"A government [Israel's] that never misses an opportunity to lecture the Western world about the pitfalls of surrendering to terrorism is proposing exactly that — surrender — to the Jews of France."
Rosner, however, concludes:
"If the only way for Jews to live in France today is behind barracks and guards with guns, perhaps it makes more sense not just for the dead to go to Israel, but also for the living to move to a place where we are the guards, we are the army and we are the government."
So which is it? French Jews must not surrender to terror, or, it makes no sense for Jews to live with armed guards in France?
For me the answer is clear: Europe is dying. As Muammar Gaddafi once declared:
"We have 50 million Muslims in Europe. There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe—without swords, without guns, without conquest—will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades."
Sadly, Gaddafi was correct, and ultimately there will be no place left for Europe's Jews.
Refuse to surrender to this demographic trend? Ignore the reemergence of anti-Semitism throughout Europe? As reported two days ago by The Telegraph in an article entitled "Survey shows anti-Semitic views are common among Britons" by Gregory Walton:
"Antisemitic views have been shown to be rampant among British people according to the results of a new polls.
One in four Britons were shown to believe that Jews 'chase money more than other people', according to a poll by YouGov.
Meanwhile the new survey showed that 17 per cent of respondent believe that Jewish people think themselves better than others.
A similar proportion felt that Jewish people have too much power in the media.
A separate poll also revealed that more than half of all British Jews feel that antisemitism has begun to echo the widespread anti-Jewish hatred of the 1930s, according to the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).
Over half of British Jews (58%) surveyed said they feared that Jews may have no long-term future in Europe, said the CAA."
Yes, the writing is on the wall. Wait for better times, as did many German Jews in the 1930s? Good luck.
[Rosner additionally states in his op-ed:
"It is heartbreaking to witness a great Jewish community in a great country slowly losing its ability to thrive in a hostile and violent environment. And it is unfortunate that all the Jewish state has to offer them is escape."
All the Jewish state has to offer is escape? Rubbish! Notwithstanding all its sorrows and shortcomings, Israel is also a place where hi-tech dreams come true, where there is freedom of the press, where women can attain leadership positions in government and industry, and where the gay community can live proudly.
Is it really so bad for you in Israel, Shmuel? Maybe you should move to New York and write full-time for the Times - at least until it goes under and you must find your way back to Israel.]
Thank you for writing this piece, Jeffrey. This is a very important topic and has many aspects.
ReplyDeleteShmuel Rosner (whoever he is) is clearly a primitive.
Sadly, he isn't alone.
In their desire to assimilate European and American Jews have become well .... primitives. A couple of years ago, a commenter in a NYT discussion asked the question: "And what is Jewish contribution to world?" A liberal so called Jew, he just doesn't know and doesn't care. I left the NYT "discussions" (and the NYT) sometimes ago and can't quote more pearls of wisdom.
I can, however, comment on the issue itself. Actually, I am almost uniquely qualified to do this competently.
A former Francophile (adolescence, early adulthood) I spent decades departing from my roots (very much Jewish) and betraying my tragic family and my tragic history. Felling pressure (without understanding) to admire France (typical of the part of the world I lived in) - first as the center of revolutionary spirit, then as the country of oh, ah wit and style - I ignored the France of expulsions, the France of Dreyfus and the France of Vichy. It took the illness of my parents (and then death) - profoundly Jewish in their outlook, their commitments, their perception of the world and their ETHICS - for me to stop the nonsense and leave the path of total idiocy. I shed my pretensions and complexes much, much, much faster than I had acquired them and the fact that my father was a Holocaust survivor (lost his entire family), had gone through hell and kept his humanity, decency and Jewish pride has guided me. I now have a Masters in Jewish history which I value much more than my Ph.D. and other masters, including the one in art history (together with French a requirement for a self-hating Jew)
You won't hear "what is Jewish contribution to the world?" from me. And although my Hebrew isn't as good as my French in the past, I am happy I learned it (late in life and with much sacrifice).
"It is heartbreaking to witness a great Jewish community in a great country slowly losing its ability to thrive in a hostile and violent environment. ..."
ReplyDeletemakes me think of the USA, especially NYC in the outer boroughs, where Jews (and many others) self-ghetto. The NYPD deploys extra protection for Jewish targets, similar to what France and Belgium are doing with military.
Is there a DNA marker for Ashkenazic Jews that triggers "I want to pack my bags and move to another country?"
That thought was a first symptom of PTS, in New Jersey, more than twenty years ago.
Read same thought quoted from a French Jewish woman last week...
What a strange comment by anonymous (1:52 PM)
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly are you saying, anonymous?
I don't know anything about DNA markers. I am, however, quite familiar with such concepts, as expulsions and pogroms.
Self-ghettos are quite popular everywhere. Some are called country clubs, for example - lily white and monoethnic/monoreligious - which are known to result in many other "self"-"ghettos."
And the reason I should care about this or that quote ...is?