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Jewish in Europe…during an Israeli war

This is how Jews live in Switzerland.

On Thursday, the community I belong to sent an email to all its members warning them to stay away from a pro-Palestinian (or in reality, anti-Israel) demonstration on Friday. They also assured members that the normal security at the synagogue and community center would be bolstered by the presence of city police. (And it’s not like the regular security staff are amateurs; in fact they’re so rigorous they often receive complaints from members who feel they’re being interrogated.) But the largely ex-IDF team is not enough in the face of the hatred that abounds in Europe during a period of IDF activity in the West Bank or Gaza.

Last Sunday in Paris, hundreds of Jews were barricaded in a synagogue — where they had gathered to honor Eyal, Gil-Ad and Naftali — as pro-Palestinian protesters hurled stones and chairs at the police protecting the shul. There’s a story in this week’s IJN about a similar ‘demonstration’ in Antwerp, where “slaughter the Jews” was repeated as a refrain.

In Switzerland, social media surrounding plans for tonight’s demonstration have been filled with hatred, including calls to take the action into the Jewish neighborhoods and attack the synagogues and Jewish citizens there. “Let’s smash their faces in” was one of the choice comments made. The comments were so vitriolic they sparked a story in the one of the national papers and on the evening news.

So can you blame the community?

When I first received the email I was frustrated; why stay away? Why the fear? Let’s face these people, and be proud of who were are, was my initial reaction.

The Swiss Jewish community has maintained a near radio silence on events in Israel: no solidarity rallies as in Denver, no communal gatherings. The other day, several lay people, including many members of Keren Hayessod, organized a demonstration in one of Zurich’s downtown plazas, Paradeplatz. A member of Keren Hayessod made sure to emphasize to my colleague that he was there in a private capacity and that this rally was not an official Keren Hayessod effort. Why not? Keren Hayessod did, like JEWISHcolorado, open a fund to support Israelis in Israel affected by Operation Protective Edge, but when it comes to being vocal in the Diaspora, the fear sets in.

Apparently this is what centuries of anti-Semitism, whether latent or active, does to a Jewish community. It’s that mentality of keep your head down, don’t draw attention, then maybe everything will be fine, a myth shattered by the Holocaust. But the survival instinct is still there, and many people continue to hope, if we keep our heads down…

And I really don’t know if I can fault the Jewish community for its reticence.

A few days ago, a friend related an anecdote about how his boss was attacking him about Israel. One of the boss’ comments? “Isn’t 60 years long enough?” You know, why don’t Jews just get over it. And this person is also one of those who will claim he’s not anti-Semitic, just anti-Israel, although will have no qualms about describing the Israeli army as “Jewish”.

The same goes for these pro-Palestinian demonstrators, many of whom are really Jew haters in a different guise. It’s amazing how quickly the word Jew pops up in comments on pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel social media postings, and how quickly calls to “exterminate all Jews” are made. Of course, there’s always the ‘moderate’ voice, who calls for the distinction between being anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist, but then, in a total lack of self awareness, will go on to compare Zionists and Israel to Nazis and and are ‘generous’ enough to hold only those Diaspora Jews who support Israel accountable. So I’m becoming a little skeptical: Are people engaging in these events and discussions because of their genuine sympathy for Palestinians? Or is it just another excuse to rage on Jews?

The rally is set to start in about an hour, and I think I’ll stay home. I’ve learned that it’s far better to participate in a positive event, like the pro-Israel demonstration earlier this week, than try and communicate with people entrenched in hatred.

Call it fear, call it reticence, either way, it’s one of the less pleasant aspects of Jewish life in Europe.



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IJN Assistant Publisher | [email protected]


6 thoughts on “Jewish in Europe…during an Israeli war

  1. Rebecca Lesses

    I am currently visiting Zurich for a few days, having just arrived here from Israel, and after sitting in a cafe for an hour or so, I got up to leave and encountered this anti-Israel demonstration. I took a lot of photos and I even have a short video where people were chanting various anti-Israel slogans. I’ll be posting a story about the rally to my blog later tonight.

    There were a lot of heavily armed police there (I say this as someone who is accustomed to seeing the Israeli Border Police at demonstrations that might turn violent in Israel). When I left everything was peaceful, except for the hateful speeches and chants, and I managed to have a cordial conversation with an Iraqi woman who was there.

    I found the demonstration quite unnerving, especially after having been Israel for the last five weeks, and particularly the last ten days, when the current fighting with Hamas began and they started firing missiles at Israel.

    Thanks for posting about the plans for this demonstration – it’s helpful for me in trying to understand what I saw.

    Reply
  2. Shana Goldberg

    What’s really crazy is that after seeing coverage of what’s been going on elsewhere in Europe, Friday’s events in Zurich are tame by comparison! Frightening to see just how quickly Europe descends into anti-Semitic tropes…

    Reply
  3. Rebecca Lesses

    Yes, it is shocking. The Zurich demo wasn’t violent – but seeing what’s going on in France is quite scary. I’m going to be in Germany for a year (in Bochum) and I was kind of scared when I read about anti-semitic demonstrations in Berlin and Frankfurt.

    Reply
  4. M. Brooks

    I am just as shocked at how IGNORANT the world is, how ignorant people are in different parts of the world not just in Europe. This is happening more and more everywhere. Just recently there were protests that were turning violent also in Miami Beach and in Chile. This is spreading and it’s very scary.

    Anti-Semitism is expanding rather quickly and the media, who has the power to make people understand what’s happening in this war (Israel-Gaza) is completely biased and by default the “ignorants” swallow their koolaid into thinking Israel is murdering women and children.
    I am a Christian woman and as I look at this war, it is very clear that Hamas has perfected the art of “shielding behind civilians” to make it look like Israel is at fault for everything that is happening and everyone that is dying in Gaza. Hamas has been using women and children for decades to protect themselves during war. How many times has a “cease fire” been accepted by Israel? About 5 times? And each and every time Hamas has rejected it. So how’s this Israel’s fault? Are they supposed to be attacked and just sit still because the rockets are located inside a school or outside someone’s house? Hamas placed them there on purpose to make it look this way. This is not Israel’s fault!!!! Tell HAMAS to stop being COWARDS and stop using civilians to fight this war.

    Hamas, Jihad, Hezbollah, AlQaeda….are all TERRORIST and that is exactly who all you supporters of GAZA in this war are defending!!! Did you all forget 911?? Why are you defending the Islamic terrorist who don’t hesitate to kill Christians and Jews.Look at what ISIS is doing in Iraq to all the Christians…. Please, OPEN your eyes, your minds and WAKE UP!!!

    DON’T LET THEM TAKE OVER. Don’t blame Israel for defending and protecting their people and their land. Unless you are a Muslim, YOU, your family and/or your city could be next. They are spreading and you are defending them. Remember they will use YOU to shield themselves from the enemy. DON’T LET THEM TAKE OVER!!!

    Reply
  5. Shana Goldberg

    It is incredibly scary what’s happening to Christians in the Middle East. It’s shocking how little anyone cares. Instead, everyone focuses on Israel and marches for Gaza, not realizing (or wanting to realize) that Hamas and its ilk persecute Christians.

    Reply

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