Protestants are the more segmented group. Mainline churches - you have problems in the U.S., Europe, the Scottish Church, the Dutch Protestant Church, the state church in Norway. The evangelicals have been pro Israel, but a major effort is to bring them in on the Palestinian side. A huge problem and the problems are rising.
Manfred GerstenfeldThe Arab countries in the Middle East have for decades demonized Israel, to Western leadership, which for reasons not entirely clear, listen to them politely. The Bush Administration, for example, was infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood years before Obama began mainstreaming them and allowing them to have positions of influence within the White House.
Manfred GerstenfeldMost extreme acts of anti-Semitism go beyond the acts of anti-Semitism by native Europeans.
Manfred GerstenfeldAnother touchy point: the inability of successive Israeli governments to deal with the propaganda war. Israel has a brilliant instrument in the IDF. We have a cyber-war unit which may become the best unit in the world to fight cyber problems. On the propaganda war...it is a large failure.
Manfred GerstenfeldIt is a third generation anti-Semitism. First it was religious in nature. Today, the Jewish state is attacked and that is the new anti-Semitism. What they have in common is that in all versions, Jews are seen as absolute evil.
Manfred GerstenfeldThere are a variety of reasons. Not all Western leaders are equal. We have to make a certain separation from naïve Americans and Europeans. These are two different categories. For the Europeans, it affects the image of the "New Europe." The false image of Europe is that it is peaceful, separate from the past. Now the image of the New Europe is a radically false image.
Manfred Gerstenfeld