Belgium: Islamophobia, the new antisemitism

The "Muslim Rights Belgium" organization posted this photo on their Facebook page.

The photo says: "Islamophobia: The new Antisemitism.   In the past, there was antisemitism, roiling just below the surface. Now, there is Islamophobia."

This is a quote from Mya Guarnieri, a Tel-Aviv based journalist, who said so in in the Guardian.

It's interesting to compare how she's described by Muslim Rights and how she's described in the Guardian.  While the Guardian portrays her as an international journalist, Muslim Rights focuses only on her Israeli work.  Because if a Jew and an Israeli says that antisemitism is no more, they must know what they're talking about.

The Guardian:

Mya Guarnieri is a Tel Aviv-based journalist and writer. A regular contributor to al-Jazeera English, her work has also appeared in the National (Abu Dubai), the Jerusalem Post, the Huffington Post and numerous other international publications. 

Muslim Rights:

Mya Guarnieri is an independent journalist based in Tel Aviv.  She writes regularly for the Jerusalem Post.  Her articles are published in English, notably on Haaretz and the Jewish Daily Forward.

UK: Labour MP says Gaza same as Holocaust genocide

In a parliamentary debate, Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi compared the situation in Gaza to the Holocaust.

Via Richard Millet's Blog:

Qureshi is very quietly spoken but the words that come out of her mouth are pure poison where Israel is concerned. If one thinks that Ismail Patel’s application of the term “Never Again” to the Palestinians was bad enough Qureshi’s Holocaust minimization is more shocking. 

Here is what she said in yesterday’s Parliamentary debate: 

“What has struck me in all this is that the state of Israel was founded because of what happened to the millions and millions of Jews who suffered genocide. Their properties, homes and land—everything—were taken away, and they were deprived of rights. Of course, many millions perished. It is quite strange that some of the people who are running the state of Israel seem to be quite complacent and happy to allow the same to happen in Gaza.” 

After the story reached the news, Labour responded the the remarks were 'taken out of context'.  Qureshi herself apologized: “The debate was about the plight of the Palestinian people and in no way did I mean to equate events in Gaza with the Holocaust."

Except that that's exactly what she did.  That's what "the same" usually means in English.

More: Richard Millet's Blog here and here

Austria: Freedom Party cartoon of "Kristallnacht 2014"

A cartoon in the Austrian Freedom Party's newspaper calls the protests against the far-right party's annual ball in the Hofburg Hall "Kristallnacht 2014".

More: Heimat Ohne Hass

UK: David Ward juxtaposes Holocaust with Palestinian rights

So little wonder that today, Ward took a stand once again, in great offence to the memory of those millions killed during the Holocaust, to somehow juxtapose the political point of the Palestinian right of return, with Holocaust Memorial Day, officially observed in Britain on Monday 27th January this year.

Ward, in the video below, states, “On Monday many of us will be attending Holocaust Memorial Day events where the theme will be journeys, including journeys of return. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that our thoughts should include, amongst many others, the millions of displaced Palestinians, still denied their right, to return to their homes.”

More: Trending Central 

Sweden: Tabloid compares Sharon to Hitler and Stalin

Lisa Abramowicz, secretary-general of the Swedish-Israel Information Center, told The Jerusalem Post Monday the “Swedish media here has been a mixed lot.” 

She said the large news organizations’ editorial line had not crossed into demonization. However, she cited an opinion article in the tabloid Expressen by Per Jönsson, who compares Sharon to Hitler and Stalin. He wrote: Sharon’s “military methods against Palestinians and Jordanians can be likened to Hitler and Stalin. Ben-Gurion gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted.”

More: Jerusalem Post

UK: Rocker compares eating meat to Auschwitz

Supporting the meat industry and accepting the existence of slaughterhouses is akin to having a favorable view of the Auschwitz death camp, former Smiths front man Morrissey proclaimed, due to the mass murder of innocent beings during the meat production process.

“If you believe in the abattoir then you would support Auschwitz,” the notoriously melancholic punk-rocker said during a Q&A session late last week on fan site True to You.

“There’s no difference.”

More: Times of Israel

UK: Badger cull supporters face intimidation 'akin to Kristallnacht'

Now, a senior official from the National Farmers’ Union has sparked complaints by claiming that cull supporters have experienced intimidation similar to that suffered by Jews in Nazi Germany. 

Andy Foot, the chairman of the NFU’s beef cattle group, told the Western Daily Press that, as result of action by anti-cull protesters: “The brave farmers, cull companies, local communities and National Farmers’ Union staff involved in the culls have faced a degree of fascist intimidation and propaganda akin to Kristallnacht.”

More: Jewish Chronicle

Sweden: Roma compensation for police log compared to Jewish Holocaust

The Swedish Commission on Security and Integrity Protection recently ruled that the state should pay damages to Roma listed on a register kept by the Skåne police.

The Jewish connection?

Fatima Bergendahl, of Roma background, was interviewed on the topic and said as follows: "If you think back on history, how important it was for the Jews to get compensation for what they have been through.  Compensation is acknowledgement."

I assume this wasn't what she was trying to do, but comparing being listed in a register to genocide is Holocaust minimization.  Particularly given the fact that Swedish Jews did not receive compensation for anything.

Italy: Former PM compares legal troubles to Holocaust persecution

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi outraged Italian Jews after comparing his family’s legal issues to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust in an interview with Italian journalist Bruno Vespa.

More: JNS.org