EJC president says small Jewish communities being physically, verbally and psychologically threatened by fundamentalist elements
Ynetnews
Published: 10.18.10, 07:25 / Israel Jewish Scene
The European Jewish Congress (EJC) said Thursday that certain Jewish communities in Europe are in grave danger after a recent wave of anti-Semitism, some of it officially sanctioned.
Recently, the organization said, a respected and government-funded Catholic school, the College of the Sacred Heart, in Antwerp, hosted a ‘Palestine Day’, which was replete with anti-Semitic references and activities for youngsters. One stall at the event was titled “Throw the soldiers into the sea” where children were invited to throw replicas of Jewish and Israeli soldiers into two large tanks, EJC said.
Last weekend, an event organized for Jewish children in Malmo was reportedly attacked by a gang of thugs who shouted “Heil Hitler” and “Jewish pigs”. The gang even entered the area hosting the children’s event and damaged property. This event occurred only a few weeks after Malmo mayor, Ilmar Reepalu, was reelected in the Swedish city.
Earlier in this year after a surge of anti-Semitism hit the Malmo Jewish community, Reepalu considered this an understandable consequence of the Israel-Palestine conflict and claimed “we accept neither Zionism nor anti-Semitism,” equating Jewish national self-determination with hate and racism.
In recent months, German former Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin, Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade and Emilio Menendez del Valle, Spanish MEP, have all made anti-Semitic comments.
“These events arriving soon after the anti-Semitic comments from Sarrazin, De Gucht and Menendez del Valle demonstrate that anti-Semitism is at best actively promoted and at worst ignored by some officials in Europe,” Dr. Moshe Kantor, president of the EJC said. “Due to this intolerable situation, small Jewish communities, like Malmo, are teetering on the brink of extinction.
“Small Jewish communities are facing a situation where they are being physically, verbally and psychologically threatened by fundamentalist elements and their extreme left-wing cohorts on one side and the far-right neo-Nazis on the other,” he continued. “If they can’t receive protection or respite from mainstream officials then we are entering a very dark period for the Jews in Europe.”
The EJC is calling on European governments and the European Union to launch a campaign against intolerance and anti-Semitism, so to remind European citizens that the new Europe was established after the Second World War on the concept of “Never Again.”
As co-Chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, Dr. Kantor will be hosting a conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on October 24-25th, titled ‘Towards Reconciliations, Experience, Techniques and Opportunities for Europe’, which will be dealing with and working towards finding solutions for issues of racism, intolerance and conflict.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3969491,00.html
Showing posts with label EU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EU. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Survey: 17% of Germans believe Jews have 'too much influence'
One in 10 Germans want 'new Fuehrer to lead the country with iron fist'; every third German believes foreign immigrants should be expelled if unemployment becomes problem
Eldad Beck
Published: 10.14.10, 12:21 / Israel News
The "other" Germany - Sixty-five years have passed since the end of the Second World War, but even today it would seem that many Germans still cling to the prejudice and racism which the Nazi party identified with.
A new poll conducted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation for Political Education, a foundation with close ties to the German Social Democratic party, has found that one in 10 Germans wants "a new Fuehrer to lead the country with an iron fist", and that every third German thinks all foreign immigrants should be expelled from Germany if unemployment becomes a problem. The poll consisted of 2,500 people of different ages. The results were announced on Wednesday.
Some 25% of all respondents expressed racist opinions, and 15.9% said they somewhat understood why a Fuehrer needed to be appointed; 58% of the participants claimed that Germany needed to curb the traditional Muslim lifestyle. As for anti-Semitism, 17.2% of the survey's participants supported the statement that "Jews have too much influence in the world today".
The foundation warned that there was a rise in anti-democratic and racist opinions in Germany, most likely influenced by the recent global economic crisis. In addition, researchers found that racist viewpoints existed not only on the edges of society, meaning the far right, but in all age groups and social classes, with no relation to sex or education.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3969418,00.html
Eldad Beck
Published: 10.14.10, 12:21 / Israel News
The "other" Germany - Sixty-five years have passed since the end of the Second World War, but even today it would seem that many Germans still cling to the prejudice and racism which the Nazi party identified with.
A new poll conducted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation for Political Education, a foundation with close ties to the German Social Democratic party, has found that one in 10 Germans wants "a new Fuehrer to lead the country with an iron fist", and that every third German thinks all foreign immigrants should be expelled from Germany if unemployment becomes a problem. The poll consisted of 2,500 people of different ages. The results were announced on Wednesday.
Some 25% of all respondents expressed racist opinions, and 15.9% said they somewhat understood why a Fuehrer needed to be appointed; 58% of the participants claimed that Germany needed to curb the traditional Muslim lifestyle. As for anti-Semitism, 17.2% of the survey's participants supported the statement that "Jews have too much influence in the world today".
The foundation warned that there was a rise in anti-democratic and racist opinions in Germany, most likely influenced by the recent global economic crisis. In addition, researchers found that racist viewpoints existed not only on the edges of society, meaning the far right, but in all age groups and social classes, with no relation to sex or education.
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3969418,00.html
Friday, October 8, 2010
Europe, prepare for flood
Op-ed: Open letter to Europeans, who killed Jews and are now contending with radical Islam
Avi Rath
Published: 10.07.10, 17:57 / Israel Opinion
Good evening Europe!
Hello to you, dear continent. For a while now I've been meaning to write you a few words, as a close neighbor here in the Middle East who loves traveling through your beautiful landscape, and whose roots lie deep within the continent.
You were our home for thousands of years, and especially for the past 1,000 years. We've known good times of neighborly relations as well as economic, cultural and spiritual prosperity. Yet we had also known difficult days of hatred, expulsions, humiliation, and blood libels. Oh, did we ever know such days.
Somehow, we survived; both you and us. To our regret, and shamefully for you, we were not the ones who chose to end our affair with you, dear continent. We could have maintained neighborly relations and cooperation for many more years, yet for reasons of your own you chose to put an end to this partnership, literally.
The plan was formulated on your soil, the camps were built there and the trains traveled there; the graves were dug on your soil, and
the blood flowed to your rivers. Within a short period of time, you cut off a significant, 1,000-year Jewish presence. You murdered and expelled millions of loyal Jewish citizens. You eliminated not only them, but also all their contributions to the culture, economy, art, humanities, academics, literature, medicine, education, commerce, banking, and life in general.
I've been meaning to write you for a long time, yet it hasn't worked out. However, this week, after seeing two things, I decided that I must say a few words.
First, I saw reports drafted by all sorts of demography and sociology experts, who claim that within a few years, you, Europe, will be turning Muslim. In some European states, 50% of all births at this time already are Muslim. If we add this to the low birthrates of non-Muslim European - where you, the white, Christian Europe, shall turn into a Muslim continent.
You are indeed trying to engage in rearguard battles against this phenomenon – against mosques in Switzerland, against burqas in France, against immigration, and against all sorts of other things. Yet you too realize that this train cannot be stopped. Nobody will be able to forbid a Muslim woman from putting on a veil. Indeed, the liberal, enlightened, and scantily-clad European women realize that a day may come where radical Islam gains enough strength to end the party.
The second thing I saw was the travel advisories issued by many states to warn their citizens against heading to Europe for fear of terrorism. Someone already noted (and it wasn't necessarily a Jew) that while not all Muslims are terrorists, for some reason most terrorists are Muslim.
Slowly, our dear continent, you are starting to understand what you're dealing with here. You are starting to understand the kind of religion and culture brought along by radical Islam. Suddenly, you discover hatred and the culture of martyrs, as well as intolerance and isolation, alienation in the face of real democracy, and the shunning of human and women's rights.
Suddenly, radical Islam is stuck like a bone in Europe's throat. You cannot eject it – because that would immediately raise cries of racism, human rights, and the usual babble – but you cannot swallow it either, because the white, democratic, liberal and Christian European culture cannot contain such radical cultural and religious elements. It will end with a major explosion, in more than one way.
Dear continent, there is no vacuum in the world. You expelled and exterminated us, and got the Muslim world instead. At first it was nice, getting a little Mideastern atmosphere and breeze, yet with the passage of time the radical Islamic storm arrived and now threatens to sweep you away, our dear neighbor.
Now you are starting to sleep in the bed you made. Suddenly you are discovering women wearing veils, zealous eyes, and mosques at every corner. Suddenly you need to contend with high birthrates, a culture with radical characteristics which you cultivated, and terrorism and violence which you ignored. You cannot deny this for much longer. The confrontation is already here. Unfortunately we are already experts on the issue, even though here too there is no shortage of naïve, self-righteous individuals.
The first time the Creator decided to raze the world as result of our conduct, he agreed to grant humanity another chance. He asked Noah to go into the ark in order to create a new basis for the world and produce a more decent humanity. The ark was the world's chance; a momentary shelter.
So dear Europe, will you be wise enough to prepare ahead of time a physical and cultural Noah's Ark in order to survive and preserve yourself? Or will your aggressiveness, arrogance, and hypocrisy not allow you to admit to the disaster you brought upon yourself, turning into a continent living on borrowed time?
Regards,
Your Jewish neighbor from the Middle East
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3966017,00.html
Avi Rath
Published: 10.07.10, 17:57 / Israel Opinion
Good evening Europe!
Hello to you, dear continent. For a while now I've been meaning to write you a few words, as a close neighbor here in the Middle East who loves traveling through your beautiful landscape, and whose roots lie deep within the continent.
You were our home for thousands of years, and especially for the past 1,000 years. We've known good times of neighborly relations as well as economic, cultural and spiritual prosperity. Yet we had also known difficult days of hatred, expulsions, humiliation, and blood libels. Oh, did we ever know such days.
Somehow, we survived; both you and us. To our regret, and shamefully for you, we were not the ones who chose to end our affair with you, dear continent. We could have maintained neighborly relations and cooperation for many more years, yet for reasons of your own you chose to put an end to this partnership, literally.
The plan was formulated on your soil, the camps were built there and the trains traveled there; the graves were dug on your soil, and
the blood flowed to your rivers. Within a short period of time, you cut off a significant, 1,000-year Jewish presence. You murdered and expelled millions of loyal Jewish citizens. You eliminated not only them, but also all their contributions to the culture, economy, art, humanities, academics, literature, medicine, education, commerce, banking, and life in general.
I've been meaning to write you for a long time, yet it hasn't worked out. However, this week, after seeing two things, I decided that I must say a few words.
First, I saw reports drafted by all sorts of demography and sociology experts, who claim that within a few years, you, Europe, will be turning Muslim. In some European states, 50% of all births at this time already are Muslim. If we add this to the low birthrates of non-Muslim European - where you, the white, Christian Europe, shall turn into a Muslim continent.
You are indeed trying to engage in rearguard battles against this phenomenon – against mosques in Switzerland, against burqas in France, against immigration, and against all sorts of other things. Yet you too realize that this train cannot be stopped. Nobody will be able to forbid a Muslim woman from putting on a veil. Indeed, the liberal, enlightened, and scantily-clad European women realize that a day may come where radical Islam gains enough strength to end the party.
The second thing I saw was the travel advisories issued by many states to warn their citizens against heading to Europe for fear of terrorism. Someone already noted (and it wasn't necessarily a Jew) that while not all Muslims are terrorists, for some reason most terrorists are Muslim.
Slowly, our dear continent, you are starting to understand what you're dealing with here. You are starting to understand the kind of religion and culture brought along by radical Islam. Suddenly, you discover hatred and the culture of martyrs, as well as intolerance and isolation, alienation in the face of real democracy, and the shunning of human and women's rights.
Suddenly, radical Islam is stuck like a bone in Europe's throat. You cannot eject it – because that would immediately raise cries of racism, human rights, and the usual babble – but you cannot swallow it either, because the white, democratic, liberal and Christian European culture cannot contain such radical cultural and religious elements. It will end with a major explosion, in more than one way.
Dear continent, there is no vacuum in the world. You expelled and exterminated us, and got the Muslim world instead. At first it was nice, getting a little Mideastern atmosphere and breeze, yet with the passage of time the radical Islamic storm arrived and now threatens to sweep you away, our dear neighbor.
Now you are starting to sleep in the bed you made. Suddenly you are discovering women wearing veils, zealous eyes, and mosques at every corner. Suddenly you need to contend with high birthrates, a culture with radical characteristics which you cultivated, and terrorism and violence which you ignored. You cannot deny this for much longer. The confrontation is already here. Unfortunately we are already experts on the issue, even though here too there is no shortage of naïve, self-righteous individuals.
The first time the Creator decided to raze the world as result of our conduct, he agreed to grant humanity another chance. He asked Noah to go into the ark in order to create a new basis for the world and produce a more decent humanity. The ark was the world's chance; a momentary shelter.
So dear Europe, will you be wise enough to prepare ahead of time a physical and cultural Noah's Ark in order to survive and preserve yourself? Or will your aggressiveness, arrogance, and hypocrisy not allow you to admit to the disaster you brought upon yourself, turning into a continent living on borrowed time?
Regards,
Your Jewish neighbor from the Middle East
source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3966017,00.html
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
EU waters down wording, but still wants Jerusalem divided
Israeli officials were relieved on Tuesday when the European Union passed a resolution merely calling for Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate the division of Jerusalem, rather that recognizing eastern Jerusalem as the capital of "Palestine" even before negotiations have been concluded.
The original wording of the resolution, authored by Sweden, had caused much consternation in Israel over its ground-breaking acceptance of Palestinian and Arab demands without acknowledgement of Israel's positions.
The resolution was also reworded to not refer to the Palestinian Authority as "Palestine."
Under the surface, of course, the new wording is no different than the original, as it predetermines the outcome of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations by insisting they conclude with the division of Jerusalem, which most Israelis do not accept.
Palestinian leaders praised the resolution as the first step toward the establishment of an Arab Muslim state on the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria with its capital in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat blasted the resolution, and reminded Europe that it had recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the reunification of Berlin, an event that should have reminded all involved that "no divided city in the history of the world has functioned properly."
source: http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=20136
The original wording of the resolution, authored by Sweden, had caused much consternation in Israel over its ground-breaking acceptance of Palestinian and Arab demands without acknowledgement of Israel's positions.
The resolution was also reworded to not refer to the Palestinian Authority as "Palestine."
Under the surface, of course, the new wording is no different than the original, as it predetermines the outcome of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations by insisting they conclude with the division of Jerusalem, which most Israelis do not accept.
Palestinian leaders praised the resolution as the first step toward the establishment of an Arab Muslim state on the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria with its capital in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat blasted the resolution, and reminded Europe that it had recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the reunification of Berlin, an event that should have reminded all involved that "no divided city in the history of the world has functioned properly."
source: http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=20136
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