By Michael Kuttner…
This week eighty seven years ago the night of shattered glass (Kristallnacht) sent an unmistakable message.
For the Jews of Germany and Austria it conveyed a chilling message that the time to escape was fast running out.
For Jews in Europe it heralded omens of destruction and doom looming on the horizon.
For Jews elsewhere it demonstrated that they were defenseless in the face of pure evil and hate. It also highlighted that very few countries were prepared to offer them sanctuary from the impending tsunami of hate and death.
It also proved that shameful appeasement in the face of terror would lead to the greatest Jewish catastrophe since the Roman destruction of Jewish independence.
Who would have imagined in their wildest dreams that over eight decades after the vandalizing and destruction of Synagogues and Jewish homes and businesses we would be seeing some of the same events recurring?
If someone would have suggested in 1945 that at some time in the future neo Nazis might demonstrate their anti Jew hate outside the NSW parliament they would have been ridiculed.
Any suggestion that Synagogues and Jewish businesses could be vandalized and that Jews possibly banned from patronizing shops would have been met with derisory retorts. Armed guards outside Jewish schools and communal buildings would have seemed unbelievable.
Boycotts of academics, cultural events and sports teams because they were Jewish were a standard feature of 1930’s Germany & Austria.
Who in their right mind could have conceived that 87 years after Kristallnacht the same unhinged hate would again be unleashed in all parts of the world?
Yet here we are in 2025 and wherever Jews may be living they are facing the same resurrected incitement which their families confronted on the blighted continent of Europe eighty seven decades ago.
These days much of the venom is masquerading as anti Zionism and Israel hate but make no mistake it’s all about Jews. The same sickness which has infected the haters for the last two thousand years has returned with a vengeance. It has been reinvigorated and reinforced by a media eager to spread age old lies and given a new lease of life by widespread ignorance.
As in the past the virus thrives in the hallowed halls of academia and among professional groups. It is no coincidence that some of the most enthusiastic supporters of the Third Reich were members of the legal and medical professions as well as faculty and students of universities.
A brief summary of the latest malignant manifestations should demonstrate the extent of the plague currently raging worldwide.
The United Kingdom can claim the dubious distinction of surrendering to jihadist threats of violence against Jews and Israelis. The recent farce played out in Birmingham is a classic example of throwing in the towel. Prior to the soccer game even kicking off the police announced that no Maccabi Tel Aviv fans would be allowed in the stadium. It was also evident that any UK supporters of Israel would be denied entry.
The ostensible excuse was an inability to protect fans of Israel’s team from the lynch mobs who had advertised their intention to prevent any display of support for Israel. The preferred option was appeasement of the jihadist mob instead of a robust response by law enforcement authorities and a determined effort to ensure that all those who wanted to could attend.
As expected, the pathetic responses to this abject surrender from the PM and other politicians merely galvanized the haters. They knew that they were onto a winning streak and so it proved. The resultant confrontation was pre-ordained with Jewish and other Israel supporters confined behind fences and the rioters unmolested. Video reports at the scene showed vile rhetoric and slogans being shouted against Jews and Israel while police stood passively at the scene. Any attempt to counter the demonstrators was met with either arrest or being escorted away.
This whole sorry episode exposed the rampant hate and incitement which now is a feature of the UK’s second largest city where Jews are an endangered species. It also highlighted the weak kneed responses of politicians and police in the face of terror.
A report in the UK Jewish Chronicle revealed that increasing numbers of Jewish women about to give birth are now demanding the services of Jewish doulas because of the prevalence of anti Israel/Jewish doctors and nurses in NHS hospitals.
Will the majority of British Jews finally wake up in time from their self induced false sense of security?
Meanwhile, across the channel in Paris a concert by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was interrupted by anti Israel lunatics lighting flares in the auditorium and shouting the usual inane slogans. The authorities expressed outrage but where was their security? A steady stream of French incitement against Israel undoubtedly laid the ground for this latest outrage.
The scenes from the Netherlands were no less disgraceful.
The annual Chanukah concert held in Amsterdam has been banned this year because one of the guests is the Cantor of the IDF. No amount of ducking and weaving by the mayor and others can disguise the reason for this cancellation. It has nothing to do with security and safety and everything to do with a refusal to confront the jihadist bullies. Amsterdam already has a dismal track record when it comes to confronting anti Israel/Jewish agitators.
The Irish soccer authorities are demanding that Israel be banned from all international competitions and expelled from UEFA. This is the latest in a series of Irish demands against Israel. It places the country among the leading pack of anti Israel accusers. One of their more bizarre claims accuses Israeli soccer clubs of playing games in “Palestinian occupied territories” without the permission of the PA.
Heinous crimes perpetrated by Israel and Jews are seemingly limitless.
Turkey, that misnamed bastion of democratic values, has continued to display its obsessive hypocrisy. The Government has issued arrest warrants against Israel’s PM and 37 other officials. They are accused of being accessories to genocide and crimes against humanity. This latest gesture is a perfect example of irrational idiocy coming from a regime which arrests political opponents and which has never admitted to the Armenian genocide and crimes against Kurdish groups.
On 10 November 1975 the UN General Assembly passed the infamous “Zionism is racism” resolution. This permanently branded the restoration of Jewish sovereignty as a crime and laid the foundation for international dlegitimisation which followed. Although the original resolution was rescinded in 1991 its original intent has survived as can be seen in the current daily manifestations of hate. If and when a similar resolution is revived it will pass the General Assembly with flying colours.
The obvious major difference between the events of 1938 and today is the existence of Israel as the restored national home of the Jewish People.
Jewish Diaspora communities are still vulnerable and totally reliant on the goodwill of host governments. Given electoral and demographic realities the prognosis is not positive.
Most Israelis refuse to be intimidated by the haters. That is what upsets them and the rest of the world.
Jews must never again be helpless victims and punching bags for the world’s bigots. It’s time to make that clear.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel.
[This article was originally published on J-Wire and is reproduced here with permission from Michael Kuttner.]
