Europe’s blind spot over anti-Semitism

You would think that we Europeans might have learned a thing or two about anti-Semitism over the past century or so – and perhaps come to understand pragmatically, if nothing else, that what begins with the vicious persecution of Jews usually moves on to murdering lots of other people, too. But no. Or if we did, then it has conveniently slipped our minds, as things tend to do in these complicated times. Or perhaps we think that the persecution of the Jews we are seeing right now in Europe is of a different marque to that which began in the early 1930s in Germany. Yes, it’s sort of anti-Semitism – but it’s of a nicer kind than that instigated by that psychotic little Austrian with the performative moustache. A little more excusable.

That may be the answer as to why we don’t do anything about it, apart from spout platitudinous drivel, when Jews are attacked on our streets. Drivel about how awful it all is and how we must stand together – but never telling the whole truth, and never making sure it will not happen again even if the politicians always say: ‘It must never happen again.’ It happens again the following week, somewhere in Europe. And it is not a different brand of anti-Semitism, either. It is the tried and trusted old brand, based on lies, stupidity, doublethink and racial hatred. Exactly the same kind that Goebbels et al subscribed to, using exactly the same tropes, the same false allegations, the same inchoate loathing.

If only our TV news programmes and politicians could bring themselves to call it all ‘Far-Right Terrorism’, then something might get done – because we all know that Far-Right Terrorism is the biggest threat to our democracy.