There has never been as much hatred against the Jews since the time of Nazism

Let us, please, go beyond the slew of press releases and statements of concern that have been accumulating in these days following the recent escalation in anti-Semitic incidents. Europe should be ashamed; near my house in Rome, a blacklist of Jewish merchants has appeared; Europe nourishes itself on neo-Nazi statements, like those of Italian philosopher and politician Gianni Vattimo, declaring that the Jews are like Hitler, that Israel “massacres” innocent Palestinians, especially women and children, with pleasure.

Kristallnacht was the sign of a total attack on Judaism, and the destruction of the European mind. Today, the same thing is happening, a vital space is founded in the hatred for Jews, in the hatred for Israel, you can see that in the neo-Nazis’ declarations as well as in those of the Communist Party leader Ferrero. It is sufficient to be against Israel, and you belong to the majority.

There is nothing more classic than “Death to the Jews” shouted in Berlin; and to succeed in Paris, why not join fascists and Islamists who shout “Jews to the gas”. Europe should drop its press releases, and courses on the Holocaust: instead we must learn, read, have the patience to go beyond the acquiescence that communicates easy television’s compassion without reasoning. Whoever shows solidarity with the Jews must demonstrate it with persistent reason, for the Jews have already received too many condolences; to combat anti-Semitism requires common sense and to distinguish between a war without a choice and one of aggression, between the use of human shields and the use of determined human soldiers, you must study the numbers that prove that the majority of those killed were terrorists. You have to read Hamas’ Charter.

The memory of the Holocaust has nothing to do with this, so stop making the comparison; instead, what this is all about is the defence of the European soul, which will be destroyed again by this new anti-Jewish hatred. The Newsweek shows a photograph of a Jewish girl escaping with a suitcase in hand, and it tells us that of 53 thousand adults polled in 102 countries, 26 per cent are profoundly anti-Semitic (Greece 69 per cent, France 37, Belgium 27, Poland 45, Hungary 41, Palestinians 93 percent, Iraq 92). Dieter Graumann, president of the Jewish Council in Germany, testifies that “this is the worst period since Nazism,” if you wear a Star of David you can end up being beaten, if you are a journalist like me, they write: “We will kill you, …”, along with other insults; in London people are shouting “Gas the Jews”. All of these stories are an indication: the disintegration of Europe.

We are no longer able to distinguish friend from foe, the word Islamism is unpronounceable, we fear Israel’s Western identity, the clear determination of Jews to defend themselves is detested. Antisemitism is a sign of dementia. It happens when a society is in crisis, when it does not have enough energy to inform itself, to understand, to criticize.

Here a terrorist organization that hangs homosexuals and persecutes women and openly declares to seek death for the caliphate, smothers a democratic country with a blanket of missiles, which reacts like any other would do, and this fact has given rise to a wave of antisemitism. De te fabula narratur. Is it so much better to return to the anti-Jew archetypes, instead of thinking that terror will one day attack Europe as well. Antisemitism is for idiots, but first of all for the fainthearted. Shameful, Europe, stop with those statements.