e children or grandchildren of immigrants.ö This social challenge is compounded for French leaders, because the French typically side with the Palestinians more than they do with the Israelis in their long-running conflict. Observers in France argue that the increased assaults on Jews in the working-class suburbs are ôtypically driven by frustration and anger at the government of Israel. Jews and Jewish institutions are a convenient and vulnerable local surrogate.ö
The burned synagogues, profaned cemeteries, and schoolyard beatings of Jews in France are emblematic of anti-Semitism that stems from more than contemporary socio-political reasons. Many fear that the rising attacks represent a revival of Western EuropeÆs anti-Semitism throughout history. From ShakespeareÆs hideous caricature of the ôgreedyö Jew in the character of Shylock to the notorious Dreyfus affair, many contend that Europe is reverting to type as the case might be. Anti-Semitism across Western Europe in general has become so prevalent that political commentator George Will maintains that ôanti-Semitism among Europeans has become the secondùand final?ùphase for a æfinal solutionÆ to the Jewish Question,ö in a reference to HitlerÆs plan for ethnic cleansing.
The editor of the Wilson Quarterly theorized that the new anti-Semitism in Europe stems from EuropeÆs reaction to the Holocaust in which it played ôthe roles of vanquisher, victim, and criminal all at once.ö In other words, Europeans maintain vigilance against their culpability in the Holocaust, shunning their bloody past and focusing on reviling its eras of evil. As one historian notes, ôEuropeans thus say ænever againö to Auschwitz-and to war, power politics, nationalism, and all the other things they think drove them to Auschwitz.ö In this perspective lies the explanation for the rise of new anti-Semitism in France and other areas of Europe.
Within this ônever again...