Jean-Claude Juncker, the President-elect of the European Commission, recently explained why he thinks Turkey must not become a member of the European Union: "As regards to Turkey, the country is clearly far away from EU membership. A government that blocks Twitter is certainly not ready for accession." For the sake of exposing the intentional attention to detail here, the government, as the end of the short-lived Twitter ban suggests, does not seek a ban, but merely demands equal treatment from international companies, including Twitter. The disagreement fundamentally revolves around tax evasion and contempt of court rulings. Just as accounts spreading a certain ideology are suspended in, for instance, Germany, Turkey expects Twitter to shut down accounts whose actions are criminal under Turkish law. As such, Turkey will act like an EU member in its relations with Twitter when the company treats Turkey like an EU member.The actual problem, however, is obviously not Twitter. Juncker categorically does not want Turkey in the Union, possibly because he believes that the EU represents a great civilization. The Union's recent performances raise questions about Europe's humanitarian credentials though. This is an organization that supported the military coup d'etat in Egypt and sided with Israel in the face of the Gaza massacre. France, one of this so-called civilization's most significant members, just imposed a wholesale ban on anti-Israel demonstrations under the pretext of fighting anti-Semitism. To be perfectly honest, a civilization with no conscience nor ethical concerns that promotes interest-driven rhetoric has little to offer. If this is Europe, we are most certainly not Europeans. And we should not aspire to become Europeans either.Most Europeans are unable to remain objective about Israel due to their inability to make the distinction between the Jewish community and Israel. Surely enough, their "implicit Zionism" seeks to atone for centuries of cruelty toward European Jews. In other words, they like to think that Israel's treatment of Palestinians balances out what Europeans did to Jews earlier. The notion that Europe has come to terms with the Holocaust and its past represents but a thin layer of camouflage. Meanwhile, their position toward Israel speaks volumes about their shame and guilt. The West opted to act like "civilized" people by paying the price for the pain they inflicted with insincere rituals, but thus far have failed to rid their souls of the mentality and feelings that sanction the ongoing aggression.It is not that they do not see what Israel is doing. Perhaps they even feel ashamed over their support for Israel. At the same time, though, they hold on to everything that can possibly justify their behavior. Orientalism has gradually turned into explicit forms of "anti-Muslimism." The tendency to see the Muslim world as primitive, fanatical, and violence-prone remains quite widespread. With such "uncivilized" enemies, standing with Israel and its deadly weapons sure feels a little less hurtful, and perhaps emerges as a means to safeguard the so-called world civilization.The truth, however, is a little more unsettling. Europeans and the West cheer for Israeli oppression because they are either unable or unwilling to come to terms with their own anti-Semitism. Meanwhile, they console themselves by saying that the oppressed belong to a lower civilization. Then the head of the EU Commissions dares to oppose Turkey's membership "because they banned Twitter." Anyone with half a heart should be ashamed of the state of the Union and its leadership. Who knows, perhaps I would not feel so bad about this if I were a European.