Israel must provide a project for the Palestinian people without consulting Hamas to get out of the political stalemate and stem the rising tide of antisemitism. It may need the Vatican to make it work.
Michel Korinmann’s book on the roots of antisemitism in Germany (Deutschland über Alles, available in French) is crucial. He documents that Germany, in 1917, began its transition from being the most “pro-Jew” country in Europe to becoming the country of the Holocaust. That year, the bloodshed on the Eastern front against the Slavs—who viewed the Yiddish-speaking minorities as a German fifth column—shook German confidence. There were too many Slavs, and they were also part of the old Prussian identity. Germany had to find common ground with the Slavs, and Jews could serve as the scapegoat that connected them.
Perhaps there is something similar occurring with the lingering antisemitism in Europe today. Presently, sentiments have shifted to be anti-Islam and anti-Arab due to the waves of immigration from Africa and the Middle East that alter the social fabric of European society. Yet, the Muslim population is far larger than the Jewish population. Someone, much like in decades past, might begin to argue: why should we fight against the Muslims for the Jews? Let’s find common ground with Muslims by sacrificing the Jews. If society opens the gates to confessed or bottled-up racism against a people—be it the Slavs, the Muslims, or anyone else—sooner or later, these sentiments could reignite the old, often thinly veiled antisemitism that has accompanied Europe for centuries, potentially spiraling back into the dark age of racism and racial purges.
The German radical right-wing party, AfD, is currently anti-Islam; it wants immigrants out, which is fine. But how long will it be before they come to see that Muslim immigrants are too numerous and too integral to the new German social identity to be simply rooted out? Wouldn’t it be more politically expedient for them to unite against the Jews and find common ground with Islamists? How long before Muslim extremists turn their attacks away from “ordinary Germans” and instead focus solely on Jewish targets, seeking a shared platform with the AfD?
Alexander Dugin, the ideologue for Russian President Vladimir Putin, theorized a grand alliance between Russians, Germans, and Arabs. Nothing is new; it’s the latest version of the old alliance against the old global Jewish conspiracy. But it’s telling that for the radical right, the old enemy is not Islam but the eternal Jew.
This is a perilous path. Here, the Italian experience with communist revolutionaries during the Cold War may be instructive. At that time, Italy had a communist party that commanded over one-third of the votes. Confronting them directly would have led to civil war. The solution was to progressively isolate the extremists from the mainstream and win over the moderates with reformist (not revolutionary) ideas. This involved a combination of politics and military action, targeting both the Red Brigades and the theorists of terrorism, such as Toni Negri.
Practically, it is essential to offer Palestinians and their sympathizers worldwide an alternative project to Hamas without negotiating with established Palestinian organizations. However, such an idea must have support in the West and possibly some Islamic countries. As for Hamas, the approach should be à la guerre comme à la guerre. It is crucial to stop racism against Arabs in the West while also acting against real activists and their theorists, much as one would in wartime.
This would entail being militarily tough yet politically soft and nimble. Currently, the opposite seems to be true. Some may ask: why negotiate with Hamas if it is unreasonable? And, why abandon the Palestinians to Hamas, especially when they are primarily victims of Hamas’s cruelty? Palestinians need achievable projects and goals to enhance their lives and those of their communities. If Palestinian organizations fail to provide such solutions, then Israel and the West should step in.
After all, following World War II, the United States effectively “Americanized” Western Europe without consulting the Germans or Italians about their desires. The US had a program and sought local partners to implement it, weeding out those who did not align with their vision.
What, then, is the realistic program for Palestinians devised by Israel? Perhaps that is where one should begin.
Israel may want to develop a strategy with the Holy See which has a historic presence with the Palestinians. Here, Hamas is not only expendable; it should be eliminated, but Palestinians should be saved from Hamas.
- In partnership with Appia Institute
