French President Francois Hollande used inexact language to describe the murder of four Jews in the heart of Paris. He called it an "anti-Semitic act," but refrained from using the words "Islamic terrorism." Commentators explained this puzzling phrasing by pointing out Hollande's desire to not anger French Muslims, many of whom voted for him in the last presidential election. Hollande's choice of words represented a distortion of reality. It is true that the abominable attack was also anti-Semitic, with an emphasis on the word "also." The terrorist did choose to attack the kosher supermarket so he could kill Jews, but France's burgeoning civil war, being fought over the principles established 226 years ago by the French Revolution, is mostly not about anti-Semitism. Rather, this is the "clash of civilizations" predicted by Professor Samuel Huntington, being fought, in blood and fire, between the Judeo-Christian majority and radical Islam. While the sages said, "When the trouble comes to the world, Jacob always feels it first." The current war is global in nature, rather than stemming just from anti-Semitism. Hollande's focus on the anti-Semitic aspect of the attack was understandable, of course. If most French people are led to believe this is just a conflict between a despicable Muslim minority and the larger Jewish minority, then they will think they are comfortably removed from the matter and not at risk. The goal of Hollande's ambiguous words was to calm his people down and limit the scope of the problem. But the situation must be presented as it is: Muslim terrorists prefer to start their wars by attacking Jews, so as to lower the vigilance of the sovereign peoples in the countries where the fighting is taking place. But Hollande knows that, even if every Jew leaves the City of Lights, peace will not reign and terror will be sown in the darkness. Al-Qaida's ultimate goal is not to destroy a school, but rather to take over the Eiffel Tower. The attempt to portray the massacre at the kosher supermarket as merely an anti-Semitic incident will not hold water. Rather, it will just provide a brief respite for Hollande. For Jews, however, this is unimportant, regardless. The main issue is if the 700,000 Jews of France will use the Law of Return to move to Israel, where they will be greeted with open arms upon their return to their homeland. The Law of Return is the core of Israel's existence. It is important that even old truths like this are reiterated to the general public.
