It's official. The director-general of the World Health Organization says Europe has become the global epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak and its spread, replacing China – which is slowly recovering from the pandemic. Truthfully, transparency is far greater in Europe, and the continent's modern health services represent a relatively accurate picture of the situation.
At this time the rates of contraction and mortality in the Middle East – as far as the figures can be trusted – are still low, excluding Iran. Which apparently contracted the virus directly from China.
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Two factors made Europe particularly vulnerable.
First and foremost, its population is more elderly compared to the rest of the world, and therefore more susceptible to contracting diseases: In Italy, 23% of the population is over the age of 65, with similar ratios in Spain and Germany. In Israel 12% of the population is older than 65 - half the European ratio. The much younger population in Israel makes it reasonable to assume the virus will be less impactful. Incidentally, the older age group in Arab countries around accounts for only around 6-7% of the population, due to their naturally high birth rates.
Second, relative to the spread of the virus, Europe responded slowly and hesitantly. Across the majority of the continent, the measures have been partial and limited. This slow and hesitant response stems from a fixated adherence to the currently prevalent European ideology that emphasizes liberty, openness, and prioritizes the selfish interests of the individual over the good of the many and society at large.
There is a distinct connection between these two factors, which cast a shadow over Europe – even before the outbreak of the virus. The European ideal of living for today and preferring a certain quality of life and prosperity over having and raising children is fundamentally at the root of Europe's low birth rates. These low birth rates have led to severe shortages of workers and the flooding of the continent with labor migrants from across the globe, mainly from Africa and the Arab world.
In 1960, the population of Europe stood at 400 million people, while the Middle East's population at that time was 100 million. Today, more than 500 million people live in Europe – a growth rate which is largely attributed to immigration – while some 400 million people currently live in the Middle East. By 2050, the population of the Middle East is expected to rise to around 750 million people, while in Europe there will be no change in the number of residents.
The challenges facing Europe was evident as early as 10 years ago when the threat of Islamic terror intensified. At the root of this threat was mostly the Muslim immigrants across the continent who failed to assimilate. The European response to this challenge was denial. Unlike Israel, instead of dealing with the threat, the Europeans opted to tolerate terroristic motivations and avoided implementing measures to protect themselves – all in the name of preserving the rights of the individual and concerns over lowering the quality of life.
The coronavirus outbreak is a wakeup call for Europe. Another line of writing on the proverbial wall of the crisis in which Europe has been mired for quite some time now.
The Europeans have grown accustomed to criticizing and preaching to the Jewish state, but it appears that tiny Israel has some things to teach Europe this time: Finding the balance between personal liberties and the good of the many; and, the Israeli way of doing things – which has provided us with a modern Western country that is simultaneously capable of rallying society and state bodies toward a singular purpose, while maintaining dynamism, growth, openness - and yes, a positive natural growth rate as well.
