“Never Again”: Why Is The Western World Supporting Neo-Nazis?

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Steve's picture

Google anti-semitism+Europe, and you'll see that it is rising everywhere:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/16/europe/anti-semitism-in-denmark/
In last year's elections, right-wing nationalist parties indeed got poor results in Ukraine, but they did well across the rest of Europe. If you want to find anti-semitism, start in Russia: note the state TV newscasters' glee when they read Putin's condolence telegram to Boris Nemtsov's mother, repeatedly emphasizing her Jewish maiden name. Ask any Jews from Russia or Ukraine where there is more fascism and anti-Semitism. The Israeli embassy in Moscow has been packed lately, and probably not just for economic reasons. This is not to say that there is no anti-semitism in Ukraine--as Russians often say, the two countries' cultures are quite similar--but I'm not hearing about it from my Ukrainian friends, Jewish or gentile. It is Russia chauvinism that is provoking Ukrainian nationalism, but that nationalism will not be restricted to opposing Russia. It is foolish of Putin to play with such fire in a neighboring country.
One should also bear in mind the history of collaboration with the Nazis in Finland and the "bloodlands" of Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltics: many of these people suffered from the Soviets, and saw the Germans as the enemy of their enemy, an ally of convenience, not conviction. Russians and their apologists would like to forget this, but we see these countries' rising fear of their neighbor. I suspect that many of those expressing Nazi nostalgia are nationalist but not particularly anti-semitic.
More European anti-semitism means more Jewish immigrants to the US. Their loss is our gain.