Europe is in the throws of self-inflicted demographic suicide. Goodbye.
When I did my doctoral work in Madison, Wisconsin, the laboratory I worked was in a building named The Enzyme Institute. I was told that the Institute was built and stocked with top-flight professors after the destruction of European centers of research and advanced studies. One can watch endless reels of post-war fly-by views of major European cities. Much of Europe, including its universities, from London to Stalingrad, lay in ruins. The Marshall Plan went a long way to bringing Europe back to life. The Russians were offered to participate, but out of pride they declined. I was told that if one went to the Brandenburg Gate and looked at East Berlin and its Western cousin, it was like night and day. Today’s comparison would be Pyongyang and Seoul.
While Europe was physically rebuilt, it never recovered from the destruction of World War 2. The US took an outsized position in the world and the Soviet Union became a communist behemoth and foe of everything that the US stood for. The former colonies of the European powers were lost or let go after the war. Some became very successful new countries while others are still economic and social basket cases. European countries themselves often became pawns in the geostrategic games between the superpowers. Sure, France and Britain developed nuclear weapons. But what were they going to do with them? Other than using them as a poison pill against a Soviet attack, their possession of such weapons did not raise their world stature. England’s last hurrah was the 1982 Falkland victory. Since then, what has England accomplished on the world stage? The country no longer has a navy that is the envy of the world. Supplying Ukraine with weapons has so depleted UK stocks that if they needed to go to war directly with Russia, they would barely have ammunition for a few weeks of battle. Madame Tussaud should add a wax statue of England to her London museum.
Antisemitism in Europe is nothing new. Jews experienced different levels of hatred and physical attack in virtually all of the countries over the course of centuries. After the Holocaust, many Jews no longer had any place to return to in post-war Europe. The countries themselves mostly had official relations with the new state of Israel, but the level of enthusiasm towards the Jewish state varied. Some were positive partners while others were quite cold. Many developed strong relations with the Arab world in hopes of enjoying oil wealth. During the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo, European countries would not let American flights with weapons bound for Israel land at their airports, for fear that they would be added to the US for denial of fuel. Yasir Arafat was warmly received in many European capitals, and Palestinian terror organizations used cities in Europe for fund-raising, planning, and material acquisition. Queen Elizabeth never came to Israel, and King Charles visited a few times as prince but strictly in a private capacity. Only Prince William has come to Israel as an official representative of the UK and the royal family.
With a weakened Europe, one that has taken in many Muslim immigrants who refuse to integrate, it comes as no surprise that European leaders have turned against Israel. Just over the past few months:
*Emmanual Macron called for an arms embargo on Israel.
*Keir Starmer canceled several export licenses for weapons delivery to Israel.
*Spain and Ireland jumped at the opportunity to recognize a new, nonexistent state of Palestine.
*Eden Golan needed hyper-security during Eurovision 24 in the formerly Jew-friendly city of Malmo, Sweden.
*European cities routinely experience protests for Hamas and more recently in favor of Hezbollah.
It is no surprise that Europe has turned on Israel. The behavior is not uniform. Countries such as Germany, Poland and Hungary still show their support for Israel during its seven-front war. But the other countries are quickly forgetting what happened on the 7th of October last year and are eager to please their leftwing voters and new Muslim immigrants and citizens-to-be. Is Starmer unaware that tens of Brits were killed one year ago and at least one is still being held hostage? Is Macron so dense that he cannot understand that former French darling, Lebanon, is being held hostage by Iran via its paramilitary proxy, Hezbollah? Both know that the world would be much better off without Hamas and Hezbollah and with a significantly weakened Iran. But that is not their primary consideration. In their view, the West always has to lose. Except for the First Gulf War, what has the West won since the end of World War 2? Bupkis. And they also know that their voters like the terrorists. People who for twelve months rallied in favor of mass rapists and murders but never gave a thought to Hezbollah suddenly have signs “We Love Hezbollah” added to their list of things to bring to the protest. Macron and Starmer are continuing the great European tradition of sticking it to the Jew, with the added benefit of gaining some bonus points with their far-left and Muslim constituents.
I was very glad that Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu castigated Starmer on the license revocations and told Macron to stick it with his proclamation. England, France and several other European countries are lost, with no way back. They died in World War 2, though they were technically the victors. They lost their vast colonial empires and became little countries that people visit for a holiday. The US was calling the shots either in Washington or at NATO headquarters in Brussels and was the driver for the demise of the Soviet Union. The job of the Europeans was to do what they were told by the Americans. When France refused to join the coalition against Saddam in 2003, the Congressional cafeterias renamed French Fries to Freedom Fries. There is only one European company in the top 25 by market capitalization, and it is only there because it manufactures and sells Ozempic.
The Europeans can rail against Israel, though her fight will save them from having to deal with Iran and its terrorist tentacles in the future. Europe itself is lost, so they are like a drowning man making one more proclamation before going under. As Mark Steyn pointed out over a decade ago, the anti-Western Muslim immigrants will out-reproduce the locals and gradually take over their host countries, making them Sharia outposts far from the Middle East. Europeans gave up on their religion and their storied history. They eventually stopped reproducing in the numbers required to keep up their countries. Based on differential reproductive activity, don’t bet against a King Mohammed I in England in a hundred year’s time. Long live the king!
The Europeans can attack Israel for doing her best to protect her citizens. Other than serving as vacation destinations, they have less and less to offer Israel and the world. The US and China are the new superpowers, and Europe will remain the place of picture-perfect Alpine views, quaint restaurants and little more to offer a world that has passed it by.
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