Greek neo-Nazis & Egyptian Islamists: Signs of the Times

Two shocking videos reveal the essence of contemporary extremism and its drivers.

The first video concerns the Greek far right party, Golden Dawn. This group received 6.97% of the vote at the Greek elections last week. Worse still, another far right group, LAOS received 2.9%, meaning that virtually 1 in 10 Greek voters supported far right groups. Imagine a scenario in which the British National Party and the National Front were obtaining such results nationwide.

Of course, this is not the first European democracy in recent months and years to see its nationalist vote soar, such as France, where the Front National received a record 18% of the vote in the first round of the 2012 Presidential election. Nevertheless, there is something different in tone and feel about Golden Dawn that sets it apart from most of its European counterparts. For example, one of its (failed) candidates smiling in front of a crematorium oven at Dachau. The photo went on his Facebook site, where friends joked that it “made good bread”.

Golden Dawn’s logo may look like a swastika, but it apparently derives from an ancient Greek meander. Whatever, in the video (showing a press conference after the election results), you can clearly see the chilling aggression and demagoguery of Greek Dawn’s leader and his bully boy skinhead poseur assistants.

The second video concerns the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. This group threatens to dominate the  Egyptian political scene.

2012 polling suggests that 61% of Egyptians want to annul their country’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel (a rise of 7% from 2011). The video shows that the Muslim Brotherhood will be only too happy to oblige. This is the campaign launch for its Presidential candidate. There are calls for a “United States of the Arabs” with Jerusalem as its capital; and mass chanting of “Allah Akbar” and “Millions of martyrs, march upon Jerusalem”.

This is followed by a mass chorusing of these catchy lines:

“Come on you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas”

And

“Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews”

This is essentially the same Muslim Brotherhood that seeks to influence the ideology and  representation of Britain’s diverse Muslim communities, mosques and students. These are the people with whom elements of the British far left have made common cause; and whom many others think they can work with and welcome to tour this country with no ill effect for our society.

In both Egypt and Greece you have proud, ancient countries, whose civilisations have shaped their entire regions, if not the history of the world.

In Greece, the utter collapse of the centrist democratic parties means you can almost reach out and touch the political helplessness and frustration of the population.

In Egypt, the levels of Greek despair have not really been reached, because there is also a sense of coming change against the military rulers; and an ensuing mass empowerment. (You can feel this in video of the Presidential launch rally.)

The British media has reported upon the Greek situation and its extremists with all of the alarm and scrutiny that one would expect. Sadly, the coverage of the Arab Spring has been far more superficial: especially in its analysis of what may well lie ahead, how that will impact in Britain and across Europe; and how competing extremisms will, inevitably, feed off each other.

Jews have long known that antisemitism is an advance warning of deep societal despair and division. There are many others who should study these short videos and learn the lesson, fast.