'If Israel falls, the West falls': Geert Wilders is Europe's last stand against Islam - opinion

Many in Israel have never heard the name Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) that recently stormed the elections in his country. Anyone who reads this article will remember his name. I will discuss him in detail below.

After the world has turned against us, directly due to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist messianic government, the first sparks of hope for change are beginning to emerge. And if this is indeed the case, it is not due to Netanyahu, who is detached and self-interested in his personal affairs - who continues to start fires remotely to keep the justified media fire away from him, but despite him.

Europe has shifted to the right because of Islam. Since October 7, Israel has also moved right. And looking for a sane state-liberal right, which in my view, is represented by Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu. Other than those justifying the terrorist act, such as Gideon Levy, a journalist, and Ofer Cassif, a member of the Knesset for the Joint List, it is difficult to find even left-wing supporters who continue to empathize with the Palestinian militants.

Europeans are beginning to wake up to the occupation - the occupation of their countries by veils, hijabs, sharia laws, and thousands of mosques, increasing crime, and “Free Palestine" demonstrations, because of the opportunity given to Islamist immigrants to settle in their countries who, instead of assimilating into the local customs, insist on being open Islamists even in the countries hosting them, without generalizing. There are, of course, wonderful Muslims who spearhead ‘live and let live’. It goes without saying that alongside a large number of extremist Muslims involved in organizing activities against the modern Western world, there are, of course, many who prefer a quiet and peaceful life - and some of them even voted for Wilders.

There are governments in Europe that have made it clear that anti-Israel protests are equivalent to demonstrations against the country itself. For example - there are almost no Free Palestine demonstrations in the Czech Republic and Austria, but there are demonstrations in support of Israel.

Back to Geert Wilders - an enthusiastic supporter of Israel and a highly fierce critic of Islam, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV). In the past, his party promised to close mosques and “ban the Koran.”

In the Dutch elections in Holland approximately seven months ago, on November 22, 2023, Wilders pulled a stunning victory when he won a crushing majority with 23% of the votes, giving him 37 of the 150 seats in Parliament. The two parties after him won far fewer 24 and 25 seats. Wilders, riding the waves of exposing the true face of the Islamic immigrants, encountered difficulties in forming a coalition. After six months of negotiations, he recently managed to establish a right-wing government in which he, although not serving as prime minister, will dictate its policy (the government will be sworn in soon. The new prime minister will be Dick Schoof, former head of the Dutch spy agency).

A right-wing victory indicates that Europe is waking up. Too late, but it's terrific. It remains to be hoped that the countries' leaders will be able to implement far-reaching decisions to stem the dangerous tide before it becomes a hostile takeover of their countries. Once they realize that fundamentalist Islam - an extension of the Iranian Satan - aims to kill not only the Jews but also the Christians, they will know what to do, and not in a violent way, God forbid, but through legislation that mandates that anyone wishing to live in the country with them must act accordingly, and any transgression will result in their deportation to their country of origin. There are 57 Islamic and 22 Arab nations.

In May 2024, Geert Wilders said in the Dutch Parliament: “I lived in Israel for a while, a long time ago. Then, it was still from Jordan where the terrorists entered... And then the army... looked where people were, to protect their population.” (In other words, avoid harming innocent people.) ...it’s hatred from these kinds of Islamic groups like Hamas, the Islamic Jihad group, and also Hezbollah. They deny the Jewish State’s right to exist.

Israel does not attack another country and has never attacked another country without first being attacked. Radical Muslims, terrorist scum, are out to destroy the Jewish State and kill its inhabitants.

In December 2010 in Tel Aviv, Wilders said: “Israel is often being mistreated. Israel is not to blame for the hardship of the Palestinians and is therefore not required to resolve the problem of Palestine. The Arab leaders are to blame - and Islam is to blame. So, why are there refugee camps for Palestinians in areas surrounding Israel? Because the Palestinians were not welcomed in the neighboring Arab countries. The refugees were forced into camps and slums, where many of their descendants still linger today. Instead of blaming the inhospitable Arab regimes, many blame Israel.

Israel is "a beacon of light"

Israel, on the other hand, is a beacon of light. It is like a Hanukkah menorah whose lights have been kindled in a region that, until 1948, was engulfed by darkness. Israel is not to blame for the situation in the Middle East. The problem is Islam’s rejection of Israel’s right to exist. Islam, however, conditions Muslims to hate Jews. It is a religious duty to do so. Israel must be destroyed because it is the homeland of the Jews.

The problem is also our Western leaders’ refusal to understand that Israel is the West’s canary in the coal mine: If the Jews are denied the right to live in freedom and peace, soon we will all be denied this right. If the light of Israel is extinguished, we will all face darkness. If Israel falls, the West falls. That is why we are all Israel.

But as long as the West refuses to understand how the Palestinians are used as a weapon against Israel, it will not be able to see who is truly to blame; it will not be able to see that it is not Israel’s duty to provide a Palestinian state for the simple reason that there already is a Palestinian state. That state is Jordan.

Israel, including Judea and Samaria, has been the land of the Jews since time immemorial. Jews had been living in the Jordan Valley for centuries until the Arab invaders drove them out in 1948 when the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan occupied the provinces of Judea and Samaria.

Until 1967, when Israel regained the ancient Jewish heartland of Judea and Samaria, no one, not a single Islamic scholar or Western politician, ever demanded that there be an independent Palestinian state in the so-called West Bank. My friends, let me be obvious: The conflict in the Middle East is not a conflict over territory but rather an ideological battle.

Ideologies must be confronted with the iron will never to give in, “never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty.” That is the lesson which the world learned from Winston Churchill when he confronted the evil ideology of Nazism.

This conflict here in the Middle East is not about land and borders but about Islamic jihadism opposing Western liberty. No territorial concession on Israel’s part can ever change that.

For the sake of its survival and security, Israel needs defendable borders. A country that is only 15 kilometers wide is impossible to defend. That is the strategic reason why Jews need to settle Judea and Samaria.

Islam threatens not just Israel. Islam threatens the entire world. Without Judea and Samaria, Israel cannot protect Jerusalem. The future of the world depends on Jerusalem. If Jerusalem falls, Athens and Rome - and Paris, London, and Washington - will be next.

Thus, Jerusalem is the central front protecting our common civilization. When the flag of Israel no longer flies over the walls of Jerusalem, the West will no longer be accessible. The world must recognize that there has been an independent Palestinian state since 1946, the Kingdom of Jordan.

And to the Western world, I say: Let us stand with Israel because the Jews have no other state. Let us stand with Israel because the history of our civilization began here, in this land, the homeland of the Jews. Let us stand with Israel because the Jewish state needs defendable borders to secure its survival. Let us stand with Israel because it is the frontline in the battle for the survival of the West.

Israel is the light of freedom. Europeans and Americans must help the Israelis to keep that light shining in the darkness. For Israel’s sake and the sake of all of us.”

Wilders' positions have remained the same and even strengthened since October 7, and thanks to them, he probably won the elections. Simply speaking, Wilders makes it clear that Israel is the West's protective wall against Islam's military takeover of Europe. So, who said there is no hope and chance for the West to become disillusioned? All Israel needs is a massive investment in advocacy and to flood Europe with at least one Geert in every country. This is not Geert-Vet.

The author is a strategic consultant at Peer Levin Communications.