Below Daniel Pipes debunks Russia Today’s exaggerated reports of the extent of anti-Israel protests. But while there may not be millions protesting worldwide, there are thousands wreaking very real havoc. That it is happening primarily in non-Muslim majority countries should be more, not less, worrying.
I wrote last week about rising anti-Semitism in France. Over the weekend, new riots broke out in the suburbs of Paris. The Local, an English-language outlet in France, reports:
What began as a protest against Israel’s bombing and ground offensive in Gaza quickly turned into a rampage with the so-called “Little Jerusalem” neighborhood in working class Sarcelles as the number one target for rioters. It is one of the centres of France’s Jewish population, which at some 500,000 is the third largest in the world behind Israel and the United States.
In addition to the cars and waste bins set ablaze, several Jewish business were torched, including the Naouri kosher market which was the target of a flash-bang grenade attack in 2012. Rioters also tried to approach a synagogue, before being repelled by riot police.
At least one unconfirmed report stated the building was suffered minor flame damage from a petrol bomb.
As the rioters rampaged through Sarcelles into the early evening, witnesses told The Local they’d heard chants of “Israel, murderers!” and “Hitler for president!”
France is a particularly acute case, but anti-Semitism is increasing elsewhere. In Germany, ABC News reports, “pro-Gaza protesters have chanted ‘gas the Jews’ and other anti-Semitic slogans.” That should raise alarm. It was not that long ago when “gas the Jews” was official German policy. Israel National News says that even some American Jews are on high alert; extra security has been added near the headquarters of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement at 770 Eastern Parkway, in crime-ridden Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Several media outlets have noted the increase in Jews leaving France for Israel. According to The Local, “as many as 5,000 could depart by the end of the year,” which has not happened since 1948 — the year Israel became a state.
Perhaps this is all part of the unfortunate ebb and flow of Jewish relations with Western nations, no different from what we have witnessed for centuries. But the last century showed what especially aggressive, publicly tolerated anti-Semitism can cause. So perhaps a little alarmism is in order.