by Catherine Perez Shakdam
In attacking Israel, Europe has quite possibly mortgaged its own future in a breathtaking form of self-sabotage.
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There are some ideas so unthinkable, so preposterous, that they are dismissed with a chuckle and a wave of the hand. That is, until they happen.
One such notion: the declaration of a caliphate, not in the dusty expanses of the Middle East, but here – amid the boulevards and bookshops of Europe. A preposterous idea, surely. Like a bishop moonlighting as a nightclub bouncer. And yet, here we are.
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One suspects that, should such a proclamation occur, say, in a London suburb or the 18th arrondissement of Paris – it would be greeted by the chattering classes not with alarm but with a panel discussion on Channel 4.
“Should we be celebrating this expression of cultural identity?” someone would ask, sipping an oat milk flat white.
Others would nod solemnly. The word Islamophobia will be uttered before the tea is cold.
History repeats itsself
Europe is repeating itself. Not precisely, as the continent rarely repeats itself precisely; it prefers, as it were, to rhyme. And this latest stanza is composed of a rather disturbing set of notes.The Jewish people, as ever, are at the center of the narrative, not by choice but by consequence. A small minority – numerically irrelevant, politically marginal, and, one would think, wholly non-threatening. Yet, they have become the convenient scapegoat once more. “Ah, but it’s not Jews we oppose,” the mob insists. “It’s Zionists.” A distinction, I fear, honored only in rhetoric, not reality.
And when Jewish schoolchildren must conceal their identities, when kosher butchers require security, and when university campuses treat Jewish students like radioactive hazards, one cannot help but notice that the so-called distinction has all the usefulness of a chocolate teapot.
As Jews are hounded out of European cities, Israel – their spiritual and historic refuge – becomes the world’s designated villain. Never mind its democracy, its ceaseless existential threats, or the hostages still in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Western leaders line up to condemn it with the fervor of a Twitter mob who’ve just discovered a 12-year-old offensive joke.
LET’S CONSIDER this quietly terrifying idea: In attacking Israel, Europe has quite possibly mortgaged its own future. The self-sabotage is breathtaking.
Instead of standing with a pluralistic, free society beset by jihadist terror, our cultural and political institutions have chosen to co-sign the talking points of radicals whose idea of governance makes Orwell look like an optimist.
The West, which once boasted of reason, liberty, and the rule of law, now finds itself parroting the lexicon of its enemies: “Resistance,” “colonialism,” “liberation.” Words once weighty with history have been flung into the linguistic blender of modern activism and come out as performative pap.
What was once called a terrorist is now a “militant.”
What was once hostage-taking is now “armed struggle.”
What was once mass rape is “resistance.”
And Europe, good old Europe, hears these lies, nods politely, and drafts a resolution.
It is difficult to know whether to cry or laugh. I suspect Voltaire would do both, and then write something scathing.
Let us be clear: The caliphate in Europe will not arrive on horseback with fluttering banners.
No, it will arrive at a town council meeting with a motion on “community representation.”
It will be presented as a celebration of multiculturalism – until women’s rights vanish under a niqab, until schools teach theology instead of biology, until satire is banned and dissent criminalized.
It will be ushered in, not by fire and sword, but by bureaucratic consent, moral cowardice, and a political class too afraid of being called names.
And the Jews? Well, by then they’ll have gone. Packed up, moved to safer shores, perhaps to Israel, the very country Europe has spent years demonizing.
And here comes the punchline: When they go, they will take with them the last vestiges of Europe’s moral backbone, leaving behind a continent diminished and softened, rather like a sponge cake left out in the rain.
Europe will miss its Jews once they’re gone.
The signs were all there.
Salman Rushdie told us, long before it was fashionable.
There was the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the attack at the Bataclan concert venue, the endless roll call of violence, intimidation, and censorship. Yet Europe tutted and marched and then carried on appeasing. The memory of these events lasted just long enough for the hashtags to fade.
Meanwhile, imams in European cities preach sermons that would make Torquemada blush, and politicians fawn over communities whose leaders refuse to condemn kidnapping and murder. This, mind you, while dragging Israel through a kangaroo court of public opinion every time it defends itself.
THE MESSAGE is clear: If you kill Jews in the name of radical Islam, Europe may very well invite you to a human rights forum.
The supreme irony is this: Europe, in its hatred of Jews, thought it was advancing a moral cause. In truth, it was simply chiseling away at its own foundation.
In turning on Israel, it did not become more moral – it became more vulnerable. In refusing to name Islamism as a threat, it did not become more tolerant – it became less free. In alienating the Jews, it did not become more inclusive – it became more ignorant. And the caliphate, if it is declared, will not weep over Europe’s museums and libraries. It will thank them for their silence.
Is it too late? Possibly not, but it is dreadfully late.
The West must remember who it is. Not just what it is against, but what it is for. It must defend Israel, not as a favor to Jews, but as a defense of the civilized world. It must defend Jews, not because they are perfect, but because they are targeted. It must confront Islamism, not with fury or fear, but with honesty and moral clarity.
Because if we don’t, we may one day find ourselves living under a system we never voted for, governed by laws we never read, and yearning for freedoms we once took for granted – back when we thought the caliphate was a joke.
Catherine Perez Shakdam is executive director of We Believe In Israel.
Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-863607
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