by Giulio Meotti

In several countries, nursing homes are being turned into dying homes. We condemned thousands of elderly people to the most atrocious death, in extreme solitude, deprived of their loved ones, without holding the hands of their children, without speaking to a priest, even brought to the crematorium en masse, without even the slightest funeral ritual being allowed.It is a form of anthropological transgression that clashes intimately with the conscience of Western civilization.

Half of the deaths from Covid-19 in Europe have been in nursing homes. It is not a coincidence. We deliberately sacrificed these elderly in a form of social Darwinism.

If our conscience will resist  this terrible temptation, the West might have some future. Otherwise, it will be transformed forever.

The Covid-19 epidemic destroyed the anthropological, social and cultural illusions on which we Westerners have lived for half a century. Armed with hedonistic rhetoric, we thought we were safe, that we even had abolished death. This disease destroys those illusions and our false consciousness. It forces us to return to the truth of the human condition. Western man now knows that death exists!

We in the West dreamed of transhumanism, gender-free, abolition of borders, digitalization of the world; the very words “border”, “nation”, “people”, “identity”, “family”, were taboo. Now we rediscover all of these are crucial to fight the disease.

This crisis has served to remind us that the family is the fundamental and basic framework that allows life to flourish and unfold, especially when existence is threatened with being pulverized.

When danger came on a collective level, the state was unable to protect us and we retreated into our own family. 

It was the crisis of Western man, who wanted to be absolutely the master of himself, free from the bonds of belonging, without a country, without religion, without civilization, without gender. Postmodern nihilism is now decomposing before our eyes.

After years of talking about “Uberization”, the Western man suddenly felt the need for a home, a place to retreat, a fortress, if necessary. The Western utopia where individuals were at home everywhere is dead.

Our cultural imagination was full of Hollywood-type disasters. But when real danger knocked on the door, we had become unable to see and hear it. We lacked the very possibility of realizing an existential danger.

That is why Israel coped with this virus much better than the West. People, borders, family, religion, identity and danger are an integral part of Israel’s identity. 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/25636

After years of pressure from the US (both the Obama and Trump administrations) and the Israeli government, Germany’s interior minister on Thursday banned all activities of the Lebanese terrorist movement Hezbollah within the federal republic’s territory. “That was overdue,” wrote Frank Jansen about the ban in his Tagesspiegelnewspaper commentary. Jansen is one of Ger many’s leading national security reporters.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer declared that Hezbollah’s activities “violate criminal law and the organization opposes the concept of international understanding.”In other words, Germany’s government could have banned Hezbollahdecades ago.Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration declined and furnished a series of bogus arguments. Germany linked a ban to the Israel-Palestinian peace process in 2018. Last year, after the UK outlawed Hezbollah, Germany’s deputy foreign minister, Niels Annen, said when asked about a ban: “Hezbollah is however also a relevant factor in Lebanese society and an integral part of the country’s complex domestic-policy make-up. It has seats in Parliament and is part of the Government.”A veteran German journalist, who has written extensively about Iranian regime-sponsored terrorism and intelligence agencies in the federal republic, told me Germany cut a deal with Hezbollah after the organization’s 1992 terrorism attack in a West Berlin restaurant.A joint Hezbollah-Iran operation assassinated three Iranian-Kurdish leaders and their translator in the Greek restaurant Mykonos. The quid pro quo, according to the journalist, was: Hezbollah and Iran discontinued terrorism operations on German soil in exchange for permission to fundraise, build structures, recruit new members, and spread their deadly ideologies.

In contrast to the foreign policy view held by France and Germany, my Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ colleague and Lebanon expert, Tony Badran, has over the years debunked the belief that  the Lebanese state is independent from Hezbollah. Writing in December in the Washington Examiner, he noted that “ The reality is that Hezbollah took over Lebanon years ago” and the  Eastern Mediterranean  nation is a “failed state run by a terrorist group.”Jansen said that by proscribing Hezbollah’s activities, interior minister Horst Seehofer sent a message to the State of Israel, Jews and many non-Jewish democrats who have long sought the ban of the Shi’ite terrorist entity. He noted that Hezbollah has over the decades carried out “antisemitic agitation.”The Jerusalem Post has written hundreds of articles on Hezbollah’s nefarious activities over the decades in Europe, including a Hezbollah member declaring last year in a Hezbollah-controlled mosque in the German city of Münster: “We belong to the party of Ruhollah [Khomeini]. We have been accused of being terrorists – we are proud of terrorism.”In 2018, this journalist exclusively reported that the Al-Mustafa Community Center in the northern German city-state of Bremen is a major hub for raising funds for Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to a German intelligence report.The Bremen intelligence agency’s report stated, “The Al-Mustafa-Community Center supports Hezbollah in Lebanon, especially by collecting donations.”The financial pipeline between Bremen and Beirut means Hezbollah secures funds from German territory to wage war against Israel and Syrian civilians.Hezbollah’s infamous 1985 manifesto demands Israel’s “obliteration from existence.” Merkel claimed during her 2008 speech in the Knesset that Israel’s security is “non-negotiable” for her government.Hezbollah fighters have aided Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in wiping out over 600,000 people in Syria.All of this helps to explain that Germany had a prima facie case to ban Hezbollah. The political will in Germany was non-existent. A sea change appeared with the appointment of Richard Grenell as US ambassador to Germany in 2018.“The world is a little bit safer with this German government ban of Hezbollah. The entire US embassy in Berlin has worked with the German government and the Bundestag for two years to push for this ban. It’s an incredible diplomatic success that we hope will motivate many officials in Brussels to follow suit with an EU-wide ban,” Grenell said on Thursday.The US congress has also flexed its muscles with a view toward seeking a change in German Hezbollah policy. In  2019, congress once again urged Germany to designate the entire organization as a terrorist entity, not only its military.Representatives Ted Deutch, Grace Meng, Gus Bilirakus and Lee Zeldin wrote a letter to Merkel saying in part: “The alliance between our two countries, whether for combating terrorism or supporting democracy, has been a cornerstone of the transatlantic relationship and NATO alliance, and our coordinated efforts have been critical to our collective national security.”The group of democrats and republicans added “ That is why we hope that Germany will consider this decision to, once and for all, fully designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.” The letter came after the Bundestag failed to pass a resolution that would refer to the entire organization as a terrorist group.”Moving forward, Germany has positioned itself, along with the Netherlands and the UK, to push the European Union to include Hezbollah’s entire organization on its foreign terrorist entities. In 2013, the EU merely banned Hezbollah’s so-called “military wing” after the organization blew up an Israeli tourist bus in Bulgaria. The terrorist operation murdered five Israelis and their Muslim Bulgaria bus driver. Hezbollah defines itself as a unitary organization without political and military wings. Holland outlawed Hezbollah in 2004.Germany has still not internalized via counterterrorism methods that Hezbollah is an extension of Iran’s clerical regime.In 2018 Nathan Sales, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism within the US Department of State, spoke at the Washington Institute’s Counterterrorism Lecture Series. Sales said “Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Period. It has held that dubious distinction for many years now and shows no sign of relinquishing the title.” He noted that at the time that “Iran provides Hezbollah alone some $700 million a year.”Germany has not taken the anti-terrorism plunge and joined US economic sanctions against Tehran. Merkel has also refused to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.Economic interests are one of the factors in Germany’s opposition to US sanctions along with its view that the Iran nuclear deal is functioning, despite overwhelming evidence that Tehran has violated the terms of the atomic accord. Germany is Iran’s most important European trade partner.Merkel continues to permit US sanctioned Iranian banks ( Bank Melli Bank Sepah  European Iranian Handelsbank,  to operate within German territory.Iran’s financial system is riddled with terror finance and support for its illegal nuclear and missile programs.One could argue that the pressing question for the counterterrorism community is, when will Germany finally confront Hezbollah’s paymaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran? Critics of Germany’s anti-terrorism strategy believe it is long overdue.

https://www.jpost.com/international/what-took-so-long-hezbollah-ban-in-germany-was-long-overdue-626485

A dangerous incident between Turkish and German border guards occurred at the Greek-Turkish land border.

Turkish soldiers targeted German officials and fired at least one shot. It is unclear where the bullet went.

The news emerged from an internal document of the European border protection agency Frontex, which was made available to German media outlet SPIEGEL. No one was injured in the incident.

The German Ministry of the Interior confirmed the incident. A Turkish soldier fired a shot at 19:15 on Tuesday evening when German officials were on the other side of the border.

German officers are stationed at the Greek border as part of a Frontex mission. The incident occurred near the Greek town of Tychero. According to SPIEGEL information, after German border guards heard a shot from the Turkish side of the border on Tuesday evening, they immediately took cover.

Through a pair of binoculars, the German border guards saw a Turkish soldier aiming an automatic weapon at the Greek side from the other side of the river.

Then the Turkish soldier showed his middle finger and went back to his tent. Other soldiers shouted “come, come” and a short time later, six other Turkish soldiers had appeared and also aimed their guns at the German and Greek border guards.

Frontex said on request that all the facts about the incident were with the Greek authorities. The Turkish government have not commented on the incident.

The day after the incident, the Greek Deputy Migration Minister George Koumoutsakos phoned Frontex boss Fabrice Leggeri. Among other things, they discussed the possibility of sending more Frontex officials to Greece. The number of refugees who try to cross the land border or to the Greek islands in the Aegean usually increases in summer.

Germany has been participating in the Frontex mission in Greece for several years. They are mostly federal police officers who assist the Greek authorities in checking the border, but the state police also provide officials for the German Frontex force. By March, there were around 60 officials.

After a call for help from Athens at the beginning of March, Germany pledged another 20 police officers and a seaworthy helicopter to observe refugee movements in the Mediterranean. At the time, Greece feared that Turkey could completely open the borders, especially to Syrian refugees.

The relationship between Frontex and Turkey was already tense after an aggressive incident in March. At that time, two Turkish planes had been tracking a Danish reconnaissance jet, which was commissioned by Frontex, for several minutes. In Germany, the action was seen as an aggressive act.

greekcitytimes.com/2020/05/01/turkish-soldier-shoots-at-greek-german-border-protectors-at-evros/

Pressure by the Trump administration on the German government paid off when that country finally banned Hezbollah, the Shiite Islamist terror militia in Lebanon allied with Iran. And Iran’s role in spreading the Wuhan Virus probably didn’t help either.

And after the ban, a belated crackdown followed.

Germany on Thursday completely banned Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement from carrying out activities on its soil, as police raided mosques and venues linked to the group.

Like the European Union, Germany had until now only outlawed Hezbollah’s military wing while tolerating its political wing.

But in a shift immediately welcomed by the United States and Israel, the German interior ministry said it now considered the entire movement a “Shiite terrorist organisation”.

“Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation deemed responsible for numerous attacks and kidnappings worldwide,” Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Germany’s Bild daily.

Not exactly news.

Dozens of police and special forces stormed mosques and associations linked to Hezbollah in Bremen, Berlin, Dortmund and Muenster in the early hours of the morning, German media reported.

The Al-Irshad mosque in Berlin was sealed off with at least 16 police vans parked outside, an AFP photographer saw. Masked police officers were seen walking in and out of the mosque.

Although Hezbollah has no official presence in Germany, security forces estimate it has roughly a thousand members in the country.

They are thought to use Germany as a safe haven to make plans, recruit sympathisers and raise funds, including through criminal activities.

Why raid mosques? Because contrary to the myth that Islamic terror has nothing to do with Islam, mosques are incubators of terrorism in the United States, Europe, and around the world. Islamic terrorist groups are rooted in Islam and set up their core bases using Islamic institutions.

US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell welcomed Berlin’s change in stance and called on “all European Union member states to take similar action”.

Grenell gets most of the credit for the move.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2020/04/germany-raids-mosques-after-hezbollah-ban-daniel-greenfield/

Two police officers attempt to arrest a migrant in the Berlin district of Neukölln. The policeman shows some initiative, although he cannot get a grip on the migrant even with pepper spray. He probably has the female colleague with him just for fun, at least she is just watching the embarrassing scuffle. In the end the migrant escapes.

politikstube.com/berlin-neukoelln-die-polizei-macht-sich-zur-lachnummer/

Translation of the above tweet:

The headmistress of the Leibniz School in Mainz, Annette Jutzi, with religious statement on her shirt in the TV magazine Moma
Hidaya means as much as Allah’s guidance.
Was the shirt on special offer ?

Rasmus Paludan, a Danish anti-Islam politician who requires police protection everywhere he goes, recently held a demonstration with members of his party Stram Kurs (Hard Line) at a school in Århus – Denmark’s second largest city.

During the demonstration, party members recorded video of the kind of reception they received from the locals. One video that’s been uploaded to Rasmus Paludan’s YouTube channel shows a bearded, aggressive migrant yelling at a young Danish man. Although it’s difficult to make out all the words, Kim Møller, an author at the political blog Uriasposten, has transcribed what can be heard on the video.

The migrant says:

“We have more children. You get one or two. In ten or fifteen years there will be more Muslims than Danes in this country. … The Danes are five million, You are almost extinct man. … You fuck with animals, that’s why you don’t get children…You Danes are being exterminated. You’re like animals… I will never be Danish, I want my mentality and my tradition, but I will stick my Danish passport and the Danish People’s Party in my ass, I will burn my Danish passport… We will not integrate, we will continue to fuck your society… Suck a cock!”

Recently, Muslim migrants in Denmark have come out of the woodwork to brazenly reveal their abject disdain for the Danish people, their culture, and their religion.About two weeks ago on Easter Sunday, the holiest day for Christians around the world, a Danish church was defaced with Arabic graffiti which read: “We conquer Denmark. There is no God but Allah,” Voice of Europe reported.

voiceofeurope.com/2020/04/migrant-tells-danish-man-you-danes-are-animals-you-will-be-exterminated-video/

Last Monday evening there was an uproar in the quarantine accommodation for asylum seekers in Puchheim. Refugees threw food around.

About 20 residents are accommodated there. Because they could infect others with the coronavirus, they are not allowed to leave the building. The refugees no longer receive money for shopping, but food is delivered to their doorstep.

Obviously there is no understanding for this among a group of refugees: They have rabidly stopped the food from being distributed. The police had to intervene. The food was left on the property to de-escalate. When the police and staff of the district administration office left, all the delivered apples, bread and milk were thrown over the fence. The district office is responsible for accommodation. District Administrator Thomas Karmasin: “The behaviour of the troublemakers is completely unacceptable and will be investigated thoroughly.” The quarantine was ordered by the health department. Violations are not a trivial offence. Efforts were being made to find accommodations and provide food at short notice. “I actually expect this form of hospitality to be appreciated accordingly,” says Karmasin. Puchheim’s mayor Norbert Seidl agrees regarding the handling of food – and the respect for those who provide it. “I am appalled, such behaviour is not acceptable. No matter if you are frustrated or sick or whatever.”

merkur.de/lokales/fuerstenfeldbruck/puchheim-ort29319/bayern-puchheim-coronaviurs-fluechtlinge-quarantaene-polizei-asylbewerberheim-eklat-infizierte-13735115.html