Europe’s Selective Outrage about Anti-Semitism
It appears that anti-Semitism is condemned only when it can be pinned on euroskeptics.
There has been much controversy of late about the British Conservative Party’s decision to join the newly formed European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the EU parliament. Most of the excitement has focused on the Polish MEP Michal Kaminski, who was named chair of the ECR group. Kaminski, a member of the Law and Justice Party of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, has been accused of anti-Semitism. For an interview in the Jewish Chronicle in which Kaminski responds to the charges, see here. And for a defense of Kaminski by Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard, see here.
Pollard suggests that the charges against Kaminski are part of a smear campaign designed to associate opposition to an increasingly centralized “federal” Europe à la the Lisbon Treaty with extremism. When one considers that the ECR was founded precisely in order to give greater voice to “anti-federalist” currents within the parliament and that it also includes the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) of the Czech Republic’s famously euro-skeptical President Vaclav Klaus, this account is, prima facie, highly plausible.
When one considers, furthermore, some of the components of the parliamentary group that the Tories left behind in order to join the ECR, it seems practically certain. The Tories were previously part of the European People’s Party (EPP) group in the parliament. The EPP group includes major European conservative and Christian Democratic parties like Angela Merkel’s CDU, Silvio Berlusconi’s PDL, and Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP. It also includes the Hungarian Fidesz party of the former — and according to current polls, likely future — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Iran’s Press TV liked a recent television interview with Fidesz MP Oszkar Molnar so much that it devoted an article to it under the title “Israel plans to devour the world: Hungarian MP.” “I’m a Hungarian nationalist,” Molnar is quoted as saying:
I love my homeland, love the Hungarians and give primacy to Hungarian interests over those of global capital — Jewish capital, if you like — which wants to devour the entire world, especially Hungary.
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John Rosenthal’s writings on European politics and transatlantic relations have appeared in English, French, and German in such leading publications as Policy Review, Les Temps Modernes, and Merkur. He holds a PhD in philosophy and he taught political philosophy and classical German philosophy before turning to journalism. More of his work can be found at Transatlantic Intelligencer.
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11 Comments
1. gboisjo:Who gives a s—. Anti Semitism in Europe is as old as apple pie in the US. This is not new news just a rehashing of the status quo be it with this group or that one.
Oct 29, 2009 - 5:43 am 2. BrianH:I agree that preaching to the choir is useless, but that’s not what’s happening here. I think Dr. Rosenthal’s just adding to the already tall pile of evidence for resurgent worldwide anti-Semitism. There are plenty of people out there for whom the image of “progressive,” sophisticated, urbane and thoroughly anti-Semitic Europeans simply does not compute. This piece seems to be written with penetrating their thick psychological defense mechanisms in mind,
Oct 29, 2009 - 5:58 am 3. Snorri Godhi:What this article does not say is who exactly is objecting to the British Conservatives’ new allies. Am I wrong to say that the protests have been entirely limited to Britain? am I wrong to say that they are entirely motivated by internal British politics? am I wrong to say that the British Labour Party and government are keen to smear the Tories even at the price of making enemies all over Europe?
Oct 29, 2009 - 9:10 am 4. robotech master:To 2. BrianH
I think your missing a key point in that argument. Its not just anti-semitism thats on the raise thats just the effect of whats truly on the raise… and that cause is leftism. When ever leftism(or collectivism a branch of leftism) is on the raise you always have more racial, ethnic, etc problems because collectivists by definition are race, prejudicial, bigoted clowns.
You can look all across the world and see while most countries are moving slightly right… those countries are also far left wing and are barely leftwing. On the other hand you look at the euros and US and you see what was a centrist area(euro last 30-40 years) is now leftwing pushing leftward and the US which was center is not center left pushing on leftwing.
As countries move leftward racism along with all its friends come out to play.
Oct 29, 2009 - 9:11 am 5. PAthena:Hungary under Admiral Horthy during World War II sent half a million Jews to their deaths. How many Jews are there left in Hungary now? Fidesz projects on to Jews its own desires and fantasies.
Oct 29, 2009 - 9:44 am 6. Steven:Charges of Antisemitism are selective most of the time.
Ask, why there is no condemnation of Egyptian and Abu Mazens anti-Semitism, compared to Turkeys.
Oct 29, 2009 - 12:09 pm 7. BrianH:#4 Robotech:
You know that modern anti-Semitism is a product of left-wing resentments, and I know it too. It was my point that a lot of people are emotionally and psychologically invested in not having to listen to that truth. Articles like this one can play a small but valuable part in puncturing that wall of self-imposed deafness.
Oct 29, 2009 - 7:34 pm 8. Marie Claude:So, in short, if the Conservative Party’s current association with the Poland’s Law and Justice Party is supposed to be a problem, why was the Conservative Party’s previous association with Hungary’s Fidesz not one?
a guess, becuz the right wing Poles were, and, still at a lesser point now, are the ones that rise their anti EU voice, while the Hungarians are discret, and don’t whin for the pains they had to suffer under soviets regimes, but are people that move on !
But the Kaminski’s businesses aren’t of Choir children, and racism is a latent job for them
Oct 30, 2009 - 6:26 am 9. Marie Claude:Roboooooooooootech,
On the other hand you look at the euros and US and you see what was a centrist area(euro last 30-40 years) is now leftwing pushing leftward
don’t confound your Brits reading with the rest of the western EU counries !
We were more lefty 30 or 40 years ago
Oct 30, 2009 - 6:32 am 10. Marie Claude:Eu countries ment, sorry typo
Oct 30, 2009 - 6:33 am 11. Eric R.:Daniel Hannan, whom most people here have probably heard of, is highly involved in the ECR and I think has done a good job of defending Kaminski (who actually has good relations with Israel’s Likud party) in his blog at the Telegraph.
I think Hannan’s admiration of Ron Paul is a little off base, but he seems genuinely pro-American, pro-free market, and anti-Eurofederalist.
Oct 31, 2009 - 2:46 pm