Iranian threat: Rome should take a lead in fight against anti-Semitism

07 October 2007
Corriere della Sera, Italy

By Ronald S. Lauder

All over Europe, Jewish cemeteries are desecrated by vandals. Only days ago, police in Italy seized wine bottles with labels depicting Adolf Hitler. In Hungary, a paramilitary guard was recently sworn in by an extreme-right party. Its symbols and rhetoric resemble those of Hungarian fascists during WWII who rounded up Jews to send them to the Nazi death camps. In Poland, an anti-Semitic Catholic priest has built a media empire that includes the notorious station Radio Maryja. He repeatedly offends Jews and other people in the country, including the First Lady, with anti-Semitic slurs but still hasn’t been removed from his post.

In the Serb city of Novi Sad, local authorities initially planned to give the go-ahead for a march of violent ultra-Nationalists and neo-Nazis. Novi Sad is the place the Nazis once massacred 800 Jews and 400 Serbs. The march was only prohibited after a strong protest by the World Jewish Congress. In Prague, the local mayor has given the go-ahead for a march of far-right extremists who want to parade through the historic Jewish quarter of the Czech capital, to coincide with the anniversary of the November 1938 Nazi pogrom.

All of these incidents are unrelated but make it plain to everyone that Nazis and fascists are showing their ugly faces again in a number of European countries. Right-wing agitators, vandals, and hate preachers are also trying to forge an alliance with those in the Islamic world who advocate similar ideas, notably the denial of the Holocaust and the demonization of Israel.

Blaming Israel or the 13 million Jews in the world for all things evil has become an obsession of many fanatics.

Iran’s president Ahmadinejad is one them. His threats to wipe the Jewish state off the map must be taken seriously. There can be no appeasement of dangerous people like him because he is a threat to Europe as a whole. If the mullahs in Tehran get access to the atomic bomb, at lot more will be at stake than the existence of Israel. No-one should be deceived by Iran’s claim that its nuclear program is for “peaceful means” only. That regime repeatedly ignores international commitments and UN resolutions on this issue. How can a nuclear program be peaceful when its protagonists clearly are not?

Iran’s threats are not just rhetoric. The regime is a sponsor of terrorism. It was behind the bombings of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994, killing 85 people and wounding hundreds. It continues to provide weapons and other forms of support to extremist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon. Ahmadinejad may talk a lot about peace, but it is mere rhetoric.

Democratic governments are obliged to protect their citizens against internal and external threats. Those who preach hate or racism rightly face punishment by the courts. In European countries such as Italy, laws are in place to protect minorities and to make sure that Open Society is not undermined by those who want to destroy it from within.

Most people in today’s world want to live in security, stability, and prosperity. Hence, politicians must act against any threats on the domestic and international fronts.  Europe’s governments act decisively against aggressive regimes such Iran instead of downplaying the danger.

Italy with its experienced Prime Minister Romano Prodi should take a lead on this issue. Leaders here and elsewhere in Europe must not to let History repeat itself. There should be no appeasement of Holocaust deniers, fascists and fanatics, neither domestically nor on the international stage. Former Italian President Sen. Francesco Cossiga was right to return his honorary doctorate from Columbia University New York for the invitation that was extended to Shoah denier Ahmadinejad by Columbia.

Decisive action is required to fight the menace posed by those who would like to deny us our freedom. An open, democratic society needs strong leaders who are able to defend it against threats. Sometimes, it needs courage to go into the right direction because is not always the most convenient one.

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