RUTHFULLY YOURS

Europe likes to think of itself as enlightened but Operation Protective Edge and Israel’s counter-offensive against Hamas terrorism has highlighted the extent to which Jew hatred is still ingrained on the continent. To be fair, much of the anti-Semitism we are witnessing there manifests itself among the Muslims who have made Europe their home. But in all honesty, European authorities have allowed the malignancy to fester and metastasize to the point where it is now uncontrollable and threatens other non-Muslim communities. Naturally, Jews, because of their small size are the focus for now but once the Muslim community reaches sufficient numbers, Sikhs, Hindus and yes, even Christians will be next. One need look no further than Gaza, Egypt, Iraq and Syria to witness first-hand the fate of Christians who live in majority Muslim states.

Of course, the irony is difficult to ignore. The Muslims who are currently demonstrating and displaying their blood-curdling hate and vitriol in a free environment would likely be mowed down en masse had they ever dared to protest in the fundamentalist and fascist countries they profess to support. Moreover, many of these Muslim provocateurs despise the very democratic institutions that sustain them. But Judeophobia and xenophobia have no rational basis precisely because they are ideologies rooted in a convoluted mixture of hate, jealousy and ignorance. Detesting the “enlightened” country that provides you with all sorts of entitlements and supporting despotic regimes who would deny freedom to all is consistent with the doctrine of anti-Semitism.

Then of course, there is the so-called intelligentsia and those among the cultural elite, the actors and actresses who feel compelled to weigh in on the Gaza issue and the broader Arab-Israeli conflict despite their extreme ignorance on the matter. Selina Gomez, a product of the Disney machine whose good sense of judgment compelled her to tattoo some Arabic gibberish on her back, posted on Instagram the message, “It’s About Humanity. Pray for Gaza.’’

Of course Gomez likely has no clue where Gaza is and as Joan Rivers sardonically pointed out, probably doesn’t even know how to spell “Palestinian.” Gomez quickly realized the minefield she walked into and backtracked some with a subsequent post stating, “I am not picking any sides. I am praying for peace and humanity for all.’’

Sure Selena, don’t pick sides after all, a genocidal organization like Hamas whose charter calls for the murder of every Jew on the planet is morally equal to the Mideast’s only liberal democracy. A democracy that has dispatched its specialized rescue and medical teams to Haiti, Japan, Turkey and countless other places to provide humanitarian assistance while Hamas was busy digging tunnels for ghoulish purposes with cement earmarked for building schools.

Our attachment to celebrity endorsements is inexplicable and this is especially true when those very celebrities profess ignorance on the subject they’re talking about. Consider the Spanish acting duo Javier Bardem and his wife Penelope Cruz. Both penned a letter accusing Israel of genocide likely because it’s fashionable to do so these days. Both then backtracked on their criticism with Bardem claiming that he has “great respect for the people of Israel and deep compassion for their losses.”

Cruz went on to acknowledge that she was not an “expert” on the subject and only intended on signing the letter in the hope that there would “be peace in both Israel and Gaza.” Again we are faced with an almost laughable situation where an actor who professes ignorance after the fact makes outrageous and absurd proclamations about Israel’s war against a Nazi-like, genocidal organization. What is even more ironic is that Cruz, whose ancestors were responsible for ethnically cleansing Spain of its indigenous Jewish population, is now attacking Jews for defending themselves against an organization that wishes to ethnically cleanse Israel of its Jewish inhabitants.

It is also ironic that these actors, these self-professed guardians of morality, never once expressed revulsion over the fact that Hamas has fired over 3,000 rockets at Israeli cities with the intent of inflicting maximum civilian casualties. They have yet to express revulsion over the Hamas practice of using human shields and have yet to express any condemnation of Hamas for storing rockets in UN schools and for Hamas rocket misfires that have caused untold Palestinian civilian casualties.

But anti-Semitism in any form never followed a rational track. By its very nature it is perverse and convoluted, and hypocrisy follows it like a malevolent shadow. That is how raging anti-Semites like Roger Waters and his idiot minions can ceaselessly malign the Mideast’s only liberal democracy while ignoring and whitewashing abhorrent and ongoing human rights abuses in the medieval Muslim world.

To be sure, there are indeed many celebrities who despite current trends among the cultural elite have had the fortitude to speak out for what’s right. Scarlett Johansson, Simon Cowell, Mayim Bialik, Joan Rivers, Bill Maher, Vanessa Williams, Jon Voight and Howard Stern have in one way or another expressed strong support for Israel. To them I say; the people of Israel and indeed all peoples of the free world, who cherish liberty and abhor servitude, salute you. On the other hand, those like Cruz and Bardem who sit and criticize are nothing but mindless, useful idiots who are helping to sustain echoes of Europe’s dark past and the ignominious flame of anti-Semitism.