Customer Reviews

The War of Western Europe Against Israel

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As Bat Ye'or said the Carmis' book has great merit in exposing Europe's ongoing war against the State of Israel since its independence. The authors recall long-forgotten data, such as the British sale of arms to Jordan and Iraq in 1947 when they were on the brink of invading Israel; the British officers who led the Arab Legion against the nascent Jewish state; the French arms boycott of Israel during the Six-Day war (1967), taken to the European level over the Yom Kippur war (1973). A chapter deals with Palestinian terrorist strikes in Europe during 1968-87, showing how they triggered a European policy of appeasement and rewarded the culprits. The authors provide many facts related to the permeating and vociferous European anti-Semitism.

Europe induced Israel into the Oslo accords, as if Yasir Arafat and his European backers really sought peace. Israel's efforts for peace turned into bloodshed, providing Europe with a high-level moral and acrimonious posturing against the victims while exonerating the terrorists. The authors reproduce several newspaper articles published during the intifada related to Europe's funding of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its partiality toward Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians. They quote the indignant denial of EU anti-Semitism by Javier Solana, EU foreign policy chief, and by Chris Patten, EU external relations commissioner, which add cynicism to a war of hate. The hostile and biased attitudes of U.N. institutions and the deliberate misinterpretation of U.N. texts are mentioned with their lethal consequences worldwide.

A short chapter on the Vatican's relations with Israel summarizes the papal obstruction to Zionism from the late nineteenth century to a more balanced approach by Pope John Paul II. The Carmis quote author Amnon Lord, who described the emergence of a transnational system, modeled on the Stalinist regime, which encompasses the U.N., human rights organizations, and the media and is focused on hatred of Israel and the promotion of the Palestinian cause. The authors wish to end on an optimistic note, but evil has gone on for so long under the guise of virtue that a change seems doubtful. Anti-Semitism has become part of Europe's banal political culture. The War of Western Europe against Israel offers an easy read and provides much information. Its main weakness lies in a reliance on the reproduction of press articles and opinion pieces rather than providing an independent assessment of the EU's political and economic strategy toward the Middle East.

This work chronicles Europe's discriminatory and prejudicial attitude towards the state of Israel.This prejudice is reflected in European support of anti- Israeli resolutions at the U.N. It is also expressed through Europe's support for Palestinian Arab organizations that engage in terrorist activity.
This works conclusions are seconded by a more recent book on the subject , "Israel and Europe: An Expanding Abyss" ed. by Manfred Gerstenfeld.
In an earlier work Gerstenfeld maintained that the idea that European Anti- Semitism had a post- War respite after the murder of the great share of European Jews , is mistaken. Anti- Semitism continued to play a part in European political considerations. However as this present book shows the Islamic and Arab, oil factor now plays an even larger role in this form of discrimination.

There are too many Israelis and Israel-apologists who seem unable to acknowledge that criticism of Israel might not be anti-Semitism, but might actually be based on a legitimate and reasonable rejection of Israel's destructive attitudes toward Palestine. Israel was once a noble project - the Jews deserved a homeland, and Israel's defense of itself in 1948 and 1967 was merited. But Israel needs to remember that the Palestinians too deserve a homeland. Israeli nationalists just cannot accept that Israel might now reasonably be considered a pariah state, and that Europeans might just have a case. As a European, I am proud that Europe is standing up to Israel - someone has to when the Americans seem unable to take the lead. This book is propaganda, and does nothing to contribute to a solution of Israel's problems. Hard-core conservative Israelis will love it, but no-one else will take it seriously.