September 11, 2014, 11:04 am
by Izzy Lemberg
When 29 year-old Medhi Nemmouche shot and killed four Jews in the Jewish Museum in Brussels last May 24th, we were horrified. But now we know that he had much worse in store. Nemmouche was about to become the next Mohammed Atta, one of the 9/11 masterminds. A member of the Islamic State, Nemmouche was planning a much larger attack on the Champs Elysees in Paris, on Bastille Day. The attack could have been a devastating version of 9/11 for the French.
The horrifying video footage of the beheadings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff (both carried out by a masked man dubbed “Jihadi John” by the British press, who speaks with a distinctive, clipped London accent) makes clear that the Islamic State and their Jihadi ideals are a cult of death. As are their Jihadi brethren, Hamas.
While journalists and Western public opinion were not yet over being outraged by the alleged civilian death toll in the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Hamas lived it up, with wild victory celebrations in which children were given candy and posed with guns. For the press, the Islamic State and Hamas are in different categories, but in practice they are the same. The celebrations in Gaza revealed the mindset of Hamas, who do not mourn as much as they glorify death. Much like the Islamic State.
Despite their collective fantasy, Hamas clearly did not win the war in Gaza. Their real victory, however, was unleashing an international anti-Semitic tsunami, fueled by the media’s unhinged indictment of Israel.
The shocking image of Spanish retailer Zara’s children’s shirt with stripes and a yellow star was a public anti-Semitic assault meant to hurt. The anti-Semite who created that design knew exactly what he was doing and so did we.
Smoldering anti-Semitism in Europe was all too easily reignited by the war between Hamas and Israel.
The mob howled for vengeance, the missiles raining down on the synagogue walls as the worshippers huddled inside. It was a scene from Europe in the 1930s – except this was eastern Paris on the evening of July 13th, 2014
– Time Magazine.
For the first time since WWII, Jewish communities in Europe are questioning whether they will survive in their communities and many are leaving their lives behind. French Jews, leaving in record numbers know something bad is coming.
There is a (unprecedented) sense of ‘that’s it – we’re leaving, we’re going, we can’t take this anymore.’ — Robert Wistrich, Head of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
In the Second World War, Europeans stood by while the Jews got exterminated so they wouldn’t have the “Jewish problem,” but what started with the Jews didn’t end with them and soon the whole world was engulfed by the Holocaust.
History and the thwarted Bastille Day attack should make clear that what happens to the Jews in Europe is a threat to all EU citizens.
The Islamic State is a legitimate threat both in Europe, where they are recruiting members and planning attacks and in the Middle East where they are on the move.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently gave a grim warning to both Europe and the US that the Islamic State will reach their shores within a month if not stopped.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, points out that Christians, Muslims and religious minorities like the Yazidis are being brutally murdered throughout the Middle East. 90% of Muslims in the region are being killed daily by other Muslims.
“The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews. It was not Jews alone who suffered under Hitler and Stalin, nor is it Jews alone suffering from the ruthless pursuit of power that today masquerades as religion.”
— Lord Jonathan Sacks
The world must realize that ISIS and Hamas are financed by the same gulf nations and share the same goals – Jihad — an Islamic state intolerant of any other faith. Anti-Semitism and Jihad are not coincidentally related, they are part of a war being waged by Jihadis against civilized nations.
We live in very dangerous times.
This article was originally published by the Times of Israel
Izzy Lemberg 