Back to the future?

Economic instability leads to an revision of public moods in Europe.

Last week, the data of the sociological survey “Relations towards Jews in Europe”, carried out by order of the American antidiffamation league (ADL) in the seven European countries, were published. The numbers say that a third of Europeans are responsible for the current economic crisis for Jews, about 40% of the EU more are sure that the influence of Jewish businessmen in the financial sector of the global economy is too large. The survey was attended by residents of Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Poland, Hungary, Austria and France. 31% of respondents said about the liability of Jews for the negative in the global economy and finance, and another 41% of respondents agreed that Jews have too much power in global financial markets.

“The results of the survey confirm that anti -Semitism is still alive in the minds of many Europeans and is not going to give up their positions,” Ebraham Eich Foxman, the regional head of Adl, is sure. - Anti -Semitic sentiments do not go anywhere, and this cannot but upset. Jews are still accused of betrayal, claims to world domination and the death of Jesus. In the light of the global financial crisis, faith in the excessive power of Jews in the field of business and finance causes special concerns, - Foxman believes. “The centuries -old anti -Semitic stereotypes is obviously difficult to break, especially on the continent, which after the war in Gaza was swept by a wave of violence against Jews and Jewish institutions.”

Experts predicted the growth of such sentiments last year, during the start of hype in the media around the consequences of the economic crisis. In the course of Paris on October 7, 2008, the meeting of the European Council for Tolerance and Morning (ECTS), co -chair of the ECTV, President of the European Jewish Congress Vyacheslav Kantor, said that “unfortunately, statistics showed that 60% of the Earth’s population to one degree or another are subject to a dangerous disease called xenophobia. It is characterized by a tendency to exacerbate during periods of transformations in the economy and the social sphere. ”

The European tradition of coexistence of different peoples is characterized by a long historical period with a high frequency of the appearance of an open intercultural confrontation. Here are the Crusades, the invasion of the Moors to Spain and their subsequent expulsion, the persecution of the Huguenots, the struggle of the Catholic Church with heretics, the Holocaust, which is rooted in the persecution of Jews and gypsies throughout European history. All these facts were postponed in historical memory and the unconscious of the European layman. They are reflected in any course of history. The idea of ​​confrontation to the “other” and “stranger”, regarded as an obstacle to the successful development of your country and personal success, was reflected in works of art. The prejudice to the “strangers” can be traced in the “Venetian merchant” Shakespeare, a well -known legend of the eternal Jew (Agasfer). You can recall Nietzsche’s works, inspired by the German Nazis to create the third Reich for “right” people and the elimination of “wrong” people.

Analyzing the reasons for the growth of racist and anti -Semitic sentiments in Europe, many underestimate the importance of the economic factor, paying attention primarily to obvious intercultural differences. Meanwhile, it is the economy that can be a key driver of aggression against other nations. The notorious events of the “crystal night” of 1938 are known as the beginning of the “open phase” of the Holocaust, the beginning of the mass arrests of German Jews and the confiscation of their property. What happened then was essentially an economic holocaust, the practical implementation of the state ideology of the Third Reich. The property and money of Jews were used to implement economic, political and military projects of the Nazis.

“If the stars light up, then someone needs it?” Asked Mayakovsky. History teaches that almost nothing happens just like that and any event has its own background and interested persons. It is possible that during the crisis, someone may again have a temptation to use Hitler's experience. Today's instability can be a pretext to start preparing public opinion for a new redistribution in the economic sphere. Nowhere in Europe, according to which in January this year, a wave of anti -Israeli demonstrations swept, often transferred to frankly nationalist and anti -Semitic speeches, the authorities did not make a large -scale and openly against such actions and in defense of the Jews. Those Prozrail's speeches that took place were organized by public organizations and movements close to the state of Israel. Such inaction, not to mention the open and consistent anti -Semitic performances of the Iranian leadership, can have large -scale and tragic consequences for both Europe and the whole world. The history of World War II, the 70th anniversary of which we celebrate this year, testifies to this.

“The situation with the development of intercultural dialogue in Europe causes great concerns,” says Vyacheslav Kantor. Only the number of manifestations of anti -Semitism recorded over the past four weeks in several countries of Western Europe, including France, Belgium and Great Britain, cannot but cause concern: it has almost reached half of the total number of similar incidents in these countries throughout 2008. What we observe today - the growth of manifestations of racism and extremism, xenophobia, anti -Semitism - very much resembles everything that was 70 years ago. ”

A survey of the antidiffamation league due to the specifics of the activity of this organization is designed to identify the attitude of Europeans to Jews. In fact, the problem is much wider. Today we can talk not only about the growth of anti -Semitism in Europe, but also about the crisis of interethnic and interethnic relations in the old world as a whole. The trend is fought by the consequences of the economic crisis, an increase in the number of points of “local separatism”, unrealistic problems of adaptation of large groups of migrants, a difficult situation with unemployment in the youth environment, basic differences in cultural codes of migrants and the indigenous population, the desire for certain forces in the sake of their economic interests to discredit some nations, nations or religious groups in the eyes others.

To modern Europe, the adjective “united” is less and less applied. Whether the authorities and peoples will be able to adequately accept the challenge, the consequences of which will threaten the integrity of Europe and the peaceful coexistence of the people living in it - this is a question, the answer to which society should find as soon as possible.