In 1970, Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, who had written the songs to Fiddler on the Roof, created another musical about a Jewish family—but this time about the Rothschilds, who became one of Europe’s wealthiest families in the early 19th century. Harnick collaborated in producing an updated version of the play, entitled Rothschild & Sons, now being performed in New York. Gabriela Geselowitz writes in her review:

Rothschild & Sons focuses on the family patriarch, Mayer Rothschild, and his origins as an ambitious young merchant living in the 18th-century Frankfurt ghetto. Anxious to make something of himself in a world that openly despises Jews, he marries, has five sons, and ultimately, by use of his quick wit and perseverance, transforms his family into an international banking empire—all while still looking for a way to tear down the ghetto walls.

This new production is surprisingly endearing, and . . . is leaner [than the original] in almost every way with a modest set, shrunken cast, and shortened running time. . . . Comparisons between Rothschild & Sons and Fiddler are inevitable, and these come to a head in the respective patriarchs. After all, both musicals use the lead’s familial relationships as an exploration of Jewishness. But while Tevye sees [traditional Jewish life as a source of] stability, Mayer Rothschild champs at the bit to leave the ghetto and join the larger world.

Established in 2012 and maintaining branches in Europe, North America, and Iran, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Network claims its goal is merely to show “solidarity” for imprisoned Palestinians. The organization’s leader, however, has admitted to being a representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a notorious terrorist group whose most recent accomplishments include murdering a seventeen-year-old girl. As Arsen Ostrovsky and Patricia Teitelbaum point out, Samidoun is just one example of how the European Union allows Iran-backed terrorists to operate in its midst:

The PFLP is a proxy of the Iranian regime, which provides the terror group with money, training, and weapons. Samidoun . . . has a branch in Tehran. It has even held events there, under the pretext of “cultural activity,” to elicit support for operations in Europe. Its leader, Khaled Barakat, is a regular on Iran’s state [channel] PressTV, calling for violence and lauding Iran’s involvement in the region. It is utterly incomprehensible, therefore, that the EU has not yet designated Samidoun a terror group.

According to the Council of the European Union, groups and/or individuals can be added to the EU terror list on the basis of “proposals submitted by member states based on a decision by a competent authority of a member state or a third country.” In this regard, there is already a standing designation by Israel of Samidoun as a terror group and a decision of a German court finding Barakat to be a senior PFLP operative.

Given the irrefutable axis-of-terror between Samidoun, PFLP, and the Iranian regime, the EU has a duty to put Samidoun and senior Samidoun leaders on the EU terror list. It should do this not as some favor to Israel, but because otherwise it continues to turn a blind eye to a group that presents a clear and present security threat to the European Union and EU citizens.