One of the major differences between now and the 1930s, writes Ben Cohen, is that today most European governments are neither anti-Semitic nor unsympathetic to their Jewish populations. But Europe is in the midst of a growing social and political crisis, and there is an increasing possibility that the current political class will lose power. Cohen writes:
An important aspect of the threat that Jews in Europe face lies in the fact that they are closely associated with the political class that . . . is now in danger. Over many decades, their communal representatives have cultivated the leaders of the main parties; they are consulted by ministries and think tanks; they have advanced relations with Israel in culture, business, and politics. They share the foundational conviction that the disaster of Nazism can never be repeated. That is why the current French prime minister and the current British home secretary speak as they do. That is why Frans Timmermans, the European Commission vice president, said this week that Jewish fears pose “a huge challenge to the very foundations of European integration.”
But we have no certainty, even ten years from now, that their successors, of potentially very different political stripes, will say the same.
Read more on Algemeiner: http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/01/26/europe%E2%80%99s-jews-tied-to-a-declining-political-class/