Giulio Meotti
The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter and of "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published by Mantua Books.. His writing has appeared in publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary.Last March, a Lenten Carnival parade in Belgium peddled vile anti-Semitism. Two grotesque caricatures of pink-clad Orthodox Jews, hooked noses, hands reaching out for money, and a rat perched on their bags, marched in the street of Aalst.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center called the display “sickening”. Belgian Jews were “shocked” and B’nai B’rith International termed it “disgusting”. The Mayor of Aalst, Christoph D'Haese, declared that “it's not up to the mayor” to ban floats. Theoretically, yes. Practically, in the country where Jews have been gunned down at museums, no.
It was not an accident. It happened again, not on the streets, but in a major newspaper. The Belgian daily De Morgen just ran an article - by Dimitri Verhulst, who wrote that “there is no promised land, only stolen land,” and that “no God would give creatures such an ugly nose”. Again, those hooked Jewish noses. (Note: Those sentences were removed at last but only as a result of overwhelming protests)
In the '30s, it was tragic, since this propaganda fomented the atmosphere that led to the Holocaust. Now it is sad. Nobody in Europe today, excepting Mr. Verhulst, would openly say that Jews have ugly physical characteristics. But many, probably most Europeans, say that Jews have stolen the land from the Arabs.
Belgium is very much the perfect example of Europe's future: the sordid alliance between the atheistic left and Islam.
We see it also in the UK under Labour's leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, who has the potential of being the first European prime minister questioning the Jewish right to their homeland.
A geography textbook recently approved by Belgium's Education Ministry showed an overweight Jew asleep in bathtub near Palestinian Arabs with an empty bucket (that cartoon, too, was the removed after an uproar).
Last April, Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said on BBC that Jews are “hook-nosed” and blamed them for the Middle East's troubles.
Anti-Semites in Europe are no longer hiding. Those hooked noses should take note and leave them to their own fate.