re: #178 Paco from Sefarad

Nobody with any sense takes fascists seriously and they haven’t a chance in hell of achieving power.

You are right that there are anti-Semitism on the left in Europe, although I would appreciate several sources or a more solid source on Zapatero’s comments. The anti-Semitism on the left is mostly - but not exclusively - found on the far left. In addition, many people hold views on Israel that are extremely biased, unrooted in reality, silly, stupid, even disgusting, but not an expression of hatred against Jews as a religious or ethnic group.

However, you are wrong when you claim that fascists do not have a chance of achieving power. In several countries, neofascist parties - inspired more clearly by Alain de Benoist than Adolf Hitler, of course - receive a considerable number of votes. The nativist right in Europe did disgustingly well in the European elections this summer; and amongst those elected were politicians from the Hungarian Jobbik. One would not have to look hard to find anti-Semitic statements there…

In Spain, of course, parties such as Falange Autntica are negligible, although FA has been able to win some county seats in the past. In Belgium, the Vlaams Belang is shunned by other political parties through the socalled cordon sanitaire, but this is not the case everywhere.

The larger Eurofascist parties are perfectly capable of influencing the general political climate. As Obdicut points out, Roma are already victimised as a result of this; it is not difficult to find examples; neither from Italy (where neo-fascists have had so much electoral success that they already have “achieved power”) nor from Eastern Europe. There are other victims, too.

I think that’s something we all should worry about, and - as a European - I also feel obliged to do what I can to battle it.

I feel the first responsibility of a Jew is to speak up for Jews and Israel.

This makes me think of Martin Niemllers words:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.