European arrogance costs lives

Via Honest Reporting (Daniel Pomerantz):

Last week I attended the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism conference in connection with Israel’s Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya (the “IDC Herzliya”).

Speakers and attendees included military, diplomats and experts from every region of the world. All echoed one similar theme: do not underestimate Islamic State (ISIS), nor its likely replacements. Finally we come to Europe. 

The same Europe that perennially “advises” Israel on how to achieve peace and security, while frequently condemning Israel for not adopting policies similar to Europe’s own disastrous strategies. 

Deputy Head of Mission from the UK to Israel Tony Kay exemplified the standard European talking points: 

We are doing quite a lot on… safeguarding people from becoming terrorists, or supporting terrorism… [using] a combination of soft power with hard power. We are… engaging communities [and producing] lots of successes that the UK has made on countering terrorism recently.

There is a dark irony in Kay’s statement, which came just three days before a devastating terror attack hit London’s Parsons Green, injuring 29 victims this past Friday. While Kay undoubtedly meant well, his statement served as just one more example of deadly European self-assurance, at a time when Europe desperately needs a measure of humility. 

In fact, Europe’s recent track record has been bloody: 

Just this past week Europe saw three separate attacks in London and Paris, in addition to recent attacks in Nice, Brussels, Stockholm, Berlin, Manchester, Barcelona and others. In just two years (2015-16) Islamic terror killed 288 Europeans and injured 739. Contrast with Israel, where 50 were killed during the same period. 

Israelis have suffered less than one fifth the number of terror related deaths as Europeans, a fact that may surprise news audiences who know Israel only through dramatic and misleading headlines. 

One might even say that Europe (and not Islamic State) is the real “JV team.” [Former president Barak Obama once referred to terror groups in Syria and Iraq (including Islamic State) as the “JV team,” a sports metaphor indicating that he did not feel they pose a serious threat.] Consider that over 20% of Israel’s population is Arab, as are all of its neighboring countries, and the conclusion is obvious: for all its challenges, Israel understands how to live with Muslim neighbors and how to protect against Islamic terror. Europe, on the other hand, does not. 

Yet if the speakers at the ICT conference are any indication, European leaders have yet to face and accept this hard truth. 

And the people of Europe are paying for this mistake with their lives.

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