Mr. Shirtsleeves and Proportionality

Europe is an interesting place to observe from Israel. Europeans live in a society that is not easy to understand. Their culture seems based on a flattering paradigm: When humanity is going to advance, it does so in Europe first. Yet the term “Europe” provokes a dual reaction in this region. On the one hand, there is all that culture, democracy and economic plenty. Then there is that dark side to Europe. Certainly, in the 20th Century whenever humanity was about to descend into a new kind of Hell, it did so first in Europe. In daily life we don’t see the dark side. But every time Israel fights Hamas, the eccentricity of European responses gob-smacks us.