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I have a confession to make: I am a regular reader of the Jüdische Rundschau. The JR is a monthly Jewish newspaper that ranges from the moderate Right to the ultra-conservative, and as such does not necessarily feature what some on the dissident Right might view as “the typical Jewish narrative.” I suppose you would be hard-pressed to find many other Jewish newspapers praising the German Right-wing party, Alternative for Germany. In fact, it’s not only Jews who write for the JR, but also well-known names from the German Right.

The Jüdische Rundschau takes a hard stance on Muslim immigration into Europe and condemns Germany’s liberal, Left-leaning politics — if only because it has made life in Europe for Jews extremely dangerous by now. So yes, of course the JR is still a newspaper for a mainly — if not exclusively — Jewish readership, and it looks at the world from the perspective of what is best for Jews . . . at least the conservative ones. There is no lack of criticism of Jewish liberals, for example.

Many articles in the JR are reprints or translations from other Jewish media outlets. I kept two of them that were reprinted in its April 2023 issue for future use — but since I have no idea what that use might be, I give them to you for your edification.

The first one, “The real threat to Israeli democracy” by Melanie Phillips from the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), is simply hilarious. While dealing with the clashes between the political Left and Right in Israel, it criticizes a “victim culture.” I kid you not.

Without being anchored in a network of duties, rights amount to nothing other than demands. Accordingly, universal human rights law helped create “victim culture” with groups competing for preferential treatment on the basis of their presumed powerlessness.

Human rights law is innately biased towards “powerless” minorities and against the “powerful” majority. This was acknowledged by the eminent English judge Lord Bingham, who said in a speech in 2008 that human rights legislation is “in one sense undemocratic in that it is counter-majoritarian,” since its purpose is to protect the politically powerless.

Trouncing the majority thus became identified with virtue. “Powerlessness” gave self-identified “victim groups” an exemption from their own obligations while, simultaneously, allowing them to demand privileges from society.

Yes. You can’t make that stuff up.

The other article, “A new phase in U.S.-Israel relations” by Caroline Glick, also from JNS, is much more interesting, and I would love to see one of the politically savvy writers here at Counter-Currents tackle it. The Jüdische Rundschau very much sang Trump’s praises, and as such is extremely critical of what the writers consider Joe Biden’s lack of commitment to Israel, so it is not surprising that they chose to translate Glick’s article.

As Glick warns her readers:

The administration’s statements and actions this week, coupled with its overall policies towards Israel since entering office, indicate that Israel has reached a new phase in its relationship with America. Until now, Israel had a strategic alliance with the United States. Now as a decade of polling has shown, Israel is viewed with hostility by some Americans. The poll showed that overall, most Americans are more supportive of Israel than of the Palestinians. But for the first time, 49% of Democrats are more sympathetic towards the Palestinians than towards Israel. A total of 38% of Democrats are more sympathetic towards Israel.

Basically, Glick calls for a recalibration of Israel’s “strategic posture” toward the United States, perhaps by withholding support for Democrat leaders or perhaps via a change of alliances away from the US to other potential allies altogether.

She continues:

It is impossible to know whether the Biden administration will want to negotiate another long-term military aid agreement, and it is also unclear whether Israel is better or worse off maintaining its position as a recipient of U.S. military aid. Israel may be better off paying for U.S. military platforms out of its own pocket and transforming its relationship from that of a client into one of a partner in defense technology development.

A third article, this one from the latest (August 2023) issue of the Jüdische Rundschau, is also a reprint, this time from Israel Today. Titled “Exodus II — Spike in worldwide antisemitism sparks mass emigration,” it especially addresses the situation in Europe. Dr. Fred Wright, in an interview with author Charles Gardner, openly names the unbridled influx of Muslim immigrants as the problem — in stark contrast to the mainstream media around here:

Another spokesman, Mehdi Hasan, has pointed out that ‘anti-Semitism isn’t just tolerated in some sections of the British Muslim community; it’s routine and commonplace’.

Holland’s Jewish community have been advised to emigrate to avoid increasing harassment by young Muslim fanatics. Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs said he and his wife would leave if not for their responsibility for those still there. ‘I’m like the captain of a sinking ship,’ he declared. And Dutch novelist Leon de Winter predicted that when Israel celebrates her centenary in 2048, the last Jew will leave Europe.

France, the scene of much chaotic rebellion in recent days, has a shadowy history of antisemitism that peaked with the notorious case of injustice against a Jewish army officer witnessed by journalist Theodor Herzl who thus concluded there was no future for Jews in Europe. He duly launched the Zionist movement that sparked ongoing Aliyah to Israel. Some academics consider that Nazi ideology could just as easily have developed in France as in Germany. And the situation now appears worse than ever, exacerbated by Islamic-led elements, with Jewish educational establishments located on first floors with bomb-proof doors and security guards outside.

In the past few years there has been an ever-increasing number of Jews leaving major cities. Grenoble has seen half the Jewish community flee and Nice has witnessed a drop from 20,000 to 5,000. In Toulouse, where much of the Jewish community arrived from North Africa in the 1960s and 70s following Islamic expulsions, they have felt constrained to move once again — no less than 50% of them. ‘In a few decades there will be no Jews in France,’ one Jewish leader said.

Jews in Belgium also suffer great hostility, with the Chief Rabbi of Brussels, Albert Guigui, no longer wearing a kippa in public for fear of violence and Israeli journalist Eldad Beck reporting that ‘there is a good chance, in twenty years, of ending up with a [judenrein] Belgium.’

Antisemitic incidents are also rife in Germany — an average of five a day in the first ten months of 2022 — less than 80 years after the Holocaust shocked the world. A particularly low point saw Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, at a press conference in Munich last year, outrageously accuse Israel of having perpetrated ‘50 Holocausts’ against the Palestinians! Semen Gorelik, Jewish community chairman in the state of Brandenburg, has announced that he is leaving Germany for Israel and urged German Jews to follow suit due to the rising tide of antisemitism there.

A similar situation exists in Austria, where the Jewish community president of Vienna said: ‘The challenge of rising antisemitism is a global phenomenon and we are working closely with all strands of society to combat it.’

Sweden, once a paragon of tolerance, now has the third highest rate of antisemitic incidents in Europe, once again mostly due to Islamic tensions, with the number of Jews in the city of Malmö plummeting from 3,000 to 600 in just a few short years.

Meanwhile neighbouring Norway risks becoming one of the first countries without a Jewish presence. Due to Islamic tensions, the synagogues of Oslo and Trondheim are the most securely protected buildings in the country and Aliyah has found a renewed focus. The picture is similar in Denmark while in Spain, four decades after the demise of General Franco’s dictatorship, opinion polls continue to reveal deeply-rooted antisemitic clichés.

And whereas Italians generally are not antisemitic by conviction, there is a residual suspicion of Jews because of the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. And even in Greece, despite its relatively small Jewish community, antisemitism is an ongoing concern.

Of course, it is worth noting that while Fred Wright clearly states that the rise in anti-Semitism in the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and even France is to a degree the result of Muslim immigration, he is silent on that detail when talking about the Axis of Evil . . .

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