Whither Europe?

The rejection of the new European constitution by large majorities in France
and Holland is a major blow to the ideal of a united Europe. At least an EU
in which the power of the European capital in Brussels would be enhanced
relative to the member states that would relatively lose more independence.
Although local politics may have played a role, in general the citizens of
two of the founding members of the EU voted for less EU centralization and
more retention of national rights.
This outcome is good news for those, including Israel and the US, who feared
that a stronger EU might have become more actively involved as a
pro-Palestinian player in the Middle East peace process. Now the EU has
more basic concerns to worry about than being able to throw its weight
around and compete with the US for influence in the world.
In a way, this is a pity, since the overall process of "federalization" of
Europe might have been welcomed by the US as a parallel process to their own
development. The US is after all a federal state, and the idea of a federal
Europe was appealing to Americans. Particularly if in the united Europe the
strong national antagonisms of the past would have been buried. For Jews,
the united Europe in principle could have meant a reduction in nationalism
and a concomitant greater acceptance in a less tribal Europe.
But, that was not to be, since the drive for Europe to carve out its own
identity has been largely at the expense of its alliance with the US. Since
the US is the most powerful and economically successful country in the
world, the Europeans have always been jealous of the US and especially the
French have been upset by the fact that the US had to save them twice from
defeat in WWI and WWII. Further, there was an increase in anti-Americanism
in the wake of the Iraq war. This anti-Americanism has been paralleled by a
concomitant increase in anti-Israelism, which has been manifested as a
liberal version of anti-Semitism, since the Europeans regard Israel as a
puppet of the US (or vice versa), and that's one reason why they take the
Palestinian side.
Another aspect of the rejection of the EU constitution is that it crossed
usually distinct political lines. Those on the far right who value their own
nationality as sacrosanct have strongly opposed Europeanization, and those
on the left who fear the loss of hard fought for social protections and
funding, have joined together with those who simply find it all a bit too
fast and bewildering, to put a halt to the European juggernaut. That does
not mean that the majority reject the EU altogether, only that the rate of
the process has been slowed and its destination rendered uncertain.
It is unlikely that even though the process of Europeanization has now
faltered, and the new constitution of the larger (25 member) EU is virtually
dead, that the political motives that have been released will be reduced.
We can expect anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism to increase in the near
future, as the Europeans struggle with the issues of their former identity
in nation states and their allegiance to the greater European Union. In
such situations it is always useful to have a scapegoat for perceived and
real problems, and the Jews and the Americans have been found to fit that
role perfectly.