Jewish history teaches us that every time there is trouble for humanity, it always begins with Israel. The tragic attack in Paris on Wednesday proves that history is repeating, in a big way. The Jews are just an excuse. The killers' intoxicating drug of choice -- in the past it was the Nazis, now extremist Muslims -- is to enslave all of humanity and crush human dignity and liberty. A lot of French people, and others, believed that Islamic State and al-Qaida terrorists would only target places like the Jewish school Toulouse or the Jewish museum in Brussels. But as it turns out, that is not the case. In reality it is radical Islam against Western culture, Christianity and, of course, the Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right to declare that "all the free countries and all the civilized societies have to band together to fight this scourge." But nothing will come of it, because there will always be nations and governments that believe that if they only sacrifice the Jews they can achieve peace for themselves. But they would be deluding themselves. It is safe to assume, even now, a day after the terrible tragedy in Paris, that many in France would still insist that if only there were no Jews in France, the tension with radical Islamists would not have become as murderous. In any case, they will say, it is all because of the Jewish occupation. There are even Jews who believe that. Even Israeli Jews. Two days ago I got into a high-toned argument over the assertion that Zionism -- the belief that Jews belong only in Israel -- is nothing more than a form of nationalism. Certain Jews have been influenced by cosmopolitan Europeans and they don't understand that in a crisis, the cosmopolitan Europeans will not hesitate to turn on them. There is obviously a humanistic aspect to eradicating radical Islamic terrorism, and a desire to improve the lives of Jews who choose to live in the Diaspora rather than in Israel (not to mention Israelis who choose to live outside Israel, doing immeasurable damage). But in one respect, the Jews are better off than their hosts: The Jews have a homeland to which they can return, or retreat. Where will the Dutch, Belgians, Germans and Swedes flee when the ISIS death seeds planted in the European hothouse grow out of control? Al-Qaida murderers have already achieved their first victory in the war on terror -- Western media has largely avoided reprinting the controversial Prophet Muhammad cartoons that sparked Wednesday's attack on the offices of the weekly Charlie Hebdo magazine. Will the French media have the courage to honor the magazine's legacy and continue printing such work? That is the question.
