At the end of World War II, when the truth about the genocidal horrors of the Nazi regime came to light, the leading victorious powers collectively vowed that such a thing should never happen again.
But nearly 80 years later, the vicious malignancy of anti-Semitism is spreading around the world, unleashed by Hamas’s murderous attack on Israel on October 7.
The catastrophe has been the signal for anti-Semites on every continent, fueled by Islamist ideology and anti-Western propaganda, to pour out their bile against the Jews and disguise their bigotry as support for the embattled Palestinians.
In Germany, synagogues have been attacked, while in Turkey a bookstore had a chilling message at the entrance: “Jews are not allowed.”
Even here in Britain, a country once known for its tolerance, the huge pro-Palestinian demonstrations every weekend are infected with ugly anti-Semitic chants and slogans.
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in central London last weekend to demand a ceasefire in Gaza from the British government.
The vicious malignancy of anti-Semitism is spreading around the world, unleashed by Hamas’ murderous attack on Israel on October 7, writes Mark Almond (pictured)
What makes this global tsunami of hatred even more terrifying is that our enemies are now trying to exploit the atmosphere of violent discord.
Leaders, including Russian despot Vladimir Putin and Turkish demagogue Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are using the turmoil in the Middle East to further their own ambitions, just as Iran’s mullahs and their proxy forces – such as Hezbollah in Lebanon – believe their interests are served by a crisis. in Israel.
This is a recipe for an escalation that could drag the entire Middle East, along with much of Europe, Asia and Africa, toward the abyss of blood-soaked catastrophe.
This week’s stomach-churning scenes at an airport in the republic of Dagestan in southern Russia could be a warning of things to come.
A mob, told that a plane carrying Jewish passengers had arrived from Tel Aviv, went on the rampage, fueled by disinformation from Muslim Internet influencers that Israelis had come to wreak havoc. The passengers were largely locals who had visited Israel for high-quality medical treatment – something difficult to obtain in the Russian region.
But as always in a “pogrom” – that old Russian word for an anti-Jewish attack – the self-appointed defenders of order caused chaos at Makhachkala airport as rioters vandalized shops and demanded to know whether travelers were Jewish.
In Britain, a country once known for its tolerance, huge pro-Palestinian demonstrations every weekend are infected with ugly anti-Semitic chants and slogans, Almond writes.
Hundreds of activists hold a pro-Palestine protest at Waterloo station on October 28
Protesters on the tarmac of an airport in Makhachkala
This anti-Semitic chaos was not limited to Dagestan either. Elsewhere in southern Russia, Jewish cultural centers were set on fire or destroyed over the weekend.
And Turkey’s authoritarian Islamist President Erdogan has shown his hand over Gaza. On Saturday he held a major rally in Istanbul to denounce Israel and deny that Hamas was a terrorist organization.
China is also using the crisis to entrench itself in the Middle East, as a way to weaken American influence there. By cooperating with anti-Israel states such as Turkey and Iran, and by sending its own navy to the Gulf region, China aims to hinder American and British support for Israel.
The growing divide between the pro-Israel West and the parts of the world that side with Hamas, or are indifferent to the dangers of Islamist terrorism, is reflected in countries like ours.
A vocal minority has hijacked legitimate humanitarian concerns about Gaza’s citizens to fuel age-old anti-Jewish hatred.
This resurgence of anti-Semitism is made even more sinister by the peacemakers or ‘useful idiots’ who lend their support to this odious cause.
What an irony that these apparently peace-loving people like to chant a slogan like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – which in Hamas-speak means that modern Israel will be destroyed and its territory “made free.” ‘ of Jews after a second Holocaust.
And the terrorists’ refrain about “war crimes” has a sinister purpose. They want to divide the West.
Unleashing centuries-old religious bigotry to sow division in countries like Britain or America threatens to weaken our nations – a victory for despots around the world and a disaster for everyone involved here.
As Putin’s Russia and Xi Jinping’s China seek to gain geopolitical advantage from the Gaza crisis, Western leaders are toiling to convince their people of the necessity of Israel’s anti-terrorist campaign, which is costing so much innocent blood.
But if good intentions cause our resolve to waver, we will pave the way for appeasing the worst rulers.
- MARK ALMOND is director of the Crisis Research Institute, Oxford.