Czechoslovakia 1938 - Israel 2006

In the present world situation, a comparison increasingly heard is that between Israel and Czechoslovakia. Just as it was believed by the nations of Europe that all Hitler wanted was the Sudetenland, and to destroy the existence of Czechoslovakia, so today it is often thought that all that radical Islam and its leaders want is to wipe Israel from the map. If that is happens, many think, the Islamists will be satisfied and world peace will be restored. This is a modern version of the appeasement of totalitarian fascism shown by Britain, France and other supposedly "civilized" countries in the 1930s. There are, however, some important differences in the contemporary situation. Writing in the New Republic, Joshua Muravchik points to one of them:

To denounce Israel for using “disproportionate” force is tantamount to telling Israel to accept its role as the victim. In this way the EU hopes to propitiate the Islamists, just as Chamberlain and Daladier offered up Czechoslovakia to Hitler. As before, this craven gesture would lead to disaster for Europe. Israel, however, is not Czechoslovakia, and it will ignore the EU. For that, Europeans owe it thanks.