ZOA press release highlights Bat Ye'or

ZOA press release highlights Bat Ye'or

After being absent since Feb 15, ZOA press releases are once again posted on the ZOA site. Today's release deals with a Capitol Hill symposium sponsored by ZOA, in which Bat Ye'or shared her knowledge and view with US legislators. The ZOA press release summarizes the determinants of EUrabia's current shameful stance:

First, a dangerous combination of anti-Americanism, anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism has coalesced in the European consciousness.

“Much of the European population sees the Palestinian jihad not as terrorism or the murder of innocents, but as a heroic ‘struggle for liberty,’” said Bat Ye’or. “Zionism or America is seen as the evil force, not Islamism or even terrorism. Europe is unwilling or unable to see jihadists as an enemy or even a destructive force in the world.”

Second, substantial Muslim immigration has provided a mechanism for the growth of radical Islam in Europe. For Bat Ye’or, radical ideologies have found fertile ground among the 20 million Muslims now living among the nations of Europe.

“The Muslim populations of Europe are not assimilating or adapting to Western ideals of democracy and religious plurality.” Said Bat Ye’or, “Such concepts are largely rejected. Moreover, European students are not taught the real history of the Islamic world or its historic oppression of Christians and Jews. Muslim students protest such lessons and the courses are altered to avoid negative pictures of Islam or Islamic history.”

Lastly, as a major contributing factor to the growth of the Muslim influence, Bat Ye’or cites the European penchant for appeasement.

“We have seen this recently in Spain, France and Italy, from massive demonstrations against America summoned by al-Qaeda, to actual backdoor deals with terrorist groups,” said Bat Ye’or, “Appeasement is acceptable to European leadership. They are willing to appease Islamists demands and goals, and thereby hope to avoid being targeted for terrorism.”

For Bat Ye’or, this combination of internal and external appeasement and non-Westernized immigration, all riding an undercurrent of anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism, has come together in the reality of “Eurabia.”


Posted by Joseph Alexander Norland at March 2, 2005 07:04 PM

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Comments

1. Steve said:

I think the key point is that appeasement is indeed acceptable, and not a dirty word, in the European mind. I just read "Making Friends With Hitler" by Ian Kershaw. It is a useful reminder of the capacity for self-deception in the face of unremitting evil. I thought of Iran and its iron will to proceed with its nuclear program, and of how the Europeans are willing to accommodate Iran because virtually anything is better than military engagement. In the US, we tend to ask ourselves where the line should, and must, be drawn. In Europe, this thinking is considered highly dangerous.

Posted by: Steve on March 2, 2005 10:33 PM

2. BobW said:

Continuing her trend, Bat Ye'or of Switzerland is still wrong.

US legislators are conversant in the situation. They have been even before Bat Ye'or left Egypt. Anti-Americanism has been present in western Europe circa French withdrawal from military NATO(Mar 66). Former French PM Rocard made a public statement that US-UK betrayed France via NATO causing DeGaulle's downstream anti-Americanism. FPM Rocard should be familiar to readers as the author of the quote re Israel: "an historic mistake". Anti-Zionism is somewhat new. Anti-Semitism is not (repeat: NOT)new. There was a school of thought believing that the Shoah would start in France and not Germany. These jelled forces are not too new.

Western Europe's ruling class recognizes terrorism and responding accordingly. Ye'or wrote "Europe is unwilling...". Only a week ago, France's Minister of Defense, Michael Alliot-Marie, was in Yemen signing a new military cooperation treaty to fight the jihadists.

In an expanding economy, it takes 3+ generations to assimilate. W. Europe is not expanding but rather contracting. Europe is not the example of "democracy and religious plurality". It's a delicate situation. Bat Ye'or omits to mention what happened to Blum France and Weimar Germany.

European students in public schools do learn about Algeria. The Berlin to Bagdad Railway is a subject.

What Bat Ye'or calls "appeasement" can also be called survival. Western Europe is weak. Two key props of survival are business with the Arabs and Arab immigrant workers. It is in France where 80% of electricity is nuclear generated. Germany was similiar until the Green Party closed the reactors. Oil governs.

Soon, America leaves for the oil fields of the Caspian Sea. US legislators have a comprehensive grasp of the situation, to include Iranian plans for an oil bourse challenging London and New York City. With only a couple of exceptions, the Arab governments physically surpress political Islam and terrorism.

In prctical terms, ZOA is only Morton Klein. His great work gets dilluted when placed on ZOA letterhead because ZOA represents an earlier era. Some of the ZOA background is rejected by Middle America, eg judical activitism, labor unions (Louis Brandeis). Secular Zionism, like western Europe, is nearly dead.

Kol tuv,
BobW

Posted by: BobW on March 3, 2005 02:09 AM

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