It's looking more and more like a replay of Kristallnacht in Europe.

What gets me is that no one ever gives it back to them. I wonder what would happen if the entire world simply held a weekly 'beat the hell out of the skinheads/neo-nazis' day.

Sounds like background noise for this many people (we are talking at least 300 million people in the EU). Why is this getting press over say traffic accidents or crime in general? Remember with the real Kristalnacht, it was the final sign of the destruction of the Weimar Republic and an officially sanctioned destruction of Jewish property and lives. Instead, we're seeing what appears to me to be relatively low key violence. Maybe it's because I come from the US?

What distinguishes the "Kristalnachtness" of this week from the previous week or the next week? Instead I gather that this expose is just another bit of propaganda in the war between Israel and the various Palestinian organizations and terrorist groups since the EU and in particular Arabic immigrants in the EU appear to lack enthusiasm for the Israeli side.

Are they reporting this because it sells papers? Have you watched the evening news on any of our broadcasr networks? Its ALL doom and gloom. I belive there is a problem of racial and group against group hatred in the EU, but it also exist in New York City and Columbus and Dallas and Phoenix and Salt lake City and..... It sells their product to report this stuff the way they do. Nutburgers and Flakenstiens from both sides of the issue buy the papers, or watch the TV, to see how their SIDE of an issue is doing in the ongonig effort to wipe out the other guy.

[Steve] - maybe you meant cincinatti? Columbus is oddly peacable for all the nationalities congregated here. (aside from the sniper we have running loose)

With the following recent tidbits of news: Muslims largest minority in France, fastest growing minority. Few frenchmen practicing a faith, less than half claiming Christianity. Recent mission field reports indicate France is spiritually bereft while culturally 'elite'...

... I make the following general prediction: Islam will sweep France in the coming years as hollow and empty people, shunning Christianity as they have been conditined to do by their socialist governments, find the personal accountability and structure of Islam appealing.

That's my prediciton, for what it's worth. And given most of the immigrants in question are from the middle east and northern africa, I expect the anti-semmistism to worsen.

Interesting point there, Jerry. I predict Islam will do well in the US for similar reasons. Even though we're not so overwhelmed by socialist programs (er, depends on your point of view), I think the large Christian religious sects no longer serve their members. Ironically, that's the same problem in the Islamic world and I suspect part of the appeal of the fundamentalist approach.

Karl:

For whom do the major Christian sects no longer serve? Ironically, from a political perspective, I would venture that it is upper middle class, often liberal, folks for whom religion has the least meaning. Look at Madonna's gyrations through Buddhism, kabala, etc. And Johnny Walker Lindh was no blue-collar farm-boy gone wrong---but upper middle class Marin County. Conversely, middle America ("fly-over land" in some peoples' views) remains not only Christian, but quite fervently so (if polls are to be believed).

This is not a suggestion that liberals are somehow pro-Islamic fundamentalist, but rather, that the ones most likely to convert to Islam, or to otherwise buy the whole "jihad is not a call to war/violence, but rather self-improvement" are the ones near the top of the socio-econ scale. They are just as likely to be the ones who fail to see the rise of militant Islam as an internal process, but instead link it to US support for Israel or "root causes of American foreign policy" and the like.

And while the storm-troops of anti-Semitism may come from below, the excuses and the pooh-poohing are far more likely to come from higher-up.

Well, don't have much time right now, but I was glancing at the "American Religious Identification Survey" (don't have a good link yet) which seems to be the most definitive study out there. It appears to fail to confirm my accusations at least for the period it measures (1990 and 2001). However, I can say that a number of large denominations didn't do well and Christianity grew much less than the population increase FWIW.