EXPRESS / UK
by Douglas Murray
August 21, 2014
EVENTS in the Middle East today have repercussions on the streets of Britain and Europe.
Jews are attacked here in Britain, they are blockaded into a synagogue in Paris and the chant ‘Death to the Jews’ is heard in Germany for the first time in 70 years.
But too few people seem to want to notice this or admit what it means. They think this is just about Israel, or just about Jewish people. It isn’t. It is about all of us.
The decision last month by the Israeli government to respond to Hamas rocket-fire from Gaza is the response any government would choose if rockets were fired at its citizens. The Israeli government has the right – as does any government – to stop the bombarding of its people. However, in recent weeks it has become plain that much of the world expects a different response from Israel. They expect Israel not to fight for the safety, security and survival of their people, but to lie down in front of the Islamic extremist enemy. The UK government has even – disgracefully – stopped selling some arms to Israel just when the country needs such weapons most. But in expecting Israel to behave differently from the rest of us our societies and governments reveal far more about our own state than the State of Israel.
…..It is now the duty of all decent people – including decent Muslims – to turn on these barbarians and make it clear they will not win. Rather than offer up beleaguered Israel we should send another message. That the extremists will not win in their desire to take over Israel anymore than they will win in their stated desire to raise the black flag of jihad over Rome, Washington, Downing Street and Buckingham Palace. Israel is not the cause of the world’s problems. It is simply on the front line of them. But increasingly so are we all. And if we abandon Israel today then one day – too late – we will realize that in fact what we abandoned was ourselves.
ArchitectGuy on Israel 