The New Antisemite

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

France: Jews' show of unity against Le Pen may reinforce stereotypes

Via JTA (Cnaan Liphshiz):

(...) The communal representatives of French Jews and Muslims mobilized almost without exception for Macron. In both communities, even clergy abandoned their carefully cultivated nonpartisanship in an unusual effort, the likes of which had not been seen in at least 15 years.

On Friday, French Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia co-authored, with the president of the Protestant Federation of France and a Muslim faith leader, a statement endorsing Macron. Tellingly, the Catholic Church of France, by far the largest Christian denomination in the country, sat out the declaration.

“Fully aware that our roles require us to be nonpartisan,” the three clergymen wrote, “peace supersedes all other things and only a vote for Emmanuel Macron guarantees” it.

The rare statement followed efforts by French Jews to prevent a Le Pen victory on “a scale that was last witnessed in 2002, ahead of the runoff led by her father,” according to Philippe Karsenty, a Jewish Macron supporter and deputy mayor of the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Originally supportive of Francois Fillon, the Republicans candidate who lost in the first round last month and stands significantly to the right of Macron, Karsenty joined the Macron camp not because he believes in the candidate’s policies, but “to block Le Pen from ruining France,” as Karsenty put it in an interview with JTA Saturday.

CRIF, the federation of Jewish communities of France, called on all Jews and non-Jews to vote for Macron, describing Le Pen as a “danger for democracy.” And the Union of Jewish Students of France held a string of rallies Friday against Le Pen, including a concert “against fascism.”

While these efforts served as a show of unity within French Jewry and with other faith groups, they also cast a partisan light on French Jews and Muslims, which leaders of both communities have worked hard to avoid. And that has the potential of highlighting a distinction, favored by many Le Pen supporters, between these minorities and the general population.

At the same time, this may also reinforce stereotypes held by many French about Jews and Muslims – presenting Le Pen and her party as the archenemy of groups that conspiracy theorists in France like to describe as cabals working in unison.

UK: Israel hate author Thomas Suarez meeting halted

Via The Jewish Chronicle:

A Palestinian Solidarity Campaign backed event featuring an author accused of peddling antisemitic theories on Israel and Judaism, has been cancelled.

Thomas Suarez was due to speak at the meeting, promoting his latest book State of Terror – How Terrorism Created Modern Israel.

But on Monday, it emerged that the meeting due to take place at the local Quaker owned Friends Meeting House in Cambridge this Thursday, had been called off.

Mr Suarez, a professional violinist, rose to notoriety after an hour-long rant on Jews and Zionism to the Palestine Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies last November.

He branded Zionism “fascist” and claimed its leaders encouraged antisemitism in Germany to force Jews to move to Palestine.

Speaking about “the Jewish state”, he said: “Crammed into those three words are all of Jewry, Judaism, Jewish history, culture, persecution, and most cynical and exploitative of all, the Holocaust.”

The Board of Deputies are among the Jewish organisations known to have raised objections to Thursday’s event.

Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board, told the JC: “Thomas Suarez has repeatedly and unapologetically made statements comparing Zionists to Nazis. We approached the Quakers to make them aware of the nature of this booking.

"We are glad that, having considered the matter in line with Quaker values, the decision was taken to cancel the booking.

"We applaud this step, taken in solidarity with our community in the struggle against racism. It underlines that Quakers are more interested in peace and reconciliation than the hate promoted by Cambridge PSC.”

Europe: Emigration of Jews: what is the main factor?

Via European Jewish Press:

"The emigration of the Jews in Europe depends on several factors: economy, Muslim emigration, revival of nationalism and the level of development of the country of origin," Sergio Della Pergola, an expert in demography, told European Jewish Press.

''According to the data I have studied and will be soon published in my article (Jewish Demography in the European Union - Virtuous and Vicious Paths), the correlation between the decision to emigrate is more related to an economic problem than an anti-Semitic atmosphere," he declared.

Della Pergola is a professor emeritus at the Jerusalem Hebrew University’s Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry, which he chaired for seven years. He holds the Shlomo Argov Chair in Israel-Diaspora Relations. (...)

"Whether or not to make Aliyah or immigration in Israel, depends on the success of immigrant integration in Israel. If the number of disappointments grows, olim numbers from European countries will decrease. For example, between 2014 and 2015 there was an absolute record of people arrived in Israel from Italy, France and Belgium. In 2016, the year in which there have been more terrorist attacks in Europe, fewer Jews have decided to leave their country. In France figures show 4100 olim (immigrants) from France against 6500 in 2015. The same trend can be shown for Italy. The probability of success and the quality of life are important factors.’’ (...)

There is also an internal emigration of European Jews. "In recent years many French Jews have moved to England, now there is a stop due to Brexit," Della Pergola said.

Is there still a place for Jews in Europe?

"All European authorities in every country have appealed to the Jews to stay. Current governments behave very well. The risk is that with the strengthening of the nationalist movements, life may become less enjoyable. European Jews are at the window. They are expecting to understand the economic responses to new political movements. We are far from a disintegration of the European Union, but it is worrying that we talk about it," he said.

Belgium: Walloon region votes to ban ritual slaughter

Via Jerusalem Post:

The Belgian Walloon Parliament’s environment committee on Friday voted unanimously to ban the slaughter of unstunned animals, which thus outlaws shechita (slaughter) according to Jewish law as well as Islamic halal rituals.

Both require that butchers swiftly slaughter the animal by slitting its throat and draining the blood, but most animal rights campaigners say it is more humane to stun animals electrically before killing them.

According to the text which was amended and voted on Friday, the implementation of the law is to be delayed until September 1, 2019.

The Parliament’s plenary will debate the issue later this month. A similar move has been proposed by the parliament in the Flanders region.

The decision has sparked outrage in the Jewish community, with Abraham Guigui, the country’s chief rabbi, slamming the vote as hypocritical while noting that hunting for entertainment is permitted by law. “We will fight resolutely against the legislation, which was also prohibited by the constitutional court, by all means available to us,” he said.

UK: Macron campaign office vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti

Via Times of Israel:

A campaign office of the front runner in the French presidential election, Emmanuel Macron, was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti.

The Normandy campaign office was vandalized on Friday night, the L’eveil Normand newspaper reported. Macron is not Jewish; he is however, considered a supporter of Israel.

The attack came less than two days before the opening of the polls Sunday morning in the runoff election between Macron and Marine Le Pen, the candidate of the far-right National Front party.

Among the epithets written in red marker on the entrance to the campaign office were “Israel=Mossad de Rothschild,” referring to the wealthy Jewish family as well as Macron’s work as an investment banker at the French Banque Rotschild; ”Sioniste,” French for Zionist; and “the 20 most shocking extracts of the Talmud.”

It is not the first anti-Semitic attack on Macron during the campaign.

France: 'In two more generations, there won't be any Jews left here'

Via Arutz Sheva 7:

Former President of the Versailles Jewish Community Samuel Sandler spoke to Arutz Sheva about the special request he would like to make of France's Culture Ministry.

Sandler lost his son and two grandsons in a terror attack in Toulouse in 2012.

In the interview, Sandler said he had turned to the Culture Ministry and requested they preserve Paris' historical Great Synagogue, since in two or three generations there will be no more Jews who will be able to take care of it.

According to Sandler, the synagogue is important even if there are no Jews attending it, and he therefore requested the government take the matter into their own hands.

UK: Prince Charles has visit to Israel cancelled ‘by Foreign Office camel corps pandering to Arab dictators’

Via The Sun:

Don't mention the oil.

Colonel Richard Kemp slammed the
Foreign Office as “camel corps”
who were “pandering” to Arab dictators

Prince Charles is at the centre of a diplomatic row after plans for him to visit Israel were dropped by the Foreign Office. The heir to the throne was set to become the first Royal to carry out an official state visit to Israel since it was created in 1948.

Prince Charles was set to travel to Israel to honour thousands of British war dead at the centenary of the WW1 Palestine Campaign and the historic Balfour Declaration.

But insiders say the controversial trip – unofficially pencilled in for later this year – has now been binned. It is feared the decision may have been taken to avoid upsetting Arab nations in the region who regularly host UK Royals.

A former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan branded the decision an “insult to British war dead” although there is no suggestion Charles was personally involved in any discussions leading to it.

The proposed move is even more upsetting, say insiders, as Australian PM Malcom Turnbull has confirmed he will attend commemoration services.

Last night former Colonel Richard Kemp – a long-time supporter of Israel – slammed the Foreign Office as “camel corps” who were “pandering” to Arab dictators.

German FM created a conflict with Israel to woo Muslim voters

Via Ynet News (Op-ed by Eldad Beck, the author of "The Chancellor—Merkel, Israel and the Jews,” which was published in Hebrew by Yedioth Books):

Germany’s relationship with Israel must not be used for internal political needs. Instead of trying to impose suicidal solutions on Israel, Germany should stop supporting groups that are interested in Israel’s destruction.

There is no doubt that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is committed to the uniqueness of her country’s relationship with Israel, both in words and—more importantly—in actions. Merkel cannot, therefore, afford a situation in which—on her watch, which may come to an end in September’s federal elections—the relations between Israel and Germany will deteriorate to the low they have reached, following pressures from interested parties working to shake off Germany’s responsibility for the Holocaust and its outcomes.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in his typical sophistication, put Merkel in a catch-22 situation. Two weeks before extremely important local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia—the most populous state of Germany, which is home to large Muslim immigrant populations and is considered a traditional social-democratic stronghold—Gabriel created a conflict with Israel, which could only strengthen his Social Democratic Party in the elections and impact the general elections. A victory in North Rhine-Westphalia could start a political snowball that may secure the social-democrats’ victory in the federal elections. Merkel had no choice but to back Gabriel in his dispute with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu so as not to harm her party’s chance in the regional elections. (...)

Precisely because of Germany’s huge commitment, it has been under a great amount of pressure from elements in the German establishment, in the German public opinion, in the European Union, and even in the Israeli Left, to enter a conflict with Netanyahu and his government. Merkel should deal with these pressures by demonstrating leadership rather than being dragged. Germany, like the EU, must realize that the Middle East has changed dramatically in the past few years, and that the traditional diplomatic mantras on the “two-state” solution have become irrelevant under the current circumstances. Merkel admitted that herself, while standing next to Netanyahu. Instead of trying to impose suicidal solutions on Israel, Germany should stop supporting groups that are interested in Israel’s destruction. Merkel should stop listening to the bad advice she is receiving from some of her advisors and reconnect to comments she made only a decade ago, before and after her election: “Germany must adopt a policy which, when there is doubt, supports Israel’s stance and does not allow neutrality considerations.”

Germany: Nazi memorabilia at army base escalate far-right scandal

Via Reuters:

German investigators have found Nazi-era military memorabilia in a barracks, similar to that found in the garrison of an army officer arrested on suspicion of planning a racially motivated attack, the Defence Ministry said.

The discovery broadens a scandal about right-wing extremism in the German army that has hurt Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, less than five months from a national election.

Spiegel Online reported that a display cabinet containing Nazi-era Wehrmacht helmets stood outside the canteen at the Fuerstenberg barracks in Donaueschingen, in southwest Germany.

In addition, pictures of soldiers from the Wehrmacht -- the Nazi regime's army -- hung on the wall of a room in the barracks, where Wehrmacht pistols, more helmets and military decorations were on display.

Investigators found a similar room at a barracks in the French town of Illkirch, where the officer arrested last week on suspicion of planning a racially motivated attack was serving in the German-French Brigade.

A Defence Ministry spokesman told Reuters the objects found at the barracks in Donaueschingen did not include Nazi items punishable under German law such as swastikas. Possession of regular Wehrmacht items is not an offence.

Via CFCA:

Petrikov - On the outskirts of the village Petrikov near Ternopil, unknown has committed an act of vandalism on the grave of the victims of the Holocaust.

The monument and the wreaths he poured an oily liquid. Also on a place there is a broken vessel, which probably was an unknown substance.

Norway: Progress Party in favor of banning male circumcision

Good thing they support Israel, since they apparently don't want Jews to live in Norway.

Via Aftenposten (h/t morsmal):

The right-wing Progress Party voted during its national gathering Saturday in favor of banning male circumcision.

An attempt at a compromise which would have banned government funding for the procedure, fell through.

Party leader Siv Jensen says the vote was not aimed at Jews in any way, and that the party is a strong supporter of Israel.

She voted in favor of the ban, though she explains that she made a mistake in the voting procedure, and that she herself opposes it.

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Germany: 40% of Germans hold modern antisemitic views

Via The Jerusalem Post (Benjamin Weinthal):

Ahead of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s visit to Israel on Sunday, a German government study revealed that nearly 33 million Germans, 40% of the population of 82 million, are infected with contemporary antisemitism – hatred of the Jewish state.

The report, which was published on April 24, details in a section titled “Agreement to Israel-related antisemitism” that 40% of Germans who were polled showed approval of the following statement: “Based on Israel’s policies, I can understand people having something against the Jews.”

The federal government’s antisemitism report found that the proportion of Germans who agreed with the antisemitic statement increased from 28% in 2014 to 40% in 2016. The poll study was commissioned by the Social Democratic Party think tank the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Dr. Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, spoke to the Die Welt newspaper in late April, saying, “We already notice that in German society solidarity with Israel has declined. The fact alone that the word 'Israel-critic' can be established here shows this. We are also more frequently confronted with Israel-related antisemitism.”

Schuster said, however, that “the federal president should send the message [in Israel] that one can really count on this friendship [with Germany], also in difficult times.”

According to the government report, Schuster said that not every form of criticism of Israeli is antisemitic. He added, however, that criticism of Israel meets the criteria of modern antisemitism when Israel is compared to National Socialism, the Nazi’s victims are turned into perpetrators and when Israel’s right to exist is questioned. The 300-page report states that non-Jewish Germans are suspected of using an exculpatory strategy to mitigate against the remaining guilt felt regarding of the crimes of the Nazis.

The study cited a sarcastic sentence from Israeli psychoanalyst Zvi Rex, who, in the 1980s, said: “The Germans will never forgive the Jews for Auschwitz.”

Petra Pau, a Left Party deputy in the Bundestag, said, “Antisemitism is a problem of the entire society.” She added that Israel-related antisemitism has become respectable.

Greece: Bishop Seraphim sued for antisemitic remarks

Via Against Antisemitism:

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece reports:

The Metropolitan Bishop of Piraeus Seraphim (pictured), repeated his fierce anti-Semitic rhetoric in his announcement of April 28, uploaded on the official website of the Archdiocese of Piraeus. This reaction was triggered after the Holy Synod overturned its initial decision to appoint Seraphim as the Greek Orthodox Church’s representative to the ceremony lighting the Holy Light of Easter (taking place every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem during the Great Saturday). In Seraphim’s place, another Metropolitan, Athinagoras of Ilion, represented the Church in the ceremony.

As a response, in his long anti-Semitic libel announcement, Metropolitan Seraphim claimed that he was replaced because Israel declared him as persona non grata and accused Israel of interfering with the Church’s issues. He also specified that his views are not anti-Semitic but anti-Zionist and that Orthodox Christians stand against Zionism and especially against the wing of Zionism that seeks world domination. Seraphim also quoted the Old Testament and the New Testament, which he interprets through his anti-Semitic and Jew-Hating views, and accused all the other Christian doctrines of being in favor of Jews. He also quoted the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and referred to masonry (and other international organizations) as the arms used by Zionism to secure infiltration and state manipulation.

France: French-Israelis receive voter info addressed to “Palestinian Territories”

A typical example of the "politique arabe de la France". In spite of the snub French-Israeli Jews are still being asked to vote against Marine Le Pen!

Via The Jerusalem Post:

French-Israelis living in the West Bank and east Jerusalem expressed outrage Thursday, after receiving voter information letters addressed to the “Palestinian Territories.”

“I was in shock,” said Dina Cohen, a resident of Kochav Ya’acov, a settlement close to Jerusalem. “This letter is like a slap in the face.”

Some French residents living in Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Gilo and Har Homa also received letters addressed to the “Palestinian Territories.” However, they were not instructed to vote where French-Palestinians vote; they were told to go to the French Institute in Jerusalem, which is not over the Green Line.

“They should take this all the way and tell us to vote in Ramallah, but then provide us with security, because the problem isn’t us, it’s the other side,” Cohen said.

Cohen, an aide to French-Israeli parliamentarian Meyer Habib, expressed disappointment and concern that the letter would discourage French citizens in Israel from voting.

“A lot of French citizens are debating whether or not to vote, because they say the country is anti-Israel and they feel alienated from it, and when they see this, they won’t want to vote,” she said. “But I feel a responsibility to vote against [candidate Marine] Le Pen on the far Right, so I’ll still go.”

Habib, who represents expats from Mediterranean countries in the National Assembly, called the letters a “provocation by the French Foreign Ministry.”

France/Germany: Arte TV channel censors documentary on antisemitism

Via Berliner Zeitung (Götz Aly):

Translated (to the best of my abilities, not being familiar with the German language) with the help of Google translate:

The whole thing stinks to high heaven. The German-French TV channel Arte accepted a documentary project on "anti-Semitism in Europe" in April 2015 by a narrow majority. Joachim Schröder from the well-established film and television production company Preview Production (Munich) together with Sophie Hafner submitted it. The work was supervised by the Arte editorial team of Westdeutschen Rundfunk (WDR).

In December 2016, Sabine Rollberg, editor in charge, took over the film. Since then, Alain Le Diberder, Arte's program director, has prevented the 90-minute documentary from being aired. He referred to the "negative vote of the French members of the program committee" from the outset, and complained of a lack of "balance". A bizarre argument. Contrary to Le Diberder, I believe that anti-Semitism is not accessible to "balance" (...).

Meanwhile, I have reviewed the film. It draws its strength from intensive research and multiple perspectives. There is footage from right- and left-radical events in Germany and France, interviews with Protestant peace activists, sequences from within the European Parliament, rock concerts and rap videos. The film documents the corrupt, Hamas-controlled "self-administration" of Uno relief funds in Gaza. Le Diberder claims that the film lacks a "broad-based perspective".

The opposite is true. The authors also allow pragmatic students of the University of Gaza to speak, who find the ruling Hamas prescribed Jew hatred disgusting. The socialist mayor of a suburb of Paris sees himself in a lost position, left alone by the state in the struggle against militant Arab anti-Semitism. This causes his Jewish citizens to leave the community in droves, while the principles of the Republic evaporate.

"The film is a provocation"

The historian Michael Wolffsohn shares my positive impression of this documentary. But the responsible editor Rollberg could do nothing against the French opposition.

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