On July 24, the embattled president of France announced that he would recognize Palestine as a sovereign state, formalizing the decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September. On July 29, 2025, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the UK would do the same. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the same on July 30, and so did Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on August 10, and even Malta on August 22. In the minds of such politicians, recognition would advance a two-state solution. That, in effect, such a measure would reward the criminals who masterminded the October 7th attack-–a prelude to doing away with all Jews in Israel—was for all purposes ignored. From a historic perspective, there is a strong smell of Vichy—shielding France from the consequences of antagonizing the enemy at the cost of abandoning principles. France’s economic ties with the Muslim world are rooted in its colonial history, particularly in North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) and parts of the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria). Post-World War II decolonization led to significant immigration from these regions, creating a large Muslim population in France (estimated at 6-9% of the population, or roughly 4-6 million people). This history has fostered enduring economic and cultural connections, with France maintaining a strong presence in former colonies through trade, investment, and military cooperation. Likewise, the relations of Great Britain and of the cohort states aligned in recognition of a terrorist state, based not on principles but on economic interests.
Domestic considerations are never fully disclosed. But in competing for votes with a far-leftist candidate and with a right-oriented candidate, Macron got reelected by the Muslim vote. In trying to save his legacy, he is applying the classic tools of demagoguery. Evidently, France or Britain is in debt to the Muslim world, and thus careful not to antagonize their Muslim constituencies. Canada, Australia, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal, and Belgium are probably less dependent on Islam-dominated economic partners and less exposed to the risks of antagonizing their Muslim populations. However, in Canada, the Muslim community’s rapid growth and urban concentration (e.g., in Toronto and Montreal) make it a significant political force. The 2025 announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney to recognize Palestine, contingent on Palestinian Authority reforms, aligns with pressure from Canada’s Muslim community, which has been vocal about Gaza, as seen in the Ramadan 2024 campaigns urging action on Palestinian rights. This indicates that the growing Muslim population (projected to reach 2.7 million by 2030) may influence Canada’s foreign policy, similar to how France’s Muslim population may shape its Middle East policies. Muslim organizations in Sydney and Melbourne have held protests and lobbied for recognition, reflecting the community’s growing political influence due to its size and concentration in key electoral areas. Such moves may also strengthen Australia’s economic and diplomatic ties with Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, which are significant trade partners in the region.
Considering the fact that each declaration to support a Palestinian state was justified by Israel’s military action to neutralize Hamas and to free the hostages, a moral question breaks through the political hypocrisy. Why did the world that condemned the fascists for trying to exterminate the Jews leave it to Israel to defend itself alone? After October 7, an event reminiscent of the Holocaust, where was the alliance of all countries that after the Holocaust declared NEVER AGAIN? Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, plus Iran prepared to wipe Israel off the map, were engaged in actions that could have led to the ‘JUDENFREI’ of Israel. Sure, after the Holocaust, with over 6 million murdered Jews, everyone felt sorry for the victims. But nobody did anything to prevent or stop the extermination machinery. It seems that the world never forgave the Jews for having survived.
Realistically, what could the world do? One can imagine the following: The international community, in solidarity with the victims, would issue an ultimatum: Hamas, if you do not free the hostages and surrender, we will send an international force to fight you. Instead of letting Israel do the dirty job of a war it did not ask for or provoke, the community of nations would face the terrorists and bring them to surrender. The War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), initiated after the September 11 attacks to dismantle al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban from power, involved a broad coalition of countries under the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) comprising 27 countries, plus non-military contributions. Was 9/11 so much more urgent than October 7? Who demonstrated against it? How many college campuses were seriously disrupted or even temporarily closed because the hatred against Jews reached levels unknown since the end of Nazi Germany?
After the horrors of the last World War, Israel should not have to risk the lives of its citizens, many children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. Where was Macron, and where were the cohorts eager to give legitimacy to a state of criminals, when a new Holocaust, heroically prevented by Israel, was initiated? What about a Declaration of Solidarity? “We, as a community dedicated to a world free of Jew-hatred, will defend the Jewish state. And will bring peace to that part of the world.” Such a Declaration was never issued. Macron and the gang of Palestinian supporters disguised as chiefs of states swallowed the propaganda of the terrorists and surrendered, blaming Israel as justification for their own moral bankruptcy.
The world is now facing the Vichy of the Middle East. French spectators booed Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva, at a basketball game, not unlike the Germans who eliminated every Jew from the Olympics under Hitler. In surrendering to terror, Macron has ruined his chance, if he really had one, of a dignified legacy. There is a face-saving out of this. A global commitment that we will never recognize a Palestinian state unless you free the hostages and surrender. And accept the existence of the State of Israel, after a lapse of 77 years. What was not done after October 7, a worldwide solidarity with Israel, expressed in actions not in demagoguery, can at last can be accomplished. But who has enough courage to stand for what is right? Anyone?
Dr. Mihai Nadin is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Interactive Media, and former Ashbel Smith Professor, University of Texas at Dallas. He is widely regarded as a father of anticipatory systems in computing. His latest book is Disrupt Science: The Future Matters (Springer, December 20, 2023).
