The terrible slaughter of 31 people in Belgium last week brought back equally horrific memories for all those who have suffered from modern terror in the past two decades or so. France last November; London ten years back; Spain, Bali, and of course multiple cities in Israel.

And whilst all these countries sent their messages of condolence to Belgium, only one is perpetually considered a rogue state – Israel. The continuous pressure of the BDS campaign is a testament to that international pressure.

The technical term for using the internet to embarrass people (countries, institutions, etc) is called shaming. Only this week, Sky News examined how this form of cyber bullying  – this time, with school children – is often cruel, ill judged and frequently factually inaccurate. Yet it continues and grows, and thus prejudice thrives.

And Israel, often seen as ‘politically incorrect’ has become a soft target. For example, a few days ago, an Israeli NGO released a picture, seemingly showing an Israeli soldier illegally shot dead a Palestinian. the victim was already severely wounded, having just attempted to murder Israeli soldiers. The international media was quick to condemn what seemed to be an unnecessary final shot.

Simple, no? It is an Israeli soldier, and therefore he is in the wrong…is the logic of shaming

It now emerges that the soldier, who fired the bullet, had identified a belt on the Palestinian that looked very suspiciously like a belt used by homicide bombers. A decision was demanded, there and then. The shot was taken.

Was that the correct decision? A full legal investigation is pending. However, imagine for a moment a similar scene in Belgium. Assume that the mysterious third attacker had not fled, but was caught up in the mayhem. He was wounded, badly, lying on the floor at the scene of the carnage, with his homicide belt strapped to him. He is then spotted by an armed policeman.

That policeman has to make an instant decision. Does he try to save the life of the bomber, which may then risk the lives of many more or take the shot and neutralise him? And if he took the shot, would he be shamed? I think not.

We grieve for Belgium and its citizens. The threat of terror has materialised into a reality. It is time for Europeans to learn from other countries on how to deal with this hatred, while protecting the democracy of multi-cultural societies. As far as I know, only Israel fits that ticket.