Another story showing the macabre crossroads of Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe.

A set of videos was released on the Internet by a far-right extremist group in the UK. The videos, posted between August 11 and 19th on YouTube, threaten to behead Muslims.

The clips show three white British men, wearing black masks and brandishing knives, clubs and weapons, The Sunday Times reported on September 3.

In one video a balaclava-clad man with a Welsh accent tells Muslims to "go home" or risk being burnt alive.

"We are going to rip the life out of you. I am going to tear your guts out. I’ll cut your head off," he said brandishing a foot-long hunting knife with a serrated blade.

[...]

In another video a man with a London accent wonders what should be done to "fight the so-called religion of peace known as Islam."

Noting that the alleged plot to blow up US-bound planes in midair has resulted in "no retaliation" against Muslims, he said: "Well, wake up. I am calling on England, Ulster, Scotland and Wales to stand and defend the island that we love."

Just the vitriol of an incensed racist, or is there actually reason to fear that these words might result in actions?

Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said the videoed threats were extremely worrying.

"There is no question there has been an increase in attacks on mosques and Muslims," he told The Sunday Times.

The release of the videos coincides with reports of a rise in the number of attacks on mosques, said the paper. Islamophobia gained momentum in Britain, especially after the alleged terror plot.

Neocons talking about the "bloodthirst reality of Islam" are becoming strikingly less rare.

Simultaneously, in Britain, anti-Jewish incidents are skyrocketing. UPI reports:

Anti-Semitic attacks have become so widespread in Britain that a parliamentary inquiry is set to declare them endemic.

Recent attacks on British Jews and vandalism of area synagogues due to Israel's conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon were detailed in a recent all-party parliamentary meeting, which will call for immediate action to be taken, the Times of London reported.

"It is usually a small number responsible for a large number of attacks, but these were very widespread across the country and included graffiti attacks on synagogues in Edinburgh and Glasgow," said Mark Gardner of the Community Security Trust.

In July, 92 anti-Semitic incidents occurred -- the third-highest amount in a month for Britain. Many officials said the ongoing violence in Lebanon is the trigger to such occurrences.

The common thread which unites these two groups of incidents, in the opinion of this author, should be obvious. The mind of a racist is patently incapable of making distinctions.

Who could even begin to think that the minds of 1.2 billion Muslims -- a fifth of humanity -- are unanimously rallied around people like Hezbollah? Or Al-Qaida (if it exists)? Or Hamas? How could one even think -- when "two Jews, three opinions" is a proverb known to most cultures which contain Jews -- that millions of Jews hold a united front standing steadfastly behind every single action of every single Israeli prime minister?

People are being held "responsible" for the actions of people they have never met before. Why? Because the mind of the racist connects them.

A 12 year old girl in London was beaten unconscious on a bus when a group of kids asked her what her religion was and she replied "Jewish". Fresh from her bat mitzvah what Zionist PAC was she donating to that made her crime so heinous that she has to get beaten down in public?

As the British Times Online notes:

On Thursday an all-party parliamentary inquiry will state that anti-Semitic violence has become endemic in Britain, both on the streets and university campuses. The report will call for urgent action from the Government, the police and educational establishments.

"The Board of Deputies of British Jews submitted evidence to the inquiry that anti-Semitism in Britain was at its worst level."

And other than an "over-representation of Muslims", the anti-Jewish attackers run the gamut of British society. People of all shapes and sizes and colors and ethnicities.

I hope that at some point people begin to look at how to defeat their common enemy -- bigotry -- instead of fueling it.