Incitement blamed for Brussels shooting
Ongoing “incitement” against Israel is to blame for the attack in Brussels, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed.
“This act of murder is the result of constant incitement against Jews and their state,” he declared shortly after it took place.
He continued: “Slander and lies against the State of Israel continue to be heard on European soil even as the crimes against humanity and acts of murder being perpetrated in our region are systematically ignored.
“Our response to this hypocrisy is to constantly state the truth, continue a relentless fight against terrorism and build up our strength.”
Netanyahu voiced frustration at the lack of a strong European response to the attack. Contrasting the response with the condemnations which are forthcoming when building plans are announced for East Jerusalem or the West Bank, he said: “There are elements in Europe that rush to condemn the construction of a flat in Jerusalem but do not rush to condemn – or offer only weak condemnations of – the murder of Jews here or in Europe itself, and, even worse, welcome unity with a terrorist element such as Hamas, which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.
“We oppose such hypocrisy, we protest against it, we will continue to always state the truth, we will continue to fight terrorism and we will continue to build up our state.”
Like Netanyahu, Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency, drew a line between Israel-hatred and the attack. He said: “Until Europe declares war on the demonisation of Israel, no security measure will help.”
Sharansky said: “While Jews as individuals are no longer demonised in Europe as they were in previous centuries, the demonisation of Israel – the collective Jew – continues to rise to new heights, creating a toxic atmosphere in which Jews live in fear and those who target them flourish.
“When Israel is singled out for condemnation and scorn, even as crimes against humanity and genuine humanitarian catastrophes rage throughout the Middle East and around the world, the message to those seeking a pretext to harm Jews is clear.”
A call for action on European attitudes also came from Israel’s President Shimon Peres. “We must act without hesitation against any form of anti-Semitism,” he said. “The leaders of Europe should lead the struggle against anti-Semitism, which is rearing its head across the continent.”
Pope Francis condemned the Brussels attack during his Middle East trip, calling it “a criminal act of anti-Semitic hatred”. He said that he was thinking of the victims and commented: “I entrust the victims to God’s mercy and invoke recovery for the injured.”
Tel Aviv residents Mira and Emmanuel Riva should have arrived at Ben Gurion Airport this week with smiles on their faces after a trip to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary. Instead, ground staff unloaded them from a plane on Sunday evening in coffins. Three men wearing fluorescent orange jackets did their best to be respectful as they manoeuvred the coffins out of the hold with engines whirring and machinery beeping around them. They were laid to rest on Tuesday.
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