it may feel to most people that Jews some how deserve death, their life is not as valuable, their transgression like those of an accused black rapist versus those of a white rapist, far more severe, far less forgivable. Occupation of Crimea is unfortunate but occupation of Palestine, unforgivable. But all those are excuses of a more nefarious thought that has repercussions to a far greater people than the small amount of Jews; anti-semitism of this double standard has a long history of preceding violence against a far larger swath of people. The tactic to test a society willingness to let go of their ideals, to bend to terror and evil by those who wish harm through attacks on Jews has a long history, one worth exploring as we enter the Jewish-American month and the Jewish holiday Passover, when they were the first people in the world who chose freedom over slavery.

The Spanish Inquisition claimed an untold amount of humans. Anyone could be quickly put down for heresy or excommunicated, regardless of their stature, king or queen. It all began however with the Jews, the religious tyrants knew that to introduce tyranny quickly is the surest way to loose power, but to introduce it slowly against a small minority is the surest way to introduce it as legitimate by making terror directed at the “other” and at the same time setting an example for all. At first it is the foreigner, later it will be an ideological enemy. Hitler followed this formula, he first showed that communists and Jews were the threat, that without them Germany would be free of conflict. Soon it was clear that all had to be like him, think like him and all were swiftly engulfed in his violent tactics, all Germans and soon the entire Europe became the victim. What is interesting is that Hitler could gauge very well which society outside of Germany would bend to him. He knew which society would refuse to fight based on how they reacted to his treatment of Jews.

If you look at Hitler’s allies, there is a very specific commonality they had. From Egypt and Morocco, to Sweden, Bulgaria, Italy, Japan and USSR, none of them permitted for their minority to be killed or marginalized. USSR was a dictatorship at this time but it is important to remember that Soviet Union went after anyone who was anti-communist, not repressing any specific minority, especially Jews who were free to work in any job they pleased at this specific time (repression in Soviet Union directed specifically at Jews didn’t begin until Israel chose Capitalism as it’s form of economy in 1948). Thus Hitler could see which people and which countries had a backbone, could stand up for their ideals and their countrymen regardless of race or religion and those who couldn’t. Thus the countries which were ok with subjugation, fell to Hitler quickly and swiftly: France, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria.

It took ten years for Hitler to soften up Germans to the idea that Jews were not only expendable, but had to be cleared out. That somehow it was one specific group of people who were undesirable and made the country worse. Once he did, he taught the country not hate of Jews, but hate of all who are different. This is what allowed a safe policing that he created. His SS and Gestapo were the top guard but really, it was the entire country that had created a prison of themselves by themselves by making each other the enemy. Whether it is Spain in 1492, Germany in 1933 or Saudi Arabia in 1999, the thought in the end becomes do not go against the one: the one being Jesus, the one Mohammad, the one Hitler. To speak against the one is death for it is to break the spell of the lie, it is to break the chains of bondage that there is only one way for a society to live and it is dictate by one authority.

Part II The Weakness of Europe

If you look at the European countries most recently attacked, they are not the ones where BDS and anti-Semitism is weakest, the opposite, where it is strongest. Islamists funded by Saudis, Iran and Turkey know that the countries who blame Israel and have populations which are anti-Semitic most are those who are afraid the most. These are the countries which hedge their bets and think that by siding with the Palestinian cause, it will avert attention of the Islamist not realizing that Palestine has nothing to do with their aims. The Islamist aim is to get a bad example, a working democracy that is the anti-thesis of a totalitarian Islam out of Middle East and after that, the world. They know that the countries who are afraid the most, are prepared the least. Thus they practice their tactics in Israel, learning what work best on an open and free society with the money sent to them by US, EU and Middle East and then they use those same techniques on societies in Middle East, usually those prepared least in EU: those who are most virulent anti-Semitic. Those who thought that by being anti-Semitic would be somehow immune from the Islamist attacks.

Since Charlie Hebdo (who were the sole brave voice in France who stood up to Islamists and also showed a bad example to the rest), there have been numerous attacks on Jews. This year, more Jews left France than ever before. After the attack France became even more quiet on this front than before, utterly afraid of being labeled Islamaphobe by standing up for it’s own ideals: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Their fraternity does not extend to the Jews, it does not extend to Muslims either, it extends to fear. They are all equally afraid, they are far from fraternal and as a result, far from free. This was a sign to Islamists, they were good to go and they did, with a far larger attack on the stadium with the President of France and on the Bataclan concert hall. A massacre unparalleled in the Western world but all too common in the Middle East and Africa. A type of attack we saw there and didn’t understand that this wasn’t going to be confined to Africa and Middle East but in fact was practice. This is because their goals in Africa and Middle East are the same as they are for anywhere: undermine a democratic government, destabilize a free civilian society, create fear and enforce their own control when the society is so paralyzed by fear that they have to do little more than walk in and take over because the people are already subjugated.

There are elements that are equally hateful on the other side who also look to use the elements of hate. The Trumps and Lapins of the world who are taking power in Poland and Hungary try to make it a Muslim/Christian thing. Most don’t realize that governments also crack down on Jews and anyone who disagrees with because they are the side of the same coin. Their goal is the same to take the scared population, a cowardly population and take over. Instead of offering help to the Muslim community to get rid of this cancer, they put more pressure on them while the Islamist movement is on its rhetoric one that speaks of power to the marginalized just like the Nazi movement was. What the Nazis said is what Islamist say, they both seek a specific ideology to control the world by way of force, offering those who join a piece of the pie. This is why they both seek to do this by first attacking Jews, the one population that will not join them, the one who doesn’t care to make anyone think like the do, the one that says work hard and expect equality and protection like anyone else, a terrible example for authoritarians. This is their fear, that people will see this example and will be unafraid, that people will treat each other well that there is another way to this all powerful and all submitting ideology.

This is why it is so important for the world to recognize this and stop being afraid. To stop trying to call terrorists freedom fighters, to stop funding any and all terrorism no matter under what auspices it operates. Remember that there would be no Hamas or PLO without Europe or Iran. Israel is not fighting a rag tag team in Gaza. Hamas and Fatah would be long ago destroyed if Europe did not fund them. Israel is fighting the continuation of European anti-Semitism and Xenophobia through the face of Fatah and Hamas. This is why it is so important for Europe and Middle East to understand that as long as it continues to fund this form of politics by gun, they are funding those who seek to invade and terrorize them.

Part III: Total War

Take a look at the Wikipedia list of terrorism last year. It is so long that they had make two! Breaking them into half year chunks, one for January to June and July to August.

Wikipedia List of terrorist attacks in 2015

Notice how they leave out Israeli flags. Notice how many Middle Eastern and African countries are involved. This is indeed a war, a war that claims mostly civilians. Thus, a total war. It is a war that began in Israel and had the world seen it as an attack on themselves, it would have stopped. But because the world decided to see it through the lens of anti-Semitism, it is jus the Jews in Israel, that because it is the Jews that somehow they are deserving of this terror, they didn’t realize that this was an attack on them, a few years delayed.

When Bali was bombed, everyone stopped going to Bali. When Paris was attacked, Belgium closed down the city. When New York was hit, the country froze. But when Tel Aviv gets hit. Nothing changes. Clubs are open, cafe’s are full, markets and movies continue and soccer games go on. The Jews, are not afraid. Because if you think about it, we know that they are hated, they know that Arabs and Islamists want to kill them, and they are not afraid because they faced the entire military might of all Arab countries while under a US blockade in 1947 and won. They won in 62 and 74. They won in 1945 and won against Greeks and Romans. All who attack Jews, attack Jews not because they are weak, but because they are strong. This is why they attacked Hebdo,  because they like Israel and Jews set a bad example: that you don’t have to be afraid.

So next time you see an attack on Israel, realize that that attack is not an attack on Israel, it is an attack on you. Jews and Israelis will not stop fighting them or stop living, but you will. When you don’t speak out, you show your double standard, you show your fear and that is what they want you to do, they want you to turn against one another: European vs European, Christian vs Jews, American vs American, Christian vs Muslim. They want this fear and you not standing up for Israel being attacked is you not standing up for yourself, for your ideals and virtues. And that’s what they really want to take away from you: your dignity, your virtues, your pride, your strength. Because after they take that away, the freedom is easy.

Leave a Reply