How can Europe fight Muslim anti-Jewish sentiments without becoming haters of Muslims and Arabs?

Frankly, the first challenge is to stop denying the virulent anti-Jewish sentiments in Muslim circles. Yet, what does society win if it succeeds to replace anti-Jewish by anti-Muslim? And it is just politically correct nonsense to say morally equivalently that we should be against both hatred against Jews and Muslims. So how to go about it then?

The solution lies in including the whole of European history.

Europe knew for thousands of years Christianity-inspired Jew-hatred. There were important exceptions, but they were mere exceptions.

Let’s not forget that the Holocaust debacle was a moral failure of Europe, not of the Jews. After the Auschwitz debacle, some churches tried to deal with their anti-Jewish bias. However, also today much work still needs to be done inside the churches and with the believers (from Christian BDS-supporters to Evangelical Zionists). A clear proof of belief in their own supremacy is that I never met a Christian who was ready to send baptized Jews back to Judaism.

Also, neither Europe or North America have repented in the sense of admitting its bloody past (before, during and after WW II, they denied entrance to Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis), except for Germany. There is some shallow repentance in being friends of local Jews and/or Israel now, but the old dragons are still there from the unexamined past and it shows constantly.

The West still needs to clean up its anti-Jewish roots.

It also needs to understand and admit that Muslim anti-Jewish sentiment on its soil is only possible because the majority with its Christian background has not cleansed itself of anti-Semitism.

It’s not enough to state that most Muslims are peaceful (they are) and that the West should only confront the radicals. If clearly Christian North America and formerly and presently Christian Europe dealt with their animosity regarding Jews, Muslim Jew-hatred would die there.

(The demand that “Muslims clean up the Koran” is ridiculous. How Muslims can be true friends with the Jews is their task – not for any outsider without any knowledge or Islam authority to dictate.)

It is not the solution to replace blaming Jews for all ills by blaming Muslims for all ills.

It is much easier to play the victim of evil than to take responsibility for having been part of the evil forces, as proved the Austrians, Japanese, Palestinians, Poles, Dutch and neo-Nazis and White supremacists. But there is no other way than to take responsibility.

So, people and countries with a Western background, fight Muslim anti-Semitism by giving priority to questioning one’s own attitude towards Jews first and foremost and that of their ancestors.

(It is most irresponsible to say, which I heard often: It is unchristian to hate Jews so the people who called themselves Christian and hated Jews were not real Christians so I as a Christian do not need to associate myself with of distance myself from them.)

Then add to cleaning up your own home, that you also don’t tolerate anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism from non-Christian sources.

That’s hard but can be done. Replacing blaming Jews for all ills by blaming Muslims for all ills (or to blame Jews and Muslims equally) is easy but will not lead to improvement of one’s society. And hatred is the problem of the haters, not of the hated, so going from being a hater to being a hater is no progress. Nurturing Jew-hatred keeps one trapped in lies that hamper one’s own liberation – and distant from Jews, who so well could help one to free oneself from all oppression.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1