Leftist-Islamist Alliance Forming a ‘Laboratory of Antisemitism’ with ‘Civil Religion’ of ‘Palestinism’, Study Finds
Belgium is becoming the breeding ground for antisemitism as the far-left has joined together with groups of radical Muslims to forge a “civil religion” of “Palestinism” as old tropes are combined with Neo-Marxist ideologies of victimisation, a report from a think tank has found.
The issue of Gaza has become the paramount issue for progressivism as a “proof of virtue” and a “sacred cause” to demonstrate that one is “on the right side of history”, particularly among young adults, the far-left, and in Muslim communities, a study from the Institut Jonathas said.
“It is not so much the return of hatred that is to be feared, but its metamorphosis: Belgium has become the laboratory of tomorrow’s anti-Semitism,” the think tank warned.
The report, Antisemitism in Belgium: A Perfect Storm, claimed that historical prejudices about Jews within Europe are synthesised within the multicultural nation with bigotries embedded within Muslim groups, in conjunction with radical ideas on race among the far-left, such as the academic push towards anti-colonialism as the left has shifted its focus away from working-class concerns.
Under this leftist vision, Jews, rather than being cast as outsiders from white European societies as they have been in the past, they are considered as “super white” and therefore an ultimate oppressor group, with Hamas terrorists and Palestinians in Gaza being cast as the ultimate victim group in the global racial hierarchy.
The report suggests that this has gained political prominence among the far left, in conjunction with the growing Muslim population in Belgium, and thus is a demographic of increasing political importance during elections.
Indeed, the paper noted that the Marxist-Leninist party PVDA has successfully increased its vote share in local elections last year after having “multiplied visits to mosques in Antwerp”. The far-left party has also openly supported hardline Islamic issues, such as supporting the veiling of women, Halal meat slaughter, the Gaza cause, while broadly casting aside other leftist narratives, such as the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights.
“The Palestinian cause is now the heart of a true ‘civil’ or ‘secular’ religion. It has become sacred, becoming the cause of all causes…This religion, ‘Palestinism’… is today the absolute militant and moral reference, a cause that is no longer of the order of politics, but which is a matter of quasi-metaphysics, of metapolitics,” the report said.
Although the report said that “traditional antisemitism” persists among the “Belgian extreme right,” it acknowledged that the “most striking phenomenon is the rise of ancient anti-Judaism, which is reactivated and carried in our country by Islamist militants.”
Polling conducted by Ipsos for the think tank found that Muslims are vastly more likely than the general population to hold classically antisemitic views. For example, the pollster found that 46 per cent of Muslim respondents stated openly that they believe “Jews are responsible for many economic crises,” compared to 14 per cent of Belgians. Additionally, 54 per cent of Muslims polled said that “Jews are too present in the media and politics,” compared to 18 per cent of the general population.
“Muslims thus represent, by far, the group in which antisemitic opinions are most widespread, even surpassing far-right sympathisers on certain issues,” the report found, adding: “This is the cold observation that many progressive circles are more than reluctant to take it into account. However, we do not protect against racism by denying the reality, and in particular the reality of Arab-Muslim antisemitism.”
The period of mass migration into Belgium has coincided with a stark rise in antisemitic acts, the report said. The think tank said that on a per capita basis, the number of aggressive actions against Jewish Belgians was greater than against any other minority group in the country.
“For example, antisemitic acts are more numerous in Belgium than anti-Muslim aggressions, even though Jewish Belgians are about sixteen times less numerous than Muslim Belgians.”
The warning of growing antisemitism and the alliance between the radical left and Islamists in Belgium comes in the wake of a bombshell government report in France warning of Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of institutions across Europe, including Belgium, which was described by Paris intel as the Brotherhood’s “European crossroads,” with a “close network of associations and organisations.”
The French government report also warned of the growing connections between the far-left and the Muslim Brotherhood, noting that the Islamist network has forged common cause with leftists on issues such as “Islamophobia”, the veil, and Gaza to give radical Muslims a veneer of legitimacy in the public sphere as they seek to use Western liberal values against the West in a bid to overthrow the current order and bring Sharia Law to Europe.
