Sixty-five years after the defeat of the Third Reich, a senior delegation of European right-wing politicians toured Samaria Monday, December 6, 2010 in support of the Jews who live there, whom they see as a bridgehead in the struggle against a common foe; Islamic jihadism and expansionism.

The delegation of senior European parliamentarians toured Samaria’s Jewish communities Monday as guests of the Samaria Liaison Office, which said the group was “unprecedented” in its political importance. The parliamentarians learned from up close about the strategic value of the region and visited sites of historic and biblical significance.

Euro MPs in Judea and Samaria: This is Jewish Land

The delegation included 35 senior European parliamentarians from Austria, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Britain and Sweden, including some who are believed likely to one day head their countries. Germany, Austria and Italy, under extreme right-wing parties, were at the heart of the Axis that fought a genocidal war against the Jewish nation and a war of conquest against the Allied Powers in the 1930′s and 40′s.

A spokesman for the Shomron (Samaria) local authority explained that most of the visitors were from what is known as the “New Right” in Europe. These are parties that support Israel, renounce anti-Semitism and see the Islamic takeover of Europe as a clear danger, the Samaria spokesman said. Most of the touring parliamentarians were Christians. The visitors agreed that Judea and Samaria constitute Jewish land.

The group included Heinz-Christian Strache, head of the German Freedom Party, who is seen as a likely candidate to become the next chancellor of Austria; Filip Dewinter of Belgium’s Vlaams Belang party; MP Frank Creyelman, who heads the Belgian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee; René Stadtkewitz, Chairman of Germany’s Freedom Party; and Claus Pandi, editor-in-chief of Krone Zeitung, the biggest newspaper in Austria.

They visited secular and religious communities including Barkan, Elon Moreh and Har Bracha, in order to get a better understanding of Jewish residents’ motivation for living in the contested biblical land.

The Christian Science Monitor’s Robert Marquand wrote from Paris that “there’s wariness there over Turkey’s emerging persona under an Islamic-rooted party and murmurs about whether it wants to reassert an old Ottoman Empire sphere of influence.” Marquand noted that Turkey had taken the trouble to re-establish its diplomatic ties with Iran and tighten its ties with Syria and Brazil. Turkey and Brazil were the only two nations to vote on June 9, 2010 against strengthened sanctions imposed on Iran by the United Nations Security Council, in the ongoing battle against its headlong rush towards nuclear capability.

Ankara’s rejection of the West, may be a reaction to a rebuff from Europe: Turkey’s application for membership in the European Union has been stalled repeatedly for some 18 years. During a Belgian parliamentary debate a few years ago, then-MP Herman Van Rompuy was quoted as warning his colleagues, “The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigor with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey.” Van Rompuy, eventually became the country’s prime minister and currently also serves as the president of the European Union.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is another opponent of Turkey’s application for membership in the EU, because the Middle Eastern nation is not geographically located in Europe. Another world leader who opposes Turkey’s membership is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Turkey’s long-standing dispute with Cyprus has also created additional difficulties in various negotiations, causing further delays.

Turks, meanwhile, blame “populist politicians in France, Germany, Austria and the Greek Cypriot government” for attacks on the member application process. According to Hugh Pope of the Istanbul-based International Crisis Group, “They use it for domestic political purposes to play on people’s fears, and this has done a great deal to make Turks angry towards Europe.”

Strategically located between the East and West, Ankara meanwhile presents an excellent opportunity for non-Western investors who are looking for a way in to the worldwide economic and political playing field. Disaffected by Europe’s rejection, Turkish leaders have instead begun to draw closer to their Muslim neighbors, cementing ties with Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Marquand reports that “Europeans have become more fearful of welcoming Turkey” following the clashes aboard the Mavi Marmara, when footage of demonstrators yelling “Death to Israel” on the streets of Turkey “looked un-European.” The recent Turkish-sponsored terrorist flotilla to Gaza is being seen by pundits as a trend towards a larger rejection of the West by Ankara.