Part III: From the Holocaust to the Global Jihad
by Olivier J. Melnick
Anti-Semitism didn’t come to a halt in the interwar period between 1918 and 1939. As a matter of fact, it continued to display its ugly head with almost all of the original characteristics it had garnered over the centuries. Who could have thought that within less than two decades, the worst was about to take place, and about one third of world Jewry would be eradicated?
Hitler came “legally” into power in 1933 and started his campaign against the Jews that would result in the Holocaust and the killing of 6,000,000 Jews all over Europe, not to mention other groups as well like the Gypsies and various religious minorities. While Nazi Germany was the originator of the “Final Solution” implemented in 1942, they were greatly aided by various governments. One of them was of course the Vichy-France government under the leadership of Maréchal Pétain. About 80,000 of all the murdered Jewish people were from France. (Le Mémorial de la Déportation des Juifs de France by Serge Klarsfeld).
Hatred of the Jewish people appeared to have become a taboo subject all over the world in the aftermath of World War Two. They had suffered enough and the new born motto of “NEVER AGAIN” was appropriately adopted. The 1948 birth of the modern State of Israel if not a direct result of the horrors of the Holocaust is at the very least tightly linked to its ashes. There was hope for the survivors of the Holocaust and their families. Eretz Yisrael would be the haven of peace they had only hoped for in their dreams. But history would prove otherwise with the rising of a few Middle East political figures that would forever change the face of the region… and not for the better!
Yassir Arafat’s was one of them. Born in Cairo, Egypt, Arafat (1929-2004) spent much of his life fighting Israel, Zionism, and the Jewish people. In 1959, he founded Fatah, the left wing faction of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) with one goal in mind: the complete eradication of Israel. He was the father and a proponent of “Palestinian self-determination” for which he fought his whole life, literally forcing Jordanians, Syrians, Lebanese and Egyptians into becoming overnight “Palestinian refugees” in need of getting back their own land: Palestine! (Myths and Facts about the Middle East Conlict by Mitchell Bard)
Prior to the coming of Arafat on the scene, Palestinian people didn’t exist, they simply claimed to be “Arabs” and they did not view themselves as having a separate identity or needing to return to a then “fictitious” land of their own.
Palestinian nationalism did not become a significant political movement until Arafat popularized it and kept pushing for it after the Six-Day War of 1967. From that point on, the anti-Zionist propaganda started to grow exponentially. Anti-Semitism was no longer driving the judeophobic agenda of the Middle-East, but anti-Zionism or anti-Israelism were, or so it appeared. In reality, a new form of anti-Semitism had found a fertile soil in which to grow in the Middle East. It would eventually expand to the French continent and beyond.
Many wars were fought between Israel and her neighboring enemies (1948, 1967, 1973, 1982) and of course we can add the two Intifadas of 1987-1993 and 2000-2005 as well as more recent “Operation Cast Lead” and the Gaza War of 2014 known as “Operation Protective Edge”. Without getting into details about all these conflicts, suffice it to say that for the last two decades at least, there seems to be a direct correlation between Israel’s involvement in the Middle East conflicts and Jewish global guilt (as seen by the enemies of Israel). When something takes place in Israel that ruffles Palestinian feathers, worldwide Jews are insulted, harassed, attacked and even killed like in Toulouse, France in 2012.
In 2014, French anti-Semitism is at its highest in decades. Anti-Semitic incidents have multiplied exponentially as French Jews continue to bear the guilt of Israel’s crimes in the Holy Land (not that I imply that Israel is guilty of war crimes in any way). Guilt by association is enough to give anti-Semites in France the justification to hurt the Jews. mobs of angry Frenchmen mostly of the Muslim persuasion are again shouting “Death to the Jews” on the streets of Paris. They nearly avoided a pogrom in Paris last June during a pro-Palestinian rally. While much of this “new anti-Semitism” is brought on by Muslims of North African origins, there is also a growing contingency of neo-Nazis (a breed that was beyond uncouth and nearly extinct after WWII). The liberal left, claiming multiculturalism and tolerance–for all but the Jews of course–is also helping radical Islam and extreme Right bigots under the leadership of increasingly popular Marine LePen.
It would appear that the French Jews have absolutely nowhere to go but Israel. Many feel that France is no longer safe and they are making plans to make “aliyah” in the near future if not sooner. Anti-Semitism in France has almost doubled in the first 7 months of 2014 (91% increase). Almost 3,300 French Jews left for Israel in 2013 (60% more than 2012). It is estimated that over 8,000 Jewish people will be leavingFrance in 2014, which makes France the leading country in the world for Jewish aliyah. Amazingly, the fact that French Jews are leaving an unsafe France for a war-ridden Israel doesn’t affect their decision to move.
French Anti-Semitism didn’t happen in a vacuum. It is the result of a progressive hatred of God’s people, “the apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8). It is currently a hybrid of classical anti-Semitism and the new anti-Semitism. A newer kind of Jew hatred has emerged that I will label Eschatological Anti-Semitism, as it seems to be clearly linked to the last days.
British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, a Jewish believer in Yeshua said it very succinctly:” Christianity is biblical Judaism fulfilled”. It is true that Christianity and Judaism are connected. One doesn’t supersede the other but compliments it. Jews and Christians are biblically connected; sadly, it is seldom evident if we go by the track record of Judeo/Christian relations over the last 2,000 years.
Jews and Christians have a lot in common and need each other especially at this time in human history, but more than anything, they need the One that they also have in common: Yeshua of Nazareth, the Jewish Mashiach and Savior of the world.
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