Expressions of sympathy for the Palestinians or criticism of the Israeli military campaign in the West Bank are of course entirely appropriate. What is troubling are hateful statements and actions like the bombs thrown at Jewish schools, centers and groups in France, or the Orthodox Jews beaten on the streets of Belgium and Berlin or the truck bomb driven into the ancient synagogue in Tunisia. We worry that such actions, largely by Muslim extremists, touch a historic chord in Europe that is not being confronted.

Israelis have been too quick, over the years, to view criticism of their government as motivated by anti-Semitism. But it is hard to think of another word for the way some critics of Israel's policy toward the Palestinians are expressing their opposition. The dark shadow of Europe's past seemed to be reappearing when the liberal Italian daily La Stampa depicted a baby Jesus looking up from the manger at an Israeli tank, saying, "Don't tell me they want to kill me again." Or when a Lutheran bishop in Denmark delivered a sermon in the Copenhagen Cathedral comparing Ariel Sharon's policies toward the Palestinians to those of King Herod, who ordered the slaughter of all male children under the age of 2 in Bethlehem.

Political opinion in Europe is certainly one-sided when it comes to the Mideast conflict. Members of the Norwegian Nobel committee have publicly called for the withdrawal of the Peace Prize from the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, but not from his co-winner, Yasir Arafat. The European Parliament voted to urge member governments to impose trade sanctions on Israel but urged no action against the Palestinian Authority. Historically, the far right and far left have not agreed on much. These days they seem united in their contempt for the Jewish state.

This was evident last summer at the international conference against racism in Durban, South Africa, which turned into a celebration of Israel hatred. Zionism was once again equated with racism and Israel's legitimacy came under repeated attack.

Focusing on the suffering of only one side is also not the same as anti-Semitism, although it is distressing. Just as there are American politicians who believe they have no political room to maneuver when it comes to support for Israeli policies, so there are European politicians with large Muslim constituencies whose voters do not want to see them acknowledging gray areas in this fight. There are also other explanations for the European mood. Guilt over the Holocaust may be salved with the thought that Jews, too, can act with cruelty. And given American sponsorship of Israel, being fashionably anti-American can easily mean being anti-Israel.

But much of Europe has a special responsibility to be cautious. Its cultures are drenched in a history of anti-Semitism. The mixing of historic European anti-Semitism with the more modern version in the Muslim world is a dangerous cocktail.

All this does not mean that Israel should be above criticism. Far from it. But it does mean that when you read of hooded men shouting "Death to Jews" attacking a Jewish soccer team in suburban Paris, as happened recently, it should prompt some profound soul-searching about whether the past has come calling.

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