POSTING IN WHICH I CONFESS MY UTTER CLUELESSESSOSSITITY!

In a comment underneath a recent Dovbear post (here: http://dovbear.blogspot.com/2008/05/zionism-god-that-did-not-fail.html), commenter David reacts adversely to something I said by calling me incredibly clueless.

Alack. I am undone. He has found me out.


What I wrote was:
"Walking around like a recognizable Jew, Muslim, or American in modern day Europe is asking for trouble.

It is much more comfortable to be a bland generic European than a sore thumb. Safer too.
Plus it really does boost employability.

And lets face it; who really wants to tell those kind friendly tolerant Gentiles next door, who treat one just like a fellow Frenchman or Belgian, that they are full of crap? That hardly seems civilized, eh?"


Actually, I'll stand by what I said. I base my opinion on regular reading, correspondence, acquaintance with Europeans, and a thorough familiarity with modern Dutch and Belgian society, the European leftwing, and European history, in addition to nearly seventeen years of living in Europe (1962 - 1978).


And, relating to my contention that there has been a rise in anti-Semitism in Europe, I'll add a few juicy quotes taken from a BBC article (here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3234264.stm ).
[As you could expect, I deliberately cherry picked them - reason being that the BBC, like many press sources, sought to give a sense of balance by including ameliorating crap that does not suit my agenda one whit.]


QUOTES:

"When we get to a point when it is becoming acceptable in many places in Europe and even in mainstream opinion to label Israel as a Nazi state, or, in more diplomatic language, an apartheid state, the Israeli citizen feels that their very right to exist in any form, whether politically or as a nation, is being challenged."

---Robert Wistrich, director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism in Jerusalem.
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"It is not that Europe has become more anti-Semitic, it is simply that, over the past few years, people have felt much more at ease in expressing their prejudices. In part this is to do with the situation in the Middle East.

Obviously people must have the right to criticise Israel, but it frequently appears to be the case that a standard is applied to Israel that isn't to the rest of the world. The US is also a victim of this kind of hypocrisy - thousands will turn out to protest against President Bush and yet they'll be silent when it comes to a genuinely bloody dictator."
---Peter Sichrovsky, Austrian MEP and former general secretary of Joerg Haider's right-wing Freedom Party
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"There has not been a rise in Nazi-style, racist anti-Semitism, although in certain countries, such as Belgium and France, there has been a rise in what we call anti-Semitic incidents - attacks on synagogues and individual Jews.

In Britain, this has not been the case. But, there has been a rise in other forms of anti-Semitism, so in the British context in particular, we came up with the term Judeophobia. We see it as extreme criticism of Israel and American Jews that moves over into bigotry against Jews as a whole."

---Barry Kosmin, executive director of the London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research
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"It is worth noting that opinion polls suggest that Europeans regard Israel as the biggest threat to world peace. No doubt many criticisms can be made about the role of Israel. But the biggest threat to world peace?

Negative perceptions about Israel do not necessarily mean that it is the Jews who are seen as the threat. However the reality is a complex one. Many find it difficult to distinguish between Zionism and Judaism."

---Frank Furedi, sociology professor at the UK's Kent University and a commentator on contemporary approaches to the Holocaust
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"Let there be no misunderstanding. We live since 2001 in an extremely dangerous world where a new type of anti-Semitism among some Muslims has surfaced, whose tenets are worthy of the worst Nazi propaganda, and whose hatred is no longer aimed at Israeli "Zionists" but at the entire Jewish people.

Europe, and France in particular, have been hit by this type of anti-Semitism anchored in our globalised world.

This genuine and dangerous anti-Semitism should not be confused with the unsavoury critiques against Israel which can be found in the ranks of Europe's left-wing or with the often unpalatable Holocaust "fatigue" which many Europeans, in Germany in particular, may be experiencing."---Diana Pinto, historian and author of The Wager: Reconciling Europe and the Jewish world in the 21st century
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"Very often, at least in France, the victims of Islamic anti-Jewish violence are the obviously observant: Orthodox Jews, their schools, synagogues and private property, while the anti-Semitism of the extreme right focused on secular Jews, who were accused of undermining the ethnic and religious identity of their country."

---Jean-Yves Camus, French political scientist and contributor to the annual report Anti-Semitism Worldwide


Final note: In October 2002 the Volkskrant published the results of an enquête which showed that distaste towards Turks, Moroccans, and Americans had sharply increased among the Dutch. Remarkably, no mention was made of a far greater distaste for Jews, as was and is evident by the huge amount of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel drivel in Dutch on the internet. That distaste would not have interested the average reader.

It is consequently not surprising that the CIDI (Centrum Informatie en Documentatie Israel) shows that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the Netherlands has increased dramatically in recent years, as can be seen from their most recent report on anti-Semitic incidents in the Netherlands (go to their website http://www.cidi.nl/ and click on 'Antisemitisme' in the side-bar).

It is also worthwhile to look up articles by Manfred Gerstenfeld. He has written several dynamite pieces about Dutch anti-Semitism.

Or, if you read Dutch, browse through the comments underneath any article in the Algemeen Dagblad that refers to Israel. Please also note the slant the article, and how rarely the Palestinians are mentioned negatively.

And if you're truly masochistic, read parliamentarian Anja Meulenbelt's nasty blog, or the speeches of anti-Israel activist Greta Duisenberg, and recent statements by politician and former prime-minister Dries van Agt. All three espouse a populist anti-Semitism that is stereotypically Dutch.