One of the 20th century’s leading historians of Victorian Britain, Gertrude Himmelfarb was also a penetrating critic of modern society and politics, who thought there was much to be learned from the virtues cultivated by the much-maligned Victorians—virtues that she argued were, in part, Jewish ones as well. Himmelfarb, later in her life, focused her attention on the attitudes of such great English authors as George Eliot and Matthew Arnold toward Jews and Judaism. In a forum sponsored by the Catholic University of Portugal, the political scientist João Carlos Espada and Himmelfarb’s son, the writer and editor William Kristol, discuss her legacy. (Video, one hour. Moderated by Rita Seabra Brito and Marc Plattner. Discussion of some of Himmelfarb’s Jewish interests can be found around the 45-minute mark.)

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.