Krauthammer: European Opponents of Israel Are Anti-Semitic, American Ones Are Just Ignorant

There is a fundamental difference between anti-Israel protests in Europe and the U.S., Charles Krauthammer says.

“When it comes to Europe, I think the overwhelming factor is raw native deep-seated anti-Semitism,” he told Fox News on Tuesday. For a long time, the anti-Semites of Europe discovered that by using the “veneer of anti-Zionism,” they could get away with it, he said.

“Now, the veneer and cover are gone,” Krauthammer said. Signs used by European protests saying “Hitler was right” and chants about gassing Jews makes anti-Israel protests into “raw anti-Semitism finding a semi-respectable outlet,” he said.

But in the United States, Krauthammer explained, it’s a different story — anti-Semitism “is not a major factor.”

“What I think is the most important factor here is sheer, raw ignorance,” Krauthammer said. Anti-Israel Americans have no idea what Hamas is, and don’t understand that there is no occupation in Gaza, for instance.

“Are they aware that Hamas’s charter calls not for just the destruction of Israel but for the killing Jews everywhere inthe world?” he asked.