Saturday, January 31, 2015
Day 68: Counting the Days till EU Condemns PA Incitement to Kill Jews
Following the murders in Jerusalem enabled by the constant Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, this blog will wait until one European country will step forward and condemn the PA for its incitement.
It is not enough to ask the PA to stop inciting.
It is not enough to condemn the terror attacks caused by such incitement.
European leaders must make it clear to the PA that incitement to kill Jews is unacceptable. That such incitement will mean no support for Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Until then, European leaders are encouraging Palestinians to kill Jews.
Friday, January 30, 2015
UK: Church of England investigates vicar for posts linking Israel to 9/11 attack
 |
| Sizer with Arafat |
Stephen Sizer, who has been warned in the past about sharing Holocaust denial and Zionist conspiracy articles, linked on Facebook to a page entitled ‘9-11/Israel did it,’ which alleges Israel was responsible for the terrorist assaults in 2001 that killed nearly 3,000 people. Under the link to the page on conspiracy theory website Wikispooks, he wrote: “Is this antisemitic? If so no doubt I'll be asked to remove it. It raises so many questions.”
On Friday morning the Church responded, apologising for both the content and timing of the post, coming as it did during a week of Holocaust memorial services. The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to comments by the Rev. Stephen Sizer made earlier today on social media. In those comments Rev. Sizer linked to an article entitled ‘9/11 Israel did it’. “These comments would rightly be seen as unacceptable whenever they were posted. It is a matter of deep sorrow and shame that they have been posted in this week of all weeks. “The Diocese of Guildford, where the Rev Sizer is licensed, is taking immediate steps to investigate. The diocese is aware of the seriousness of the matter and are also in touch with the Board of Deputies of British Jews.”
The Board of Deputies has complained to the Church about previous posts by Rev Sizer, and in 2013 met with him to agree on an acceptable level of behaviour. Reacting to the latest post, Board vice president Jonathan Arkush accused the vicar of breaking this agreement. He said: "Posting a link and giving approval to an article which in effect accuses Jews of responsibility for the 9/11 atrocity is unquestionably antisemitic, just as it is beyond absurd. "I am extremely concerned that a Minister of the Church of England could possibly have considered it appropriate or becoming to his position to advertise such racist nonsense. "I regard Rev Sizer as having breached the terms of his undertakings given to the Board of Deputies as a result of the disciplinary complaint against him. This is a very serious matter and the Board will be taking further action."
Last year, Rev Sizer attended a conference in Iran where Israel was accused of plotting the attacks on New York’s World Trade Centre buildings in a session called ‘Zionist Fingerprints on the 9/11 Cover-up’.
Jewish Chronicle
Belgium: Former minister says (the lobby) foments hate of Arabs in the West to justify Israel politics
Philippe Moreaux, a former Belgian francophone socialist minister, told Maghreb Tv, based in Brussels, that there is a sort of contagion of the Israeli-Palestinian problem and that some [the Jewish lobby ?] have an interest in exacerbating animosites here to mirror what happens there.
He argued that it is obvious that in the West it [the Jewish lobby ?] works to spread hatred of Arabs in order to justify the politics of Israel.
More: Philosémitisme
In 2009, Mr. Philippe Moureaux was senator and the mayor of the Molenbeek suburb of Brussels. He told Le Vif/L'Express:
"It saddens me, today, that they [the Jews] deny the right of diversity to Muslims".
According to Joël Rubinfeld, chairman of the CCOJB (Umbrella Organization of Jewish Institutions of Belgium), the phrasing is vague, "but it's clear that he stigmatizes a community unnecessarily". He points out the the number of anti-Jewish acts has increased since 2000.
Rubinfeld says he doesn't understand what right to diversity the Jews have enjoyed. What privileges have they received that they would deny their fellow Muslims, he asks. And who among the representatives of the Jewish community denies this alleged right to diversity to the Muslim community in the country? The president of the CCOJB says that this statement is dangerous, since 'it instills in the minds of our fellow Muslims the treacherous idea that the Jews are their opponents on the way to successful integration, setting one community against another. Rubinfeld says that Philippe Moureaux has a lot of prestige among the Muslims, and they can now infer from his words that all their problems are the fault of the Jews.
More: Islam in Europe (2009)
He argued that it is obvious that in the West it [the Jewish lobby ?] works to spread hatred of Arabs in order to justify the politics of Israel.
More: Philosémitisme
In 2009, Mr. Philippe Moureaux was senator and the mayor of the Molenbeek suburb of Brussels. He told Le Vif/L'Express:
"It saddens me, today, that they [the Jews] deny the right of diversity to Muslims".
According to Joël Rubinfeld, chairman of the CCOJB (Umbrella Organization of Jewish Institutions of Belgium), the phrasing is vague, "but it's clear that he stigmatizes a community unnecessarily". He points out the the number of anti-Jewish acts has increased since 2000.
Rubinfeld says he doesn't understand what right to diversity the Jews have enjoyed. What privileges have they received that they would deny their fellow Muslims, he asks. And who among the representatives of the Jewish community denies this alleged right to diversity to the Muslim community in the country? The president of the CCOJB says that this statement is dangerous, since 'it instills in the minds of our fellow Muslims the treacherous idea that the Jews are their opponents on the way to successful integration, setting one community against another. Rubinfeld says that Philippe Moureaux has a lot of prestige among the Muslims, and they can now infer from his words that all their problems are the fault of the Jews.
More: Islam in Europe (2009)
Europe: Anti-lobby group highlights Israel as repressive regime
Corporate Europe Observatory is an organization claiming to expose the effects of corporate lobbying on EU policy making.
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is a research and campaign group working to expose and challenge the privileged access and influence enjoyed by corporations and their lobby groups in EU policy making.
In a recent report they decided instead to focus on lobbies supporting 'brutal regimes'.
Their report 'Spin doctors to the autocrats: how European PR firms whitewash repressive regimes', highlights such countries as Nigera, Russia, Kazakhstan etc.
And Israel.
Because we all know that Israel is a repressive regime.
The report states as follows:
During Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in the summer of 2014, ‘Operation Protective Edge’, the EFI held packed briefings in the European Parliament. Between 8 July and 27 August 2014, according to the UN over 2,100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombardment in Gaza, the majority civilian deaths, of which 495 were children. Seven Israeli civilians and 66 Israeli soldiers were killed in the conflict.
EFI has been keen to reframe the image of the country as not just being defined by conflict, sometimes to the point of surrealism. A press release post ‘Operation Protective Edge’ full of “inspiring stuff” based on Israeli innovation says, “Whilst thousands of rockets rained down on the country during the latest conflict, Israelis have – between running to bomb shelters – been creating technologies and devising strategies to make the world a better place.”
A recent EFI parliamentary event describes life for Israelis on the border with Gaza, who experienced “the worst of the recent war in Gaza, with quite literally thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately at the citizens of Sh’ar Hanegev”
How dare they.
Nowadays, you are not allowed to speak on behalf of Israel. Because that's 'whitewashing a repressive regime'.
I wonder how Europeans reframe the damage they've caused and continue to cause in the Middle East. How many EU-funded 'lobbies' work for the Palestinians cause and against Israel's right to exist.
UK: Councillor to undergo equalities training for anti-Jewish comments
An Inverness councillor who made allegedly anti-Semitic remarks is to undergo equalities training.
Norrie Donald, who represents Inverness Ness-side, will also step down as a member of a number of council committees.
The agreement comes after a meeting between the leader of the opposition, Carolyn Wilson, and senior figures in the administration, who raised concerns about Mr Donald’s reported comments.
He was said to have made derogatory comments in connection with Tesco axeing more than 40 planned UK stores, and allegedly referred to the grocery giant as being owned by a Jewish family who lived in “the lap of luxury in Switzerland”. He is also reported to have said he would not mind if the company collapsed.
Mr Donald later apologised for the comments.
Turkey: Holocaust remembrance cannot let us forget Israel’s Gaza massacres
Commemorating the tragedies of the past, particularly the Holocaust, does not mean the killings of more than 2,000 children and women by Israeli security forces should be ignored, Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek has said, calling on "all countries to fight against all sorts of extremism and discrimination."
“I hope the pain suffered during this war will never be repeated and will constitute a lesson for future generations. Humanity, unfortunately, was not able to prevent such an atrocity at that time. I believe everyone and every country will draw conscientious lessons from this and will exert efforts in order to not experience such inhumane tragedies again,” Çiçek said on Jan. 27.
He was speaking at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day in the capital Ankara, participated in by high-level governmental officials for the first time, including Culture Minister Ömer Çelik.
Day 67: Counting the Days till EU Condemns PA Incitement to Kill Jews
Following the murders in Jerusalem enabled by the constant Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, this blog will wait until one European country will step forward and condemn the PA for its incitement.
It is not enough to ask the PA to stop inciting.
It is not enough to condemn the terror attacks caused by such incitement.
European leaders must make it clear to the PA that incitement to kill Jews is unacceptable. That such incitement will mean no support for Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Until then, European leaders are encouraging Palestinians to kill Jews.
It is not enough to ask the PA to stop inciting.
It is not enough to condemn the terror attacks caused by such incitement.
European leaders must make it clear to the PA that incitement to kill Jews is unacceptable. That such incitement will mean no support for Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Until then, European leaders are encouraging Palestinians to kill Jews.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
France: Laughing at Dieudonné's anti-Semitic jokes in front of Jewish co-worker at business lunch
Mickael and Angélique Cohen moved with their three children a few months ago to Netanya, a small city north of Tel Aviv with a large French community. [...]"
She fiddles with her necklace, on which a Star of David is hanging. In France, she says, she used to hide it under her sweater. "We think that our children have a better future here," says her husband Mickael, 40. In France, he says, there is no economic recovery in sight and the tension is quick to turn into hostility. "People always think that, as Jews, you must have money," he says. Angélique Cohen says she always knew that she would live in Israel one day, in the country where both her religion and her people are from: the "home of her heart," as she says.
But the move was triggered by a business lunch in Paris [she "worked in a large IT company"]. She was sitting there with her colleagues, totally normal French people, and they were laughing at the anti-Semitic jokes of the comedian Dieudonné -- the same Dieudonné who was just arrested for posting "Je suis Charlie Coulibaly" on his Facebook page following the Jewish supermarket attack. The perpetrator of that attack was named Amedy Coulibaly.
Angélique Cohen placed her call to the Jewish Agency on the evening following that business lunch.
More: Spiegel ( Rising Anti-Semitism: Increasing Numbers of French Jews Moving to Israel)
Israel: Arabs Attack with Sticks in Haifa, Shout 'Slaughter the Jew'
Several young Arab assailants armed with rubber straps, sticks and rocks entered the Hadar neighborhood in Haifa on Sunday, where they began beating passersby with the sticks and shouting "slaughter the Jew" in Arabic.
According to one of the testimonies from the attack, at around 11 p.m. the Arab youths arrived at Michael Street in the neighborhood and started threatening haredi residents on the street, with the sticks in their hands.
Belgium: Holocaust memorial vandalized
Via EJP, h/t CFCA
Unknown vandals desecrated Holocaust ‘’memorial cobblestones’’ in Brussels fixed to the pavement outside the former home of a Jewish family whose members were deported and murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz.
An agency which broadcasts news on the Jewish community in Belgium reported the cobbelstones bearing the names of the members of the Kichka family were coverred with red concrete. The family was arrested in 1942, held in the Mechelen transit camp before being deported to Auschwitz.
Henri Kichka, the only survivor of the family, expressed ‘’deep shock’’ at the attack perpetrated against the memory of his parents and sisters.
Op-Ed: What can Jews in Greece and abroad expect?
Via Abravanel (h/t Glykosymoritis):
Syriza – and his predecessor Synaspismos – were consistently the least antisemitic political party in Greece. This dubious praise makes sense if one takes into account that Greece is the most antisemitic country in Europe, if not in the whole non-muslim world. Although after WW2 antisemitism never took the violent forms that plagued other countries like France, hate speech is rampant, omnipresent and totally unopposed. While seldomly having faced physical violence, Jews are forced into complete invisibility to avoid harassment and psychologically coerced into denying that what they experience is antisemitism. Still Syriza was the only party which consistently issued declarations against the periodical vandalisms of Jewish buildings, albeit weak ones. It also consistently gave homage to the Shoah and publicly opposed neo-nazis. Plus it always advocated the separation between State and the Orthodox Church which plays a major role in maintaining religious antisemitism. On the other hand Syriza heavily invested in a virulent anti-Israel retoric which in Greece regularly employs antisemitic tropes and often reverses into straightforward antisemitism against Greek who happen to profess the Jewish faith.
More at Abravanel's blog.
UK: Sky News reporter blames "Israeli policies" for antisemitism (special Holocaust edition)
Via CiF Watch:
Sky News reporter Adam Boulton asked Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, three times if Israel’s policies cause antisemitism, during an interview conducted on International Holocaust Memorial Day. As Boulton was grilling Mirvis, images of Palestinians in the rubble of Gaza during the summer war were shown under the headline: “Auschwitz remembered”.
Clip and more at CiF Watch
Day 66: Counting the Days till EU Condemns PA Incitement to Kill Jews
Following the murders in Jerusalem enabled by the constant Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, this blog will wait until one European country will step forward and condemn the PA for its incitement.
It is not enough to ask the PA to stop inciting.
It is not enough to condemn the terror attacks caused by such incitement.
European leaders must make it clear to the PA that incitement to kill Jews is unacceptable. That such incitement will mean no support for Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Until then, European leaders are encouraging Palestinians to kill Jews.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Belgium: Minister compares Islamic State fighters to Nazi-era Jews
Via World Bulletin:
The head of the regional government in Brussels compared on Wednesday the Belgian government’s plans to revoke foreign fighters’ citizenship to methods adopted by the Nazis.
Rudi Vervoort, the Francophone Socialist and Prime Minister of the Brussels region, told local Belgian media, "taking away nationality is a weapon used by several extremist regimes. One of the first measures adopted by the Nazis was to take German nationality away from the Jews. The Vichy regime in France did the same."
UK: Actress Maureen Lipman may leave Britain over attacks on Jews
Speaking to the LBC radio station, she said: "When the economy dries up, then they turn on the usual scapegoat. The usual suspect. The Jew.
"There is one school of thought that says it's because of Israeli policies in the West Bank, it isn't. There's been anti-Semitism for the past 4,000 years.
"When the going gets tough, the Jews get packing... it's crossed my mind that it's time to have a look around for another place to live. I've thought about going to New York, I've thought about going to Israel."
Mrs Lipman said the Jewish community in Britain "give, give and give" and described the recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks as "very very depressing".
In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, police patrols in Jewish areas have been stepped up amid fears of repeat anti-Semitic violence. A survey conducted after the attacks found more than one in ten Jews, and 17 per cent of young Jews, had considered leaving Britain due to prejudice against Jews. Another poll suggested a significant minority of British people harbour anti-Semitic views, including that Jews have too much power in the media, are greedy and dishonest in business. [...]
Last year Mrs Lipman announced she was ending five decades of support for the Labour Party, as she furiously denounced Ed Miliband’s stance on Israel. Mrs Lipman said she would vote for “almost any other party” until Labour is “once more led by mensches” – the Yiddish word for a person of integrity. The actress added Mr Miliband’s support for a motion recognising the state of Palestine “sucks” at a time of rising anti-Semitism in Europe.
More: Daily Telegraph
Belgium: Pallywood - the caged Palestinian children edition
Joël Rubinfeld, head of the Belgian League Against Antisemitism, observed recently that the Belgian francophone Socialist Party is no longer interested in fighting antisemitism, mainly for electoral reasons. He is right. One of the most committed Israel-bashers in Europe - if not the main instigator - is a prominent member of the socialist party Pierre Galand, also linked to the Free University of Brussels, the Humanist movement, secularism etc. He was one of the movers and shakers at the Durban conference, he is behind the BDS campaign in Europe, he created the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, he heads the government-funded Association Belgo-Palestinienne Wallonia-Brussels, and much more. This is what the association and Mr. Galand are constantly up to:
Welcome to Pallywood made in Belgium:
The photo has been strategically cropped, and the caption and stylized metal work have been removed to make it seem more "prison-like". Rather than being in a prison, these children are waiting to be fed.
Portugal: Oporto synagogue protected by 3.5 metre-high wall and barbed wire
As a result of increased Islamic violence against Jews in Europe and antisemitism, the Oporto Jewish community has decided to reinforce security. A 3.5 metre-high wall with barbed wire will be built around the synagogue. Work will start in February
Asked about the situation of Jews in the country, Rabbi Daniel Litvak said that Portugal is, probably, the only country in Europe where a Jew can walk unmolested wearing a kippah. According to Haaretz 800 Jews live in Portugal (out of a population of 11 million).
More: tvi24
France: New antisemitism report from France is shocking
In France, a Jew is nearly 50 times as likely to be the victim of racist violence as a Muslim, according to a new report.
France's Jewish Community Security Service has just released their report on antisemitism in France during 2014. And it shows that the increase in Jew-hatred is quite real. Some highlights:
This report does not count all antisemitic acts; only those reported to police.
Here's the entire report: 2014 Report on Antisemitism in France
Source: Elder of Ziyon
France's Jewish Community Security Service has just released their report on antisemitism in France during 2014. And it shows that the increase in Jew-hatred is quite real. Some highlights:
- In 2014, the number of Antisemitic acts recorded on French soil doubled. They increased to 851 versus 423 in 2013. This represents a jump of 101 percent.
- In 2014, violent acts increased by 130 percent compared to 2013. There were 241 violent acts in 2014 versus 105 in 2013.
- Antisemitism has become increasingly violent and hyper-violent. Today, Antisemitic threats in France include persistent bias, sectarian stereotypes, deep hatred, but especially Antisemitic jihadist terror. Men and young children are killed for the sole reason that they are Jewish.
- 51 percent of racist acts committed in France in 2014 targeted Jews. Jews represent less than one percent of the French population. Less than 1 percent of this country's citizens are the target of half of all racist acts committed in France.
- The 30-percent increase in racist acts committed in France in 2014 compared to 2013 comprises exclusively an increase in Antisemitic acts. Indeed, racist acts, excluding Antisemitic acts, that were recorded in 2014 decreased by 5 percent compared to 2013. This shows once again how much we need tailored programs, adequate measures, and specific tools to fight Antisemitism efficiently. Many anti-Racism programs do not stop the rise Antisemitic acts, far from it.
- Cities most impacted by Antisemitic acts in 2014 include Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Sarcelles, Strasbourg, Nice, Villeurbanne and Créteil.
This report does not count all antisemitic acts; only those reported to police.
Here's the entire report: 2014 Report on Antisemitism in France
Source: Elder of Ziyon
Day 65: Counting the Days till EU Condemns PA Incitement to Kill Jews
Following the murders in Jerusalem enabled by the constant Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, this blog will wait until one European country will step forward and condemn the PA for its incitement.
It is not enough to ask the PA to stop inciting.
It is not enough to condemn the terror attacks caused by such incitement.
European leaders must make it clear to the PA that incitement to kill Jews is unacceptable. That such incitement will mean no support for Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Until then, European leaders are encouraging Palestinians to kill Jews.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Italy: 'We will gas the Jews' graffiti
Via ISCA:
#Antisemitic graffiti inscriptions were discovered in Agrigento, Sicily. They were found on the wall of a building on which unknown persons wrote in English "Boycott Israel”.
In Florence, #Italy a inscription written on a cabinet door of gas counter said "we will kill the Jews with gas".
UK: Four teens plead guilty to attacking Jew in revenge for Gaza War
Via Jewish News:
Four teenagers have pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault against a Jewish man in the north-east after they decided to go “Jew-bashing” during last summer’s Gaza conflict.
Balawal Sultan, Kesa Malik, Hassnain Aliamin and a 16-year old drove to Gateshead in Tyneside, where there is a large yeshiva, or Jewish seminary.
The gang of four lay in wait behind a van before jumping out on a 41-year old man as he walked home. They chased the victim down the street, throwing a piece of wood at him. When he fell, a witness told how one of the gang went to kick the victim in the head when a friend heard the commotion and came to his aid.
The attackers were later arrested and claimed they were only in the area looking for a new mosque, but one of them admitted the planned attack was motivated by the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.
Greece: Jews worried over far-left elections win
The leftist and anti-austerity Syriza party has won the elections in Greece, international media reported Sunday, taking some 35-38% of the final votes, according to exit polls.
The win signals a reversal for the Greek government, as the ruling New Democratic Party came in distant second with 26-28% of the vote, according to BBC.
In third is the Neo-Nazi 'Golden Dawn' party, with 6.4-8% of the Greek vote.
The Jewish community in Greece has already raised some alarm over the developments. Leaders say that the relationship between Israel and Greece could be at stake.
"No doubt we will see a big change in the state of diplomatic relations between Greece and Israel, as well as the situation in Greece," a Jewish community member stated to Arutz Sheva Sunday on condition of anonymity.
Netherlands: World's biggest ship named after Waffen-SS officer
Via the Guardian:
Leaders of Jewish communities and Holocaust memorial groups in Britain and the Netherlands have reacted with rage and despair at the arrival in Rotterdam of the world’s biggest ship, the Pieter Schelte, named after a Dutch officer in the Waffen-SS.
The vice-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jonathan Arkush, said: “Naming such a ship after an SS officer who was convicted of war crimes is an insult to the millions who suffered and died at the hands of the Nazis. We urge the ship’s owners to reconsider and rename the ship after someone more appropriate.”
Esther Voet, director of the Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel (Cidi), based in The Hague, said that the timing of the ship’s arrival, shortly before Jews were targeted and killed in Paris and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, was “a coincidence, I’m sure, but a sign of the times. We lost our battle to have the ship’s name changed, and we are left eating dust.”
(...)
Allseas is owned by a Dutchman, Edward Heerema, who is the son of Pieter Schelte Heerema. The ship bearing his father’s name arrived in Rotterdam from the Korean Daewoo shipyards two days before the killing of four Jews at a kosher supermarket in Paris and three weeks before the Auschwitz anniversary.
Voet says: “We’ve fought this for 10 years, tried to persuade everyone involved that this was offensive. But no, we’re left with this fact: the largest ship in the world is named after an officer in the SS, and not enough people are offended to get this changed.”
Israeli paper Haaretz gets an honorary antisemite mention because it described the Jewish response as
howls of protest from Jewish leaders and Holocaust memorial groups. And then blamed the Guardian for that text.
Turkey: Jews file for Spanish citizenship, 'just in case something happens'
Today, the Spanish government wants to make amends for its past misdeeds. Last February, it introduced a bill that would allow descendants of Sephardic Jews around the world to qualify for a Spanish passport. If passed, the law would affect about 3.5 million people. Though Parliament has yet to make a final decision, the bill is almost certain to pass.More: DW
"I made an immediate request for a Spanish passport. The same goes for my entire family, and actually all the Sephardic Jews in Turkey that I know," said Besken, speaking with DW. He calls the passport a guarantee, just in case something "happens."
"Then we can easily pack up our stuff and go," he said. "It's a great advantage for us."
Besken's family is well-off. He lives in Bodrum, a chic holiday resort on the Aegean Sea, and works as a civil engineer for the family firm. "I have a good life. I don't really want to leave Turkey," he said. "But in recent years, Jews in Turkey have been facing more and more anti-Semitism. We've even felt it in our everyday business life. For example, a Muslim Turk owed my Jewish friend money. He said: 'I'll give you part of it back. The rest, I'll send to Gaza in your name."
Day 64: Counting the Days till EU Condemns PA Incitement to Kill Jews
Following the murders in Jerusalem enabled by the constant Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, this blog will wait until one European country will step forward and condemn the PA for its incitement.
It is not enough to ask the PA to stop inciting.
It is not enough to condemn the terror attacks caused by such incitement.
European leaders must make it clear to the PA that incitement to kill Jews is unacceptable. That such incitement will mean no support for Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Until then, European leaders are encouraging Palestinians to kill Jews.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Greece: Syriza fully identifies itself with the Palestinian cause
Sabby Mionis writes:
More: Haaretz
More on Kosta Plevris HERE with extracts from his book "Jews: The Whole Truth".
Syriza fully identifies itself with the Palestinian cause, and their party platform explicitly calls for an end to Greece's defense cooperation with the "aggressive" Israel, even though on Friday his foreign affairs advisor tried to take a softer stance. [Alexis] Tsipras’ party colleagues and his own inner circle have repeatedly attacked Israel and the "Zionists", claiming that they are not anti-Semitic, just anti-Zionist. Syriza's former head, Nikos Konstandopoulos, has consistently offered his services as a defense lawyer for convicted and alleged Arab terrorists who have been arrested in Greece. Sofia Sakorafa, a confidante who has rubbed shoulders with Hamas, and a celebrated former Olympic athlete, requested and received Palestinian citizenship a few years ago, in a bid to represent Palestine in the Olympic Games, when she was well into her 40s.
On the right, New Democracy is the traditional center-right party, that under a new leader, Andonis Samaras, has morphed into an extreme right-wing, nationalistic party. (...)
Samaras has opened his arms and welcomed into his party a number of neo-Nazis , anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers from the extreme right-wing party Laos, effectively transforming his own party into an extreme right-wing one. Samaras' campaign head for northern Greece, Panagiotis Psomiadis, recently said in several campaign gatherings that he does not disagree with the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, but that he is hopeful that the outcome of current discussion would mean several of its members would join New Democracy, thus confirming Samaras’ co-option of the far-right.
Makis Voridis, an infrastructure Minister in the transitional government, is apparently being groomed by Samaras, and the establishment that supports him, as the next party leader. Voridis, a fascist of the worst kind, has in the past painted swastikas on walls, threatened Jewish students and their families, and violently attacked leftists with the group of thugs he had created. .He formed the anti-immigrant party, Hellenic Front, whose motto was "Red Card to the Immigrants", and he ran together with Greece's most famous anti-Semite, Kostas Plevris, in the national elections of 2000.
Plevris, a self-declared neo-Nazi and anti-Semite, wrote the book "Jews: The Whole Truth", which included a call for all Greek Jews to be "killed within 24 hours". He was put on trial for incitement acquitted by the court and his son, Thanassis Plevris, who defended him, has now also joined Samaras' party.
More: Haaretz
More on Kosta Plevris HERE with extracts from his book "Jews: The Whole Truth".
Belgium: Police change their minds, Antwerp stabbing now considered antisemitic attack
Part of the problem with antisemitic attacks in Europe is that the authorities sometimes seem reluctant to label them as such. I don't understand why.
Police are now sure the attack in Antwerp this past November, in which a Jew was stabbed, was an antisemitic attack.
Though the victim, Yehoshua Malik, was attacked for no reason, police were at first unsure about the issue. The media reported it might have been a drunk Polish man who stabbed a Jew by mistake.
But now it seems they've changed their minds.
Police have managed to reconstruct the attacker's route - he left Antwerp North and headed straight for the Jewish neighborhood. He stabbed a Jew, then returned back.
According to Commissioner Frank Van Saelen, the attacker did not stop for anything and did not talk with anybody on the way or on his phone. He seems to be aware of the CCTV cameras, because he keeps his face down and walks as close as possible to the houses.
Police have no clue as to his identity or whereabouts and are asking the public for help.
More: HLN ( + clip here)
See also: Antwerp Jewish community reeling after stab attack
Sweden: In Skåne, 137 complaints of antisemitic attacks, 0 indictments
Talk about burying the lede. The Local in Sweden published an article about police not charging antisemitic criminals under the headline "Spotlight on hate crimes in Sweden’s Skåne".
Police in Skåne in southern Sweden have recorded 137 anti-semitic hate crimes in the past two years, according to an investigation by Swedish broadcaster SVT.
The review of police work in the region reveals crimes ranging from offensive swastika doodles to threats, harassment and in some cases violence.
Between 2013 and 2014, more than half of hate crimes in Skåne’s biggest city, Malmö, were directed against individual Jews.
But SVT suggests that too few suspects have been prosecuted for the anti-Semitic discrimination.
(...)
Thomas Bull, who coordinates Malmö police’s hate crime unit admitted to SVT that he was not aware of any cases of verbal threats leading to prosecution in Skåne.
“Not for anti-Semitic crimes,” he said.
What does "too few suspects" mean?
Well, if you check out what SVT have to say: it means "none". That's right, in Skåne and in Malmo, there have been 137 cases of Jews lodging complaints about antisemitic harassment and vandalism, and the total number of persecutions and convictions is: zero.
Don't you think that little point should actually make headlines in Sweden? But even SVT did not think such a triviality deserves to be mentioned in the headline.
According to SVT, even when the police think there's a case, it's not enough. In one case, police managed to collect 13 complaints against the same offender who harassed the staff of the Jewish community, but the court decided to drop the case, since it wasn't possible to prove guilt.
Police had license plates in 8 cases of people shouting antisemitic taunts at Jews. But interrogated only three of the car-owners. And even then, nothing came out of it. The car-owners claimed they weren't driving the car, and Thomas Bull explains that in criminal cases, they don't proceed if the car is used by several people [Swedish criminals, pay attention!!].
France: Building hit with antisemitic graffiti again
Via CFCA:
Antisemitic graffiti in a building lobby in Garges-lès-Gonesse (Paris), with a swastika and Star of David.
The building is located across from a synagogue, and there are four Jewish families living there.
The building was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti earlier this year, glorifying terrorist Mohammed Merah and threatening to commit more attacks.
Netherlands: Synagogue attendance drops, Jews want troop protection
Dutch Jews asked their government to post troops outside synagogues to match security measures in France and Belgium.
(...)
Some Dutch synagogues have police protection, while others have no armed guards, according to the daily. Some communities are reporting a drop in synagogue attendance because of growing insecurity, it said.
More: JTA
Day 63: Counting the Days till EU Condemns PA Incitement to Kill Jews
Following the murders in Jerusalem enabled by the constant Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, this blog will wait until one European country will step forward and condemn the PA for its incitement.
It is not enough to ask the PA to stop inciting.
It is not enough to condemn the terror attacks caused by such incitement.
European leaders must make it clear to the PA that incitement to kill Jews is unacceptable. That such incitement will mean no support for Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Until then, European leaders are encouraging Palestinians to kill Jews.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Sweden: Malmö synagogue putting up fence to deter attacks
Via Sweden Report:
The few remaining Jews in Malmö are subjected to increasing levels of harassment, and the town’s synagogue has been the target for various hate crimes and vandalism despite hiring private security guards.
Now things are getting so bad the congregation reveals they’re in the final stages for getting approval by the city to erect a sturdy fence around the building to deter further attacks.
Norway: Doctors refuse to perform circumcisions
Norway passed a new law requiring all circumcisions to be performed in hospitals, by doctors. But the law hit a little snag.
Via newsinenglish.no
Since January 1st, all of Norway’s state-run hospitals have become legally obliged to offer circumcision of newborn baby boys. A majority of doctors all over the country, however, have been refusing to perform the operation that’s often part of religious rituals, claiming it’s an unnecessary surgical procedure on otherwise healthy infants.
(...)
The law was approved by a large majority in Parliament but not without controversy. Doctors’ and nurses’ professional organizations opposed it as did many individual Members of Parliament, but they followed their parties’ lines. In addition to fearing that circumcision would continue to be performed by non-health professionals in Norway, party leaders didn’t want to be seen as being either anti-Jewish or anti-Muslim, since circumcision is traditional in the Jewish and Muslim communities. Others pointed to how millions of men around the world are circumcised including a majority of American men regardless of religious persuasion.
“I think many (MPs) were afraid to be accused of anti-Semitism or fear of foreigners,” Jenny Klinge, an MP for the Center Party, told Dagsavisen. She unsucessfully proposed offering hospital circumcision only to males over the age of 18, when they could decide themselves if they wanted to be circumcised.
Of course, preventing Jews from performing the procedure, which is integral to Jewish identity, has nothing to do with antisemitism. It's just concern for the children.
If Norway banned circumcision for newborns like Klinge wanted to and it's Jews would flee, well, that has nothing to do with antisemitism either.
Just because Norwegians know better than Jews what's good for them does not make them antisemites. Right?
I suppose this isn't antisemitic either. It's just a commentator making an astute observation:
Do jewish people have that much power in Norway that they can compel legislators to force doctors to basically torture babies on the command of their parents? This is kind of insane.
Europeans today aren't ashamed of their antisemitic views. They shout them off the rooftops.
Belgium: 'In Europe, Jews are a specific target'
Barbara is a Belgian Jew who moved to Israel. Her three children went to a Jewish school in Brussels, but she feared they'd be attacked. She says that if Israel didn't exist, she wouldn't sleep at night.
And though they're not 100% safe in Israel either, she says that at least in Israel, her family isn't a specific target. In Europe, not only is she a target for terrorists, but she even has to argue the point.
Also, in Israel people are aware that their country is a target, and therefore take measures to ensure safety. (RTL felt it necessary to point out that some of those measures towards the Palestinians are seen as extreme - but, at least they say those measures have good reason).
More: RTL, h/t europe-israel
UK: Jews so privileged, you can discriminate against them with impunity
Because I am a lawyer and law professor (albeit not a British one), my natural instinct in these circumstances is to appeal to the law for protection. Anti-Semitic harassment, intimidation, violence, and discrimination are illegal, and a primary purpose of the courts is to provide a shield for vulnerable minorities. Unfortunately, when it comes to Jewish litigants coming to the English courts with allegations of discrimination, doctrine, precedent, and case law all fall away at the hands of one simple rule: Jews lose. They lose consistently, they lose badly, and they will often be humiliated in the process. In her magnificent 2011 book An Unfortunate Coincidence: Jews, Jewishness, and English Law, English law professor Didi Herman concludes that—since the passage of the Race Relations Act of 1976—a Jew has never won a reported discrimination case against a non-Jewish defendant.
British courts seem to bend over backward to avoid finding wrongdoing, even in the most obvious cases. To take one particularly egregious example, one case involved a job applicant who was told by the hiring agency that the company in question simply would not hire Jews. It then asked the candidate what his religion was; instead of answering, the applicant (who was indeed Jewish) stormed out. The court concluded that no discrimination occurred because the plaintiff voluntarily terminated the interview without revealing his Jewish identity.
Indeed, the only time that a Jewish claimant has succeeded in a discrimination case was in a suit brought against a Jewish day school whose admissions policy used the traditional matrilineal descent test to define who was Jewish.
(...)
But there is another element latent in the Fraser decision and the broader legal history Herman develops. Even as it consistently rules against Jews in particular cases, the English judiciary perceives itself as generally protective of the Jewish community. Indeed, Jews are if anything seen as a model in this respect—the quintessential example of a minority group that lies under the protective umbrella of the liberal and tolerant state. When debating whether to include additional groups under the ambit of anti-discrimination laws, English politicians cited Jews as an example—others should receive what the Jews already have.
This might seem to be little more than an innocuous fiction. It isn’t. Viewing Jews as the paradigmatic protected group, courts that in fact consistently deny Jews protection at the level of particular cases see themselves as breaking from the script, rather than repeating a continuous and damaging pattern. Because Jews are already a success story, the essential question of anti-Semitism discourse is not how to prevent anti-Semitism—it’s how to give other groups the bounty Jews enjoy while simultaneously ensuring that Jews don’t exploit their supposedly privileged position.
Greece: Anarchists boast about Jewish cemetery vandalism
Via CFCA:
Larissa - Here is the link of a newspaper of the anarchists, who picture themselves in front of the cemetery of Larissa, after they made graffiti on it.
UK: "Judaism has become violent in the modern world, thanks to [Israel]"
Is there any difference between Jesus and Muhammad in terms of violence – or in other words, how do you explain that most terrorism now is inspired by the Islam?
“Terrorism has nothing to do with Muhammad, any more than the Crusades had anything to do with Jesus. There is nothing in the Islam that is more violent than Christianity. All religions have been violent, including Christianity. There was nothing in the Muslim world like antisemitism: that is an import of the modern period. They got it from us. The missionaries brought it over. And then came the state of Israel. Judaism has become violent in the modern world, thanks to the nation state.”
(...)
So you are saying that religion is a scapegoat?
“We’re piling all the violence of the 21st Century on the back of religion, sending it away, saying we have nothing to do with religion. While we still have to deal with the political situation. The supermarket attack in Paris was about Palestine, about Isis. It had nothing to do with antisemitism; many of them are Semites themselves. But they attempt to conquer Palestine and we’re not talking about that. We’re too implicated and we don’t know what to do with it.
Day 62: Counting the Days till EU Condemns PA Incitement to Kill Jews
Following the murders in Jerusalem enabled by the constant Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, this blog will wait until one European country will step forward and condemn the PA for its incitement.
It is not enough to ask the PA to stop inciting.
It is not enough to condemn the terror attacks caused by such incitement.
European leaders must make it clear to the PA that incitement to kill Jews is unacceptable. That such incitement will mean no support for Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Until then, European leaders are encouraging Palestinians to kill Jews.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Comics artists call for Israel boycott
Post updated: Originally listed last year's signatories by mistake. Now added this year's signatories as well.
More; JTA
The letter is here.
We, cartoonists, illustrators, writers, editors, distributors, translators, critics and workers in the comic book industry, alongside people of conscience from countries all over the world, re-affirm our February 2014 call for the Angoulême International Comics Festival to drop all ties with the Israeli company Sodastream. Furthermore, we urge the Angoulême Festival, and all festivals, conventions, and celebrations of comics and cartooning art in which we participate, to reject any partnership, funding, or co-operation with any Israeli company or institution that does not explicitly promote freedom and justice for Palestinians, as well as equal rights and equality for Israeli Jews and Palestinians, including the Israeli government and its local consulates, so long as Israel continues to deny Palestinians their rights.
Today, the Sodastream company proudly boasts of its factory’s location in the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, which makes it complicit in the crime of military occupation. However, even if Sodastream, thanks in part to the pressure campaign launched last year, moved its manufacturing to the Negev (where Palestinian Bedouins are facing eviction from their ancestral lands by Israeli government’s Prawer Plan) it, and other Israeli companies and institutions, are part of a system built on the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities and sustained through racism and discrimination. It, and other Israeli companies, contribute to the economy of a state which conducted a brutal military assault against a civilian population in Gaza in the summer of 2014, resulting in over 2,100 deaths, including over 500 children.
We cannot accept our art being used to whitewash these crimes, as the Israeli Ministry of Foreign affairs has explicitly stated it will attempt to do through its “Brand Israel” campaign. Angoulême, a center of appreciation for comics internationally, should not be used in this manner.
We again urge you to sever ties between the Festival and Sodastream, and we extend our call to directors and organizers, editors and associations of comics and illustration around the globe. No “business as usual” with lsrael!
Signatures:
Palestine Comics Festival (Palestine), Leila Abdul Razaq (USA), Zainab Akhtar (UK), Khalid Albaih (Sudan/Qatar), Albertine (Switzerland), Hilary Allison (USA), Anarkikka (Italy), Enzo Apicella (Italy), Serge Baeken (Belgium), Alex Baladi (Switzerland), Edd Baldry (UK/France), Allan Barte (France), Baru (France, 4 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2010), Edmond Baudoin (France, 3 Angoulême prizes), Kate Beaton (Canada), Alison Bechdel (USA), Sofiane Belaskri (Algeria), Faiza Benaouda (Algeria), Khalil Bendib (Algeria/USA), Peter Blegvad (USA/UK, Angoulême prize in 2014), Philippe Bonifay (France), Briac (France), David Brothers (USA), Paul Buhle (USA), Nicole Burton (Canada), Jennifer Camper (USA), Lorena Canottiere (Italy), Chandre (France), Gilles Ciment (France, former director of the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême from 2007 to 2014), Rob Clough (USA), Sean T. Collins (USA), Gianluca Costantini (Italy), Jean-Luc Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 1990), Philippe Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 2011), Molly Crabapple (USA), Pino Creanza (Italy), Marguerite Dabaie (USA), Bira Dantas (Brazil), Eleanor Davis (USA), Marcel « Lidwine » De la Gare (France, Angoulême prize in 1999), Guy Delisle (Canada, Angoulême Prize in 2012), Les Dessin’acteurs (France), Dror (France), Warren Ellis (UK), Magdy El Shafee (Egypt), elchicotriste (Spain), The FDZ (Lebanon), Olivier Ferra (France), Brigitte Findakly (France), Ganzeer (Egypt/USA), Lucile Gomez (France), Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz (USA), Michel Granger (France), Graphic History Collective: Sam Bradd, Sean Carleton, Robin Folvik, Mark Leier, Trevor McKilligan, Julia Smith (Canada), Dominique Grange (France), Thierry Groensteen (France, former director of the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême from 1993 to 2001), Jeet Heer (Canada), Ethan Heitner (USA), Delphine Hermans (Belgium), Anaële Hermans (Belgium), Jaime Hernandez (USA), Alex Hoffman (USA), Dylan Horrocks (New Zealand, nominated in Angoulême in 2002), Igort (Italy, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Hatem Imam (Lebanon), Jiho (France), Monica Johnson (USA), Ben Katchor (USA), Mazen Kerbaj (Lebanon), Peter Kuper (USA), Patrick Lacan (France), Carlos Latuff (Brazil), Wilfrid Lupano (France), Rodolphe « Ohazar » Lupano (France), Lena Merhej (Lebanon), Jean-Claude Mézières (France, 2 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 1984), Katie Miranda (USA), Anne Elizabeth Moore (USA), Mric (France), José Muñoz (Argentina, 3 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2007), Pépito (France), Ernest Pignon-Ernest (France), Jeanne Puchol (France), Maël Rannou (France), Patricia Réaud (France), Helge Reumann (Switzerland), Barrack Rima (Lebanon/Belgium), Mohammad Sabaaneh (Palestine), Salgood Sam (Canada), Amitai Sandy (Israel), François Schuiten (Belgium, Grand Prix in 2002), Gabby Schulz (USA), Siné (France), Jean Solé (France), Philippe Squarzoni (France, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Sylvain-Moizie (France, Angoulême prize in 2000 and in residence at the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême in 2014-2015), Tardi (France, 5 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 1985), Seth Tobocman (USA), Jean-Louis Tripp (Canada), Lewis Trondheim (France, 2 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2006, creator of the Angoulême mascot), Guillaume Trouillard (France), Willem (France/Nederland, Angoulême Grand Prix in 2013), Willis From Tunis (Tunisia), Jordan Worley (USA), Wozniak (France/Poland), yAce (France), Germano Zullo (Switzerland)
Last year's signatories (Europeans in bold):
Leila Abdul Razzaq (USA), Khalid Albaih (Sudan), Derrouazin Alla Eddine, Hilary Allison (USA), Rosalba Ambrico (Italy), Enzo Apicella (UK/Italia), Dan Archer (USA), Redouane Assari (Algérie), Avoine (France), Serge Baeken (Belgium), Edd Baldry (UK/France), Baru (France, 4 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2010), Edmond Baudoin (France, 3 Angoulême prizes), Sofiane Belaskri (Algérie), Mohammed El Amine Benali (Algérie), Faiza Benaouda, Carlo Benini (Italy), Berth (France), Peter Blegvad (USA/UK, Angoulême prize in 2014), Naïm Boukir (Algérie), Shane Patrick Boyle (USA), Steve Brodner (USA), Nicole Burton (Canada), Susie Cagle (USA), Jennifer Camper (USA), Carali (France), Dan Carino (USA), Rémy Cattelain (France), Chimulus (France), Sue Coe (USA), Gianluca Costantini (Italy), Jean-Luc Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 1990), Philippe Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 2011), Pino Creanza (Italy), Marguerite Dabaie (USA), Adjim Dannger (Chad), Bira Dantas (Brazil), Marcel de la Gare (France), Eric Drooker (USA), Magdy El Shafee (Egypt), Elchicotriste (Spain), Faujour (France), Luigi Filippelli (Italy), Sean Ford (USA), Sarah Glidden (USA), Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz (USA), Dominique Grange (France), Thierry Groensteen (France, director, Angoulême's Musée de la bande dessinée), Ethan Heitner (USA), Paula Hewitt Amram (USA), Igort (Italy, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Hatem Imam (Lebanon), Jeroen Janssen (Belgium), Jiho (France), Ben Katchor (USA), Mazen Kerbaj (Lebanon), Sarah Khoury (Italy), Kris (France), Lolo Krokaga (France), Nat Krokaga (France), Peter Kuper (USA), Carlos Latuff (Brazil), Lasserpe (France), Maximilien Le Roy (France), Lerouge (France), Wilfrid Lupano (France), Matt Madden (USA/France), Benameur Mahmoud (Algérie), Eric Maltaite (Belgium), Seoud Messadi, Matt Miner (USA), Katie Miranda (USA), Rym Mokhtari (Algérie), Mric (France), José Muñoz (Argentina, 3 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2007), Ohazar (France), Jeanne Puchol (France), Marty Qatani (USA), Maël Rannou (France), Barrack Rima (Lebanon/Belgium), James Romberger (USA), Puig Rosado (France), Mohammad Sabaaneh (Palestine), Joe Sacco (USA, Angoulême prize in 2011), Malik Sajad (Kashmir), Amitai Sandy (Israel), François Schuiten (Belgium, Angoulême Grand Prix in 2002), Siné (France), Jean Solé (France), Philippe Squarzoni (France, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Jacques Tardi (France, 5 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 1985), Tom Tirabosco (Switzerland, Angoulême prize in 2009), Seth Tobocman (USA), Pasquale Squaz Todisco (Italia), Eli Valley (USA), David Diavù Vecchiato (Italia), Daniel Wernëck (Brasil), Willis From Tunis (Tunisie/France), Jordan Worley (USA), Zerocalcare (Italia).
Dozens of comics artists signed a letter calling for a boycott against any Israeli entity that does not “promote freedom and justice for Palestinians.”
The open letter, cosigned by more than 80 individuals involved in producing comics, was sent out Wednesday to the organizers of an international festival for comics artists scheduled to open next week in France, and which is cosponsored by the Israeli company Sodastream.
More; JTA
The letter is here.
We, cartoonists, illustrators, writers, editors, distributors, translators, critics and workers in the comic book industry, alongside people of conscience from countries all over the world, re-affirm our February 2014 call for the Angoulême International Comics Festival to drop all ties with the Israeli company Sodastream. Furthermore, we urge the Angoulême Festival, and all festivals, conventions, and celebrations of comics and cartooning art in which we participate, to reject any partnership, funding, or co-operation with any Israeli company or institution that does not explicitly promote freedom and justice for Palestinians, as well as equal rights and equality for Israeli Jews and Palestinians, including the Israeli government and its local consulates, so long as Israel continues to deny Palestinians their rights.
Today, the Sodastream company proudly boasts of its factory’s location in the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, which makes it complicit in the crime of military occupation. However, even if Sodastream, thanks in part to the pressure campaign launched last year, moved its manufacturing to the Negev (where Palestinian Bedouins are facing eviction from their ancestral lands by Israeli government’s Prawer Plan) it, and other Israeli companies and institutions, are part of a system built on the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities and sustained through racism and discrimination. It, and other Israeli companies, contribute to the economy of a state which conducted a brutal military assault against a civilian population in Gaza in the summer of 2014, resulting in over 2,100 deaths, including over 500 children.
We cannot accept our art being used to whitewash these crimes, as the Israeli Ministry of Foreign affairs has explicitly stated it will attempt to do through its “Brand Israel” campaign. Angoulême, a center of appreciation for comics internationally, should not be used in this manner.
We again urge you to sever ties between the Festival and Sodastream, and we extend our call to directors and organizers, editors and associations of comics and illustration around the globe. No “business as usual” with lsrael!
Signatures:
Palestine Comics Festival (Palestine), Leila Abdul Razaq (USA), Zainab Akhtar (UK), Khalid Albaih (Sudan/Qatar), Albertine (Switzerland), Hilary Allison (USA), Anarkikka (Italy), Enzo Apicella (Italy), Serge Baeken (Belgium), Alex Baladi (Switzerland), Edd Baldry (UK/France), Allan Barte (France), Baru (France, 4 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2010), Edmond Baudoin (France, 3 Angoulême prizes), Kate Beaton (Canada), Alison Bechdel (USA), Sofiane Belaskri (Algeria), Faiza Benaouda (Algeria), Khalil Bendib (Algeria/USA), Peter Blegvad (USA/UK, Angoulême prize in 2014), Philippe Bonifay (France), Briac (France), David Brothers (USA), Paul Buhle (USA), Nicole Burton (Canada), Jennifer Camper (USA), Lorena Canottiere (Italy), Chandre (France), Gilles Ciment (France, former director of the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême from 2007 to 2014), Rob Clough (USA), Sean T. Collins (USA), Gianluca Costantini (Italy), Jean-Luc Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 1990), Philippe Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 2011), Molly Crabapple (USA), Pino Creanza (Italy), Marguerite Dabaie (USA), Bira Dantas (Brazil), Eleanor Davis (USA), Marcel « Lidwine » De la Gare (France, Angoulême prize in 1999), Guy Delisle (Canada, Angoulême Prize in 2012), Les Dessin’acteurs (France), Dror (France), Warren Ellis (UK), Magdy El Shafee (Egypt), elchicotriste (Spain), The FDZ (Lebanon), Olivier Ferra (France), Brigitte Findakly (France), Ganzeer (Egypt/USA), Lucile Gomez (France), Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz (USA), Michel Granger (France), Graphic History Collective: Sam Bradd, Sean Carleton, Robin Folvik, Mark Leier, Trevor McKilligan, Julia Smith (Canada), Dominique Grange (France), Thierry Groensteen (France, former director of the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême from 1993 to 2001), Jeet Heer (Canada), Ethan Heitner (USA), Delphine Hermans (Belgium), Anaële Hermans (Belgium), Jaime Hernandez (USA), Alex Hoffman (USA), Dylan Horrocks (New Zealand, nominated in Angoulême in 2002), Igort (Italy, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Hatem Imam (Lebanon), Jiho (France), Monica Johnson (USA), Ben Katchor (USA), Mazen Kerbaj (Lebanon), Peter Kuper (USA), Patrick Lacan (France), Carlos Latuff (Brazil), Wilfrid Lupano (France), Rodolphe « Ohazar » Lupano (France), Lena Merhej (Lebanon), Jean-Claude Mézières (France, 2 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 1984), Katie Miranda (USA), Anne Elizabeth Moore (USA), Mric (France), José Muñoz (Argentina, 3 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2007), Pépito (France), Ernest Pignon-Ernest (France), Jeanne Puchol (France), Maël Rannou (France), Patricia Réaud (France), Helge Reumann (Switzerland), Barrack Rima (Lebanon/Belgium), Mohammad Sabaaneh (Palestine), Salgood Sam (Canada), Amitai Sandy (Israel), François Schuiten (Belgium, Grand Prix in 2002), Gabby Schulz (USA), Siné (France), Jean Solé (France), Philippe Squarzoni (France, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Sylvain-Moizie (France, Angoulême prize in 2000 and in residence at the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême in 2014-2015), Tardi (France, 5 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 1985), Seth Tobocman (USA), Jean-Louis Tripp (Canada), Lewis Trondheim (France, 2 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2006, creator of the Angoulême mascot), Guillaume Trouillard (France), Willem (France/Nederland, Angoulême Grand Prix in 2013), Willis From Tunis (Tunisia), Jordan Worley (USA), Wozniak (France/Poland), yAce (France), Germano Zullo (Switzerland)
Last year's signatories (Europeans in bold):
Leila Abdul Razzaq (USA), Khalid Albaih (Sudan), Derrouazin Alla Eddine, Hilary Allison (USA), Rosalba Ambrico (Italy), Enzo Apicella (UK/Italia), Dan Archer (USA), Redouane Assari (Algérie), Avoine (France), Serge Baeken (Belgium), Edd Baldry (UK/France), Baru (France, 4 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2010), Edmond Baudoin (France, 3 Angoulême prizes), Sofiane Belaskri (Algérie), Mohammed El Amine Benali (Algérie), Faiza Benaouda, Carlo Benini (Italy), Berth (France), Peter Blegvad (USA/UK, Angoulême prize in 2014), Naïm Boukir (Algérie), Shane Patrick Boyle (USA), Steve Brodner (USA), Nicole Burton (Canada), Susie Cagle (USA), Jennifer Camper (USA), Carali (France), Dan Carino (USA), Rémy Cattelain (France), Chimulus (France), Sue Coe (USA), Gianluca Costantini (Italy), Jean-Luc Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 1990), Philippe Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 2011), Pino Creanza (Italy), Marguerite Dabaie (USA), Adjim Dannger (Chad), Bira Dantas (Brazil), Marcel de la Gare (France), Eric Drooker (USA), Magdy El Shafee (Egypt), Elchicotriste (Spain), Faujour (France), Luigi Filippelli (Italy), Sean Ford (USA), Sarah Glidden (USA), Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz (USA), Dominique Grange (France), Thierry Groensteen (France, director, Angoulême's Musée de la bande dessinée), Ethan Heitner (USA), Paula Hewitt Amram (USA), Igort (Italy, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Hatem Imam (Lebanon), Jeroen Janssen (Belgium), Jiho (France), Ben Katchor (USA), Mazen Kerbaj (Lebanon), Sarah Khoury (Italy), Kris (France), Lolo Krokaga (France), Nat Krokaga (France), Peter Kuper (USA), Carlos Latuff (Brazil), Lasserpe (France), Maximilien Le Roy (France), Lerouge (France), Wilfrid Lupano (France), Matt Madden (USA/France), Benameur Mahmoud (Algérie), Eric Maltaite (Belgium), Seoud Messadi, Matt Miner (USA), Katie Miranda (USA), Rym Mokhtari (Algérie), Mric (France), José Muñoz (Argentina, 3 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2007), Ohazar (France), Jeanne Puchol (France), Marty Qatani (USA), Maël Rannou (France), Barrack Rima (Lebanon/Belgium), James Romberger (USA), Puig Rosado (France), Mohammad Sabaaneh (Palestine), Joe Sacco (USA, Angoulême prize in 2011), Malik Sajad (Kashmir), Amitai Sandy (Israel), François Schuiten (Belgium, Angoulême Grand Prix in 2002), Siné (France), Jean Solé (France), Philippe Squarzoni (France, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Jacques Tardi (France, 5 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 1985), Tom Tirabosco (Switzerland, Angoulême prize in 2009), Seth Tobocman (USA), Pasquale Squaz Todisco (Italia), Eli Valley (USA), David Diavù Vecchiato (Italia), Daniel Wernëck (Brasil), Willis From Tunis (Tunisie/France), Jordan Worley (USA), Zerocalcare (Italia).
Europe: The hypocrisy of an irresponsible media now defending Jews
 |
| BBC correspondent Tim Willcox glibly told the daughter of a French Holocaust survivor: "Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well". He subsequently apologised. But in that one remark he exposed the prejudice that has given enemies of Judaism their casus belli. |
During Protective Edge, Israel, in a nod to openness, allowed media into the Gaza war zone. The result was nightly images of death and destruction - which could only serve to demonise Israel. Terrible things happened, including the accidental killings of four boys on a Gaza beach. But what the world saw largely were controlled images or stories reported under intimidating supervision of Hamas minders. The consequence of this largely one-sided, disturbing narrative (millions of Israelis sheltering from Hamas rockets were invisible) was to reinforce the story-line of Israel as brutalist, waging war against a defenceless Muslim population, inflaming liberal and extremist opinion in Britain and Europe. The heavy presence of foreign correspondents in Jerusalem serves to magnify events. Of course the IDF makes mistakes in the fog of war. But relentless negative reporting especially by the BBC, Guardian (with the exception of Jonathan Freedland) and Independent, supported by hostile columnists, have contributed to antisemitism.
It is not the old tropes of "Jews chasing money" that led to the tragic violence in Paris. Nor did they cause the surge in antisemitic incidents in the UK that made it impossible for Jews in Pinner to go to shul without being subjected to abuse. It was deeply biased reporting from the Middle East that turned Palestinians into permanent victims and Jews into oppressors.
What is really objectionable is that the very same media that for decades has jabbed its finger at Israel, demonising the Jewish state, is now rushing to the barriers as the defenders of Jews against antisemitism. The truth, however, emerged in the well-publicised incident when BBC correspondent Tim Willcox glibly told the daughter of a French Holocaust survivor: "Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well". He subsequently apologised. But in that one remark he exposed the prejudice that has given enemies of Judaism their casus belli.
More: Jewish Chronicle
Day 61: Counting the Days till EU Condemns PA Incitement to Kill Jews
Following the murders in Jerusalem enabled by the constant Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, this blog will wait until one European country will step forward and condemn the PA for its incitement.
It is not enough to ask the PA to stop inciting.
It is not enough to condemn the terror attacks caused by such incitement.
European leaders must make it clear to the PA that incitement to kill Jews is unacceptable. That such incitement will mean no support for Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Until then, European leaders are encouraging Palestinians to kill Jews.
Friday, January 23, 2015
France: 'Youths' celebrating massacre of Jews at Hyper Cacher
The youths, all smiles, praise Dieudonné, Ben Laden and Mohamed Merah. They write: "We are here to check the damages caused at Hyper Cacher"; "Fuck Charlie [Hebdo]'s mother"; "A spray of bullets on your mothers"; "Now they are in their tombs and being punished."
More: Le Monde Juif
Just to give readers an idea of the depth of Jew-hatred in France. Vincent le Biez writes on Figaro Vox that he was once asked by a pupil why he defended Jews against antisemitism. How could such a thing happen if it were not for the fact that he had a debt of gratitude towards the Jews becaused he owed them his career.
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| Yohan Cohen, Yohav Hattab, Philippe Braham et François-Michel Saada murdered by a Fench Muslim. |
Just to give readers an idea of the depth of Jew-hatred in France. Vincent le Biez writes on Figaro Vox that he was once asked by a pupil why he defended Jews against antisemitism. How could such a thing happen if it were not for the fact that he had a debt of gratitude towards the Jews becaused he owed them his career.
Latvia: Holocaust exhibit nixed after Latvian protests
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| Children in the Salaspils concentration camp in Latvia during WWII |
The exposition, titled “Stolen childhood: Holocaust victims Seen by Child Inmates of Salaspils Nazi Concentration Camp,” was canceled following objections by Latvian officials to its scheduled opening on Sunday at the Paris seat of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, a UNESCO spokesman told JTA on Wednesday.
The exposition’s curator, historian Alexander Dioukov, told RIA Novosti that Latvia’s chief delegate to UNESCO, Sanita Pavluta-Deslandes, said the exposition risked damaging her country’s image during its presidency of the European Union, which the Baltic country assumed on January 1 and will hold until July 1.
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| Salapils concentration camp |
More: Times of Israel
Netherlands: Ex-minister says world peace hinges on Jew-free Israel
It will solve that pesky resurgent antisemitism problem too!
A Dutch former cabinet minister reportedly said that world peace would be achievable if Israel’s population was forced to move to the United States.
The statement was attributed to Herman Heinsbroek, who served as the Netherlands’ minister of economic affairs in 2002, in an article that appeared Thursday in the online edition of the prestigious financial monthly Quote, based on an interview with Heinsbroek.
“It was a historical error to give the Jews their own country in the middle of Islam,” he is quoted as saying. “You’ve had nothing but war ever since and you’ve had anti-Semitism resurging, too. My idea: Give the Jews their own state somewhere in the United States and 25 years to move their state over there.”
Heinsbroek is also quoted as saying that, if implemented, his solution “will finally create, perhaps, peace in the world.”
More: Times of Israel
UN Conference on Antisemitism: A thank you to Canada, Albania (and UK)
Yesterday the United Nations General Assembly held an informal session on antisemitism.
I listened in to some of the speeches, and my main problem with most speakers was that they ignored the elephant in the room: the real reason for most antisemitism, the real reason why Jews feel so afraid in Europe, and why some of them prefer to live in a country under constant threat of nuclear annihilation.
The cause of most of today's antisemitism is hatred of Israel, plain and simple. The desire to annihilate the only Jewish country in the world, the constant world chorus that decries everything that Israel does as evil.
Hatred of Israel is hatred of Jews. It's not even cloaked, nowadays. Europeans today accuse 'Zionists' of doing this or that, when they're speaking about the Jews in their own communities, not about Israelis.
There were very few countries who said straight out that Israel-hatred is Jew-hatred, and I'd like to thank them for their bold and courageous stance. It shouldn't be so, but sadly, that is the case today. All the Jewish representatives said that Israel-hatred is Jew-hatred. But what do Jews know about antisemitism?
I did not listen to all the speeches, so there might have been more countries who deserve to be publicly honored for their strong stance on fighting the root cause of antisemitism today.
The UN General Assembly is one of the leading causes of antisemitism 'cloaked' as anti-Zionism. As UN Watch points out, last year the General Assembly passed 20 motions against Israel, and only 3 against other countries: Iran, Syria and North-Korea.
Syria, which has killed tens of thousands of its own citizens, was condemned just once by the UN, while Israel which has a thriving multi-ethnic, multi-national and multi-religious community, was condemned 20 times.
Most of these motions were supported by the likes of France and Germany.
So it was hard to take them seriously when their representatives stood up and spoke about how seriously they take antisemitism, and how seriously their countries intend to fight it.
Many people spoke about how they teach their kids about the Holocaust. But if your media and politicians constantly criticize Israel for being Nazis, for committing genocide and ethnic cleansing, than, as a Jew, I really prefer they don't learn about the Holocaust. First, because obviously if you can't differentiate between Jews and Nazis, then all that teaching hasn't been very effective. And second, because it just serves as weapons against Jews. So who needs it? Europeans, so they can feel good with themselves?
The Muslim and Arab countries (not including Albania), used the opportunity to accuse Israel of antisemitism and to claim that they're also Semites and therefore also suffer from antisemitism.
The concluding Joint Statement Against Antisemitism, is pretty pointless, I think. Even if you really think you intend to fight antisemitism, as long as you continue to attack Israel, you're attacking Jews and contributing to the scourge that is antisemitism.
I listened in to some of the speeches, and my main problem with most speakers was that they ignored the elephant in the room: the real reason for most antisemitism, the real reason why Jews feel so afraid in Europe, and why some of them prefer to live in a country under constant threat of nuclear annihilation.
The cause of most of today's antisemitism is hatred of Israel, plain and simple. The desire to annihilate the only Jewish country in the world, the constant world chorus that decries everything that Israel does as evil.
Hatred of Israel is hatred of Jews. It's not even cloaked, nowadays. Europeans today accuse 'Zionists' of doing this or that, when they're speaking about the Jews in their own communities, not about Israelis.
There were very few countries who said straight out that Israel-hatred is Jew-hatred, and I'd like to thank them for their bold and courageous stance. It shouldn't be so, but sadly, that is the case today. All the Jewish representatives said that Israel-hatred is Jew-hatred. But what do Jews know about antisemitism?
- Canada - Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Steven Blaney said as follows:
Canada has taken a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination including in rhetoric towards Israel, and attempts to delegitimize Israel such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
- Albania - Ambassador Ferit Hoxha said as follows:
Today’s anti-Semitism is being directed against Jews as individuals, as countless acts of violence have demonstrated, including most regrettably the last one in Paris a few weeks ago, but also against Israel’s legitimacy and right to exist waged by a dangerous union of radical views and extremist actions. Albania stands resolutely against all such efforts
- United Kingdom - who said that "antisemitism can sometimes cloak itself as anti-Zionism".
It's not a complete rejection, but in today's world, even slight acknowledgement is better than nothing.
I did not listen to all the speeches, so there might have been more countries who deserve to be publicly honored for their strong stance on fighting the root cause of antisemitism today.
The UN General Assembly is one of the leading causes of antisemitism 'cloaked' as anti-Zionism. As UN Watch points out, last year the General Assembly passed 20 motions against Israel, and only 3 against other countries: Iran, Syria and North-Korea.
Syria, which has killed tens of thousands of its own citizens, was condemned just once by the UN, while Israel which has a thriving multi-ethnic, multi-national and multi-religious community, was condemned 20 times.
Most of these motions were supported by the likes of France and Germany.
So it was hard to take them seriously when their representatives stood up and spoke about how seriously they take antisemitism, and how seriously their countries intend to fight it.
Many people spoke about how they teach their kids about the Holocaust. But if your media and politicians constantly criticize Israel for being Nazis, for committing genocide and ethnic cleansing, than, as a Jew, I really prefer they don't learn about the Holocaust. First, because obviously if you can't differentiate between Jews and Nazis, then all that teaching hasn't been very effective. And second, because it just serves as weapons against Jews. So who needs it? Europeans, so they can feel good with themselves?
The Muslim and Arab countries (not including Albania), used the opportunity to accuse Israel of antisemitism and to claim that they're also Semites and therefore also suffer from antisemitism.
The concluding Joint Statement Against Antisemitism, is pretty pointless, I think. Even if you really think you intend to fight antisemitism, as long as you continue to attack Israel, you're attacking Jews and contributing to the scourge that is antisemitism.
Sweden: Journalist experiences life as a Jew in Malmo
SVT reporter Petter Ljunggren reported on Malmo antisemitism for the "Uppdrag granskning" show. There are 1,500 Jews in Malmo, and some told him that they're afraid to live there and afraid to go out the door. They are regularly taunted, have eggs thrown at them, and otherwise attacked.
Ljunggren wanted to know what it feels like as a Jew in Malmo, so he put on a kippah and Star of David, and went out to walk the streets. He was followed by an undercover reporter who filmed everything.
Along the town's main road, Ljunggren was immediately confronted. One man told him he should leave if he was wearing that 'Jewish shit'. Another shouted at him that he's a Jew-devil.
People shouted at 'dirty Jewish pig' and "Jewish pigs, we'll kill you'.
In the neighborhoods of Lindängen and Rosengård, he was harassed so much, he considered just leaving. In Lindängen a guy warned him to just get out of there. In Rosengård they were attacked by a mob, and when they fled, people threw eggs at them from the windows.
UK: Muslim claims antisemitic speech should be accepted like Charlie Hebdo cartoons
He's right - he's got freedom of speech. Still doesn't change the fact that he's antisemitic and incites against Jews.
The article calls his tweets 'jokes'. But calling Jews slave-traders, murderers, privileged above and beyond the 'normal folk' is not joking. Saying Charlie Hebdo only made fun of Muslims and not Jews (hint, hint, hint) is not a joke. It's a Muslim repeating the often-repeated claim that Muslims are down-trodden while the Jews just whine about non-existent antisemitism and get all the attention.
So, consider the point made.
Jerry Reddick, also known as the Dawgfather, took to the social media platform yesterday in what he argued was a freedom of speech exercise.
The Halifax food vendor posted controversial comments about the Holocaust, Hitler, and the Twin Tower attacks, following with tweets that read, “I know you didn’t think freedom to insult worked both ways,” and “My point about free speech being limited was made loud and clear!”
More: news957, h/t CFCA
UK: Anglican Vicar regrets antisemitic posts, but continues posting them
A year ago, Reverend Stephen Sizer said he regretted posting posts promoting Holocaust denial and Zionist conspiracy theories. He said he should have "reflected on the choice of words more carefully".
Yeah.. well.
As Daphne Anson points out on her blog, he's still at it, accusing Israel of terrorism, of 9/11, of Paris attacks.
He also accuses
And if you accuse him of antisemitism, it's all part of the global
Previous posts:
12/2013: Vicar challenges Church handling of antisemitic case
10/2014: Church of England vicar defends attendance at "anti-Zionist" Iranian conference
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