Unfortunately, writes Daniel Johnson, Europe seems poised to do just that:
Anti-Semitism is not just a sub-species of racism, but something unique and different. It is a hatred—and ultimately always a lethal hatred—directed simultaneously against a people, a race, and a religion. It is thus universal and ubiquitous, not particular or localized; it does not even require actual Jews.
Because the attempt to exterminate the whole Jewish people took place in Europe, the postwar nations of our continent made a collective vow never to allow such a thing to happen again. Yet today, 70 years later, anti-Semitism has redoubled its strength and has returned to Europe with a vengeance. Jews are leaving in record numbers. Governments are tacitly acquiescing in this silent exodus by making life more difficult for Jews—restricting kosher slaughter or circumcision, for example—and by failing to take adequate steps to ensure their security. Jewish Europe is vanishing before our eyes, as the Diaspora goes into reverse.
Does all this matter? As a Catholic, as an Englishman, as a civilized human being, I feel a profound sense of responsibility towards the Jewish people as a whole, but toward my Jewish compatriots in particular. Preserving the Jewish presence in our midst is as much a solemn duty for our generation as it was for our parents and grandparents, who fought to defeat the Nazis. As the last survivors of the Holocaust and the last exiles and émigrés pass away, we must take over their role as witnesses to the truth and guardians of that moral obligation. Never again should Jews have to live in fear among us. Never again should Jews feel that their loyalty is distrusted. Never again should they lack a state that is theirs, living in peace and security within recognized borders.
Read more on Standpoint: http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/6137/full