A Europe under attack must learn from Israel
A Europe under attack must learn from Israel

One week after France suffered the most terrible terrorist attacks in its history, Israel was hit again by two attacks, leaving 5 dead, one an Arab bystander. The two countries are now united by grief, besieged by the same enemies of civilization. And Israel can offer its experience to Europe in how to keep terror from achieving its aims.

The State of Israel offers to Europe the only existing and positive model of a democracy dealing with Islamic terrorism and overcoming it. The alternative is Belgium, the factory of suicide bombers and jihadists in the heart of Europe.

Israel offers the example of a Western country, facing the challenge of fighting internal and external enemies, which does not abandon its commitment to maintaining a prosperous and healthy society. Yes, onThursday it suffered five innocents murdered in cold blood by Islamist terrorists - yes, Palestinian Arab terrorists are Islamist terrorists - but it continues to fight them and concentrate on the future at the same time.

To Europe I say: zero tolerance for incitement, the software of terrorism. Words kill.
Europe should observe how Israel banned the Islamic Movement this week. The Muslim Brotherhood is banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but not in Europe. Why? In deciding whether to ban an Islamic organization, Europe up to now always looked for the passage of arms and money. Instead it should outlaw incitement to murder.

In Israel it is a crime to incite to kill Jews. Europe should ban inciting to kill Europeans.

In the UK, universities have turned into Islamists’ arenas. This is not happening in Israel, despite the fact it also has a very aggressive anti-Israel minority. Universities in Israel are free oases of research. In Israel there are no journalists under police protection for their own ideas. In Europe it is becoming the norm.

For years, Israel denounced hate speech as fertilizer for terrorism, but Europe was always deaf and even funded the Palestinian textbooks full of anti-Semitism. To Europe I say: zero tolerance for incitement, the software of terrorism. Words kill.

If you do not fight your enemies you do not exist at all. But if you exist only to fight your enemies your existence will have no meaning anyway. Israel decided to remain a “building society”. This challenge is also crucial for Europe, which today is weak both outside and inside. The defense of a country can not be achieved only on the battlefield, with arrests and controls at airports or bombings in Raqqa. It also means maintaining your values.

And this is what Israel does. Not Europe, which adopted suicidal multiculturalism.

Then there are also practical steps that Europe should take by emulating Israel. It is true that the entire Israeli system is the result of forty years of counter-terrorism and that Europe can not learn it in a day. And that European public opinion has never really wanted to understand Israel. An assault like the one at the Bataclan in Paris would have been unthinkable in Israel. Not only because there would be guards at the entrance. But also because after the first bursts, the terrorists would have been killed by Israelis with gun permits. We saw it happen just recently in Jerusalem, where the terrorists were disarmed and pursued by ordinary Israelis. Tel Aviv residents helped overpower the terrorist who stabbed two people on Thursday.

In Israel, every public space, every school, sports center and supermarket is protected by armed guards. And nobody complains. Then there is a cultural issue. In Israel, after an attack, the sites of attacks do not become pilgrimage sites as in Paris. In Israel, terrorism is part of the DNA of the society. Terrorists hit and Israeli society starts up again, not letting it affect routine. People are afraid, but they are strong. And Israel’s strength is in its solidarity against terror, despite different opinions on everything else. This is what it is missing today in Europe.

Having demonized Israel for years, maybe 130 dead in Paris can bring Europe and the Jewish State closer in understanding that they face a common enemy.

While in Paris the authorities began to count and identify the victims in front of the restaurants, the stadium and the Bataclan, the Palestinian Arab media were already spreading lies about conspiracies and the long Zionist hand behind the massacre. In Gaza, Islamists celebrated the attack by launching missiles on the south of Israel. In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the buildings of the Jewish State were lit up with the colors of the French flag in commiseration.

On one side you had hatred, on the other civilization.

Where Europe will decide to position herself?