2006, or 1938?
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is leaving Holland. For the crime of pointing out the Islamic mistreatment of women along with Theo Van Gogh, the Dutch lawmaker has been subjected to constant death threats. After Van Gogh's murder (shot and stabbed to death), she went into hiding - reemerging later with heavy police protection around the clock. She moved into a luxury apartment which was outfitted by Dutch counterterrorism specialists for her protection. Unfortunately, her fellow residents brought a lawsuit against her, arguing that their human rights were being violated because of the danger her presence put her in. After a long court battle, she is leaving her country. She is leaving Europe to come to America, where she will reportedly work for the American Enterprise Institute.To give context, take a look at another famous European who fled the Continent due to the gathering storm:
He was one of many.
In a related story, Bernard Lewis (one of the world's preeminent authorities on the Middle East), feels like it is 1938 all over again:
As it races to acquire nuclear weapons, Iran makes clear that if there is any
trouble, the Jews will be the first to suffer. "We have announced that wherever
[in Iran] America does make any mischief, the first place we target will be
Israel," said Gen. Mohammad Ebrahim Dehghani, a top Revolutionary Guards
commander. Hitler was only slightly more direct when he announced seven months
before invading Poland that, if there was another war, "the result will be . . .
the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe."
Last week Bernard Lewis,
America's dean of Islamic studies, who just turned 90 and remembers the 20th
century well, confessed that for the first time he feels it is 1938 again. He
did not need to add that in 1938, in the face of the gathering storm -- a
fanatical, aggressive, openly declared enemy of the West, and most determinedly
of the Jews -- the world did nothing.
When Iran's mullahs acquire their
coveted nukes in the next few years, the number of Jews in Israel will just be
reaching 6 million. Never again?
The enemies of civilization have made their intentions clear - both in Europe and in Iran. Are we listening clearly?
posted by JM @ 7:07 PM
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