Yes, the death and destruction of war is sad and horrible. Protest all forms of hatred, violence and war.
After about 3 weeks of rockets from Gaza into Israel, bombing from Israel into Gaza and now the ongoing fighting of war, the death toll is over 1,000 people with more injured. At the current time, the death toll in the Syrian war after 3 years stands at well over 160,000 - more than ONE HUNDRED TIMES the death toll in the Gaza - Israel! The destruction throughout Syrian cities is even more extreme, as is the brutality. Similarly, the death toll in the current Shia - Sunni war in Iraq is much higher than in the Gaza - Israeli conflict, as is the death in the ongoing civil war in Pakistan.
Where are the comparable large Muslim led protests in Europe about the violence and destruction in Syria, in Iraq, in Pakistan? Where is the European left? What conclusions might we draw from this?
PS. After publishing this note, I was sent an article published today, July 30, 2014, headlined
The Ugly Tide Washing Across Europe:
The 'Gaza generation' seems worried about Arab deaths only when Jews are involved
from which I will quote the concluding passage and link.
"The double standard is odious. And it has become increasingly evident across Europe in the past month. Bluntly anti-Semitic slogans have marred most European demonstrations "in support of the people of Gaza." Residents of Frankfurt and Dortmund were horrified in mid-July to see neo-Nazi groups join hands with left-wing Islamists in a grim chant: "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas." The center of London was blocked on July 19 by thousands who gathered in front of the Israeli embassy in Kensington to shout their hatred for Jews.
Not to mention Amsterdam, the city of Spinoza, Europe's capital of tolerance, where in certain neighborhoods it has become practically impossible to wear a yarmulke in public without running the risk of being insulted or assaulted.
For someone who has advocated, as I have, for nearly half a century the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a fully recognized Israel, this is truly discouraging. That there are sincere men and women among the demonstrators I do not doubt. But I would urge them to think twice before letting themselves be manipulated by those whose motive is not solidarity but hate, and whose true agenda is not peace in Palestine but death to Israel—and, as often as not, alas, death to Jews."
