World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder denounced the continued European Union’s refusal to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, despite conclusive evidence that the Iranian-backed Lebanese group was behind a major terrorist attack on its soil, the bomb attack against Israeli travelers in Bulgaria.
“With this act, Hezbollah and its Iranian have declared war on Europe, yet many politicians and opinion-shapers there don’t seem to be worried with the impact of what happened, and if they do, they mostly express concern about a possible Israeli reaction to the attack.”
“Europe has returned to business as usual,” deplored Lauder.
“Putting Hezbollah on the terror groups list would make it much harder for the group to conduct fundraising activities or recruit new fighters in Europe,” he said.
The WJC president also criticized the general attitude toward the Lebanese paramilitary group across Europe, saying “How can it be explained that in mainstream European media Hezbollah is still called a ‘militant movement’ or a ‘resistance group’? Is it because in Europe Hezbollah is widely perceived as a legitimate player in the Middle East? The EU should think again. Terror organizations must be defeated by all means and not be treated as a partner for peace.”
Lauder added: “And why do European media hardly ever talk about Iran’s actions as a sponsor of international terrorism? Through Hezbollah, Iran has been implicated in a number of deadly attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world over the past decades, and everyone know that the Iranian regime is Hezbollah’s main backer. It should be publicly exposed and shamed for its criminal behavior.”
The WJC president highlighted that the Burgas bombing, in which five Israelis and one Bulgarian were killed and more than 30 inured, had happened at an EU airport where security ought to be tight.
“Now is the time for the leaders of the European Union to show their true colors. If they really want to have peace and security in the Middle East they must act forcefully against the terrorists and their backers. Israelis going to Europe on vacation or on business rightly expect the highest security standards to be in place.”
“Our communities in Europe expect from their governments that they guarantee safety for Jewish sites and allow Jewish life to flourish. Terrorist attacks are not acts of God. They can be avoided if warnings are taken seriously and if terrorist organizations and their sponsors are recognized as such,” Lauder declared.