Why Does Europe Ignore Wanton Aggression?

David Harris, the chief executive officer at the American Jewish Committee, recently wrote in Politico: “Countless times, I have heard European leaders express their anguish over the Holocaust, the extermination of six million European Jews and the fertile European soil that nurtured anti-Semitism over the centuries.   I have heard them vow repeatedly ‘Never Again.’  But too many European leaders are not connecting this painful past to present policies.  Yet how can any leader speak about the Holocaust and the menace of modern-day anti-Semitism without reference to the ongoing threats against Israel and the Jewish right to self-determination?”

Anar Valiyev, the Dean of ADA University, stressed that what Harris stated about Israel also is like what Azerbaijan experiences. Indeed, he noted that just as Europe recognizes the Holocaust but refuses to stand up for Israel’s security needs, these same individuals recognize the horrors of the Khojaly genocide yet will not support Azerbaijan’s right to self-defense during the Second Karabakh War: “Because of the Turkish and Israeli support for Azerbaijan, the liberal press in the West was anti-Azerbaijani and made many mythical claims.  These newspapers usually take the weaker side.  Azerbaijan is the stronger side and Armenia is the weaker side; same with the Israelis and Palestinians.” However, he noted that these individuals fail to recognize that the weak side is not always in the right.  

Recently, Human Rights Watch issued two reports, raising awareness about Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan. 

In the first one, Human Rights Watch accused Armenia of waging unlawful rocket and missile strikes against Azerbaijan. “Armenian forces repeatedly launched missiles, unguided rockets, and heavy artillery into populated cities and villages in violation of the laws of war,” Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, stated. “Again and again in the course of the six-week war, these attacks unlawfully destroyed civilian lives and homes and should be impartially investigated.”