Europe has been built on the liberal values of democracy, rule of law, liberty, tolerance, and free markets. Yet it seems Europeans are forgetting what these values mean.
“Know thyself” is a famous ancient Greek maxim, which Europeans do not seem to take to heart. A series of aggressive actions from Russia over the past decade were not enough for the EU to properly distance itself from Russian energy, until it invaded Ukraine. COVID-19 fear overruled fundamental rights to freedom of congregation, movement, and trade. Now, after Palestinian terrorists massacred Israelis, thousands took to the streets – not in solidarity with the victims but in support of the murderers.
Decades of virtue-signaling and a hyper-politically correct public discourse in Europe have turned a blind eye to the rising tide of antisemitic incidents, as they did with the Russian menace before. Antisemitism has become normalized and as such remains unexplored so the true extent of the problems is unknown.
Yet, the magnitude of the problem is shown by the masses at pro-Palestine marches, which reveals that antisemitism has not only appears normalized but is becoming fashionable. The EU issued a statement condemning the recent rise in incidents, and ensures it has protective measures prosecuting hate speech and an increased budget protecting places of worship.
However, the current pro-terrorist protests show that these measures are not working and the fact that places of worship need more protection is a testament to the ineffectiveness of other aspirations to stop hate.
Merely banning hate speech will not make hate disappear. It will still be present, even if less visibly. Antisemitism does not start with attacks on Jews and Synagogues, but at a more basic level. Disinformation, conspiracy theories, negative stereotypes, populism, and holding Israel to different standards than other countries are the root cause of intolerance towards Jews, or even those perceived as Jewish, as most Europeans severely overestimate the size of the Jewish population.
Israel is a democracy, where people could strive for happiness and prosperity. However, for the butchers coming from Palestine it is a place where the majority of the population supports a terror group which oppresses the people on its own territory and slaughters those wanting to live in liberty.
Staggeringly, though, some people supporting LGBTQ+ rights are standing with Palestine, where gays are prosecuted. Even when the virtues these people are proudly signaling clash, it does bother social justice warriors, who apparently perceive Palestine as the victim. Speaking up for Jews is not cool, but mindlessly following antisemitic trends is.
This is why sane people have to up the ante. Despite all the fatigue, despite seeming uncool. it is important to keep reminding people of the threat of antisemitism, of the horrors wrought by Palestinian and other terror groups. It is time to admit Europe has a problem.
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