Germany: Man punched in antisemitic attack

Via MDR h/t Netz Gegen Nazis:

A 36-yaer old harassed a group of people in Halle, calling them "Fucking Jews".   He then followed the group and punched one of them in the face.  The attacker was arrested.

Germany said to ‘indirectly fund’ anti-Israel church group (10 million € over the past 2 years)

The Times of Israel reports:


The German government indirectly provides millions of dollars in funding to a Christian organization which is highly critical of Israel and which pro-Israeli groups have accused of anti-Israeli bias and actions, according to a report on Channel 2 news on Sunday.

Germany, the report stated, helps finance the Bread for the World organization, a Christian group that is chiefly concerned with combating world hunger, but which is also a major contributor to the World Council of Churches. 

The WCC is an ecumenical umbrella group of hundreds of churches spread across over a hundred nations, and claims to represent over 500 million Christians. It is also an organization that has spoken out harshly against Israeli policy vis a vis the Palestinians and which has come out in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) policy against Israeli settlements and companies which support Israeli settlements.

The WCC runs several programs in support of Palestinians in the West Bank, among them the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel and the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs has called the group “hostile” to Israel, while the Anti-Defamation League has accused it of biased, one-sided attitudes towards the Jewish state.

According to Channel 2, Germany’s indirect support for the group has totalled 10 million euros over the past two years.

The German government responded to the report in a statement, saying: “The German government opposes calls for boycotting Israel and does not directly or indirectly fund the World Council of Churches. The German government supports projects to eliminate poverty as well as non-governmental organizations in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”

A long history of Israel-baiting:

Lifted from Norway, Israel and the Jews blog (2013)
Norwegian leader of the World Council of Churches pooh-poohs persecution of Christians in the ME, obsesses about Palestinians 
2008:  World Council of Churches leader: the Israel/South Africa apartheid analogy again

Greece: Holocaust memorial in Kavala desecrated

Via Against Antisemitism:

The Holocaust memorial in Kavala, dedicated just two weeks ago, was now desecrated with white paint.

The memorial has already led to a lot of antisemitic sentiment.  The mayor first wanted the star of david removed from the monument, and later suggested any opponets were working for the Jews.  The Church and other local politicians also came out against the monument, for religious reasons.  and at the unveiling ceremony the government representative said Jews are the new Nazis.

UK: Israeli reporter harassed during broadcast with calls to destroy Israel

Via Algemeiner:

Anti-Israel activists interrupted a live television broadcast from London with chants calling for the destruction of the Jewish state as Channel 10 correspondent Miri Michaeli attempted to report on a conference in London late last week.

As Michaeli updated viewers on a speech from Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog at the London School of Economics (LSE) on Friday, two protesters stood up close alongside her holding up large Palestinian flags and aggressively chanting “free free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free.”  more

Video of the incident here.

Western militaries fear they might be upheld to same standard as Israel

Via the Weekly Standard:

Increasingly, the IDF, and Dabla specifically, have been taking grief from a surprising quarter for their unique policies on avoiding civilian harm: academics and lawyers who are otherwise friendly to the IDF, or at least not openly hostile. Take the case of Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg, a distinguished expert on military law at European University Viadrina in Frankfurt. Dabla recently brought this law professor, and other top military law experts from outside Israel, to further train IDF combat commanders in the intricacies of the law of armed conflict.

Speaking at a smallish military base outside Tel Aviv, the German lawyer acknowledged that the IDF went to “great and noble lengths” to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza and other recent conflicts. However, he believes that the IDF is taking “many more precautions than are required” and in doing so, he fears the IDF “is setting an unreasonable precedent for other democratic countries of the world who may also be fighting in asymmetric wars against brutal nonstate actors who abuse these laws.”

He’s not alone. When Pnina Sharvit Baruch, a former Dabla chief, attends legal conferences around the world, she says she faces “recurring claims” from other militaries’ legal advisers that the IDF “is going too far in its self-imposed restrictions intended to protect civilians, and that this may cause trouble down the line for other democratic nations fighting organ-ized armed groups.” Today, Baruch is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

Israel’s fight with Hamas is not just an example of classic asymmetric warfare, it’s also just plain nasty. Why? Hamas may be a nonstate actor but its militants have access to a broad array of sophisticated weaponry that is more typically found in the arsenals of nation-states. Either way, bad news for Israel.

And maybe bad news for other Western nations as well. “The IDF’s warnings certainly go beyond what the law requires, but they also sometimes go beyond what would be operational good sense elsewhere,” says Michael Schmitt, director of the Stockton Center for the Study for International Law at the U.S. Naval War College. “People are going to start thinking that the United States and other Western democracies should follow the same examples in different types of conflict. That’s a real risk.” Schmitt is the author of a just-completed comprehensive analysis of the IDF’s targeting systems.  more

BDS movement seeks to empty Israel of Jews, former Spanish PM says

Via the Jerusalem Post:

Jose Maria Aznar shares his thoughts on the boycott movement and his vision for Israel to be an integral part of the West.

(...)

"I think BDS is an unfair, discriminatory movement based on a moral double standard that is, in the final analysis, anti-Semitic," Aznar told Maariv.

"Declaring its aim to put pressure on the Israel government, BDS is in fact trying to harm every Israeli citizen and not only the government. In reality what BDS wants is to make life in Israel intolerable so the Jewish nation will not be able to have a normal existence in its state. BDS does not only want to change the government's policy, it wants to empty the country of Jews," Aznar said.   more

Belgium: Israeli in Brussels warns that anti-israel incitment will end in murder

Via YNet (h/t Watch Project):

"Recently the incitement against Israel in my neighborhood had reached scary proportions," A., an Israeli living in Brussels, tells Ynet. "Signs on the streets call for a boycott, all the stores have tzedaka (charity) boxes shaped like the Al Aqsa mosque. People wave Palestinian flags in the streets, yelling profanities against Israel."

A. says that "If they knew I was Israeli - they would hurt me. Anyone who puts on a kippah and dares to walk 50 meters on my street will be attacked. I think the Israeli government needs to intervene and demand that Belgium stops the incitement against Israel, because the situation will end in an attack on Jews, or even murder."

A. lives with his fiancée in the commune Anderlecht in Brussels, Belgium. She is French doctor, and he has dual Belgian-Israeli citizenship.

 (...)

A. tells Ynet that "The Muslims here have created a link between Jews and Israel, and as such can attack Jews too. Just today I ran into a protest where children where yelling 'Nazi Israel'. It's not just Anderlecht. My uncle lives in Antwerp and he says things are similar there. Sadly, we bought an apartment in a bad area. We are trying to leave here as soon as possible. We would never bring kids into this neighborhood, which is filled with hate and violence. We are planning on leaving Brussels all together."

 A. is convinced that Israel needs to warn the Belgian authorities of the growing incitement, "They are looking for violence here. They will attack Jews because that is what they are being taught in their mosques."   more

Ukraine: Leader of Luhansk separatists says “Euromaidan” means “Jewish” Maidan

Via EAJC:

On June 16, 2015, the leader of the pro-Russian puppet regime of the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic” Igor Plotnitsky made yet another anti-Semitic statement while giving a talk in the Russian Federation.

The leader of the Luhansk terrorists gave a lecture titled “Contemporary Ukraine as Fascist State of a New Type” at the Nekrasov State University of Kostroma. He began his speech with the following:

 “I’d like to ask the historians... Or maybe the philologists, can’t choose, really. Why was it called the “Euromaidan”? Where did the name come from? From the territory? Or mayhap from the people? Those same people who now make up the majority of leaders of what was once our Ukraine? (“Jews” is “evrei” in Russian. - transl.) I have nothing against... Valtzman, Groysman, and many others. I have nothing against the Jews as a people, as the chosen people, we can talk about this separately if we have the time. But the crux of the matter is that when we call what has happened a “Euromaidan,” we infer that the leaders now are representatives of the people who have been harmed the most by Nazism...”  more

Netherlands: Muslim, Leftist opposition to Amsterdam-Tel Aviv twinning

Via Elsevier, Republiek Allochtonie, EO:

The city of Amsterdam will probably not be twinning with Tel Aviv, due to strong opposition in the city council.

Mayor Eberhard van der Laan (Labour) considered the idea last year, but it was put on hold due to the Gaza War.  This year the proposal added Ramallah as well, to satisfy both sides. 

The twin-city agreement was supposed to encourage cooperation in the fields of economy, cuture, education (and in the case of Tel Aviv also gay and transgender policies).

But when the issue was brought up in the city council, the Socialists, Labour, Greens and Party for the Animals opposed it


The Socialists oppose the plan because "It's not easy to separate Tel Aviv from the rest of Israel".  Fraction leader  Daniël Peters  denies that the pro-Palestinian (Muslim) protests influenced his party and says that he was more influenced by the (pro-Palestinian) Jewish group Een Ander Joods Geluid (A Different Jewish Voice)

Moroccan organizations also opposed the idea.  In a letter sent to the city, they said that the city is constantly telling the Moroccan community not to import the Middle East conflict to Amsterdam and to remain calm and so they ask the city not to increase tensions.

They also added that they do not see what it's such a high priority to go through with this agreement, and instead the city should focus on fighting racism, discrimination, Islamophobia and antisemitism.

Germany: Jewish leader want Protestants to condemn Martin Luther’s anti-Semitic teachings

Via the Jerusalem Post:

Germany’s top Jewish leader urged Protestants to confront and condemn anti-Jewish teachings of Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation.

Speaking at a conference in Berlin last week, Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said he hopes for a clear sign from the Protestant Church condemning Luther’s anti-Jewish writings ahead of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

Luther’s statements on Jews were “not at all acceptable,” the Juedische Allgemeine weekly quoted Schuster as saying at a June 10 conference titled “Reformer, heretic, enemy of the Jews — Jewish perspectives on Martin Luther,” which was organized by the Central Council and the Evangelical Academy.

In his voluminous 1543 text “On the Jews and their Lies,” Luther called Jews a “base” people and urged faithful Protestants to burn down synagogues and drive Jews from their homes. Luther was responsible for regulations barring Jews from working or living in his region.

Nikolaus Schneider, former council president of the Protestant Church in Germany, told Schuster during a public discussion at the conference that the church has begun to confront Luther’s anti-Jewish sentiments, adding that he was fairly sure the council would issue a declaration on the matter in time for the anniversary, Juedische Allgemeine reported.  more

Russia’s emerging anti-Israel movement

Via Mosaic Magazine:

For some time, Russia has pursued friendly relations with Israel while unequivocally backing Palestinian statehood. But Tatyana Nosenko notes a new form of anti-Israel sentiment stemming from with the “Eurasian” ideology closely associated with Vladimir Putin:

[P]roponents of the so-called Eurasian ideology [endorse a brand of] Russian particularism based on [the country’s] special values and traditions. Their severe criticism of Zionism often borders on anti-Semitism. Jews are condemned for the dissemination of the image of Arabs, and Muslims in general, as terrorists—with the alleged aim of destroying Russia and breaking its traditional ties with the world of Islam. According to the holders of these views, the instigators of national and religious conflicts want . . . “to make our country fully dependent on the racist part of the Israeli political establishment and its Western masters.” . . .

[Eurasianists] do not see the struggle for an independent Palestine simply as a political task to realize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Russian Orthodox nationalism [on which they draw heavily] is imbued with a messianic idea, and its partisans consider Palestinian independence as a tool for the realization of Russia’s historical mission through the reemergence of the Russian sacred presence in the Holy Land. . . .

[Eurasianist] circles are also known for promoting different conspiracy theories [according to which] all the evils and misfortunes of the Middle East, like the emergence of militant Islam and its most radical groups, are attributed to the activities of the American CIA and Israeli intelligence services.

Read more at Institute for National Security Studies

Spain: Sports writer claims ‘Jewish Lobby’ pressuring Barcelona to ditch Qatar sponsorship

Xavier Bosch is expressing a widely held view among European elites that Jews, their diabolical "lobby" and the "Jewish mafia" have a pernicious influence on the world.  For instance, French former financial advisor to Liliane Bettencourt (L'Oréal)  Patrice de Maistre was secretely recorded, in 2009, telling Mrs. Bettencourt, whose son in law is Jewish: "How odd, one always finds them [the Jews] where there is money".

The Algemeiner reports:

Spanish sports commentator Xavier Bosch wrote a column this week claiming a “Jewish lobby” and the Mossad were influencing the FC Barcelona soccer club.

In his latest op-ed for Mundo Deportivo, Bosch accused lobbyists with “unlimited money and inordinate influence” of trying to “control the world and its international institutions.” He warned against allowing a “Jewish lobby” to put pressure on Barcelona to end its $200 million shirt sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation.

Additionally, he said “Mossad agents” had infiltrated the club for years, perhaps referring to reports that former Barcelona president Joan Laporta hired detectives to spy on players. Laporta is again running for president of FC Barcelona scheduled for July 18.

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Spanish pro-Israel group Hatzad Hasheni said it was “despicable” that Mundo Deportivo — the oldest sports publication still in circulation in Spain — would “provide Xavier Bosch with a platform to recite …  the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” It called Bosch’s lobbyist and Mossad accusations “plain wrong.” The group said it was “appalled and hurt” that Deportivo opted to publish the piece.

Bosch responded to claims his article was antisemitic, calling the allegations “a malicious misinterpretation of my piece.”  More.

Switzerland: Everyday antisemitism at the airport

Because Israelis = Jews = stingy.  Everybody knows that.

Via Sarah Tuttle-Singer@Times of Israel:

And I look at my passports, both dark blue, the US thicker, and the Israeli three hairs wider, the same picture inside.

“Ok, does one get me a discount over the other? Because I’ll pick that one.”

“Non,” Marie laughed “but I think you just made your choice,” she said as I watched her key these letters in:

Israélienne

Germany: Cologne planned to feature Breaking the Silence exhibit in Israel celebrations

Via Times of Israel:

The Cologne municipality this week decided to host an exhibition critical of IDF soldiers, days after it had canceled it under heavy protest from the local Jewish community and the Israeli embassy in Berlin.

The exhibition by the Israeli NGO “Breaking the Silence” will be shown, “in an appropriate context” in the spring of 2016, according to a statement released by the municipality. A group of local non-governmental groups dealing with the Middle East has been tasked with developing “a concept that will do justice with the complex situation in the region,” the statement [German] added.

The exhibit, which features testimonies of Israeli soldiers accusing the army of mistreating Palestinians, was originally planned to feature in a commemoration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel later this month.

But after discussions with Israeli diplomats and representatives of the Cologne Jewish community, who argued that the presentation of voices extremely critical of the IDF was one-sided and could lead to anti-Semitic sentiments, Mayor Jürgen Roters last week decided to cancel the exhibition. Roters was told that an exhibit of Israeli reservists accusing the army of serious crimes would be misplaced in the framework of a celebration of the jubilee of diplomatic ties.    more

U.K.: Forget the Golders Green demo, let's focus our anger where it’s needed: on the latent Jew haters

Opinion by Keith Fraser @ Jewish News:

So the Jewish community is utterly incensed by a few fools looking to seek attention by demonstrating open anti-semitism in Golders Green.  We are all rightly concerned and even paranoid about the rise in anti-semitic attacks here and across Europe.  But, when you look at the facts, the people organising this demonstration, are merely a small bunch of ‘air-heads’ whose sole aim is to obtain a reaction and thus, attention and notoriety.  [...]

What is threatening our life here as Jews, is the covert form of anti-semitism. Rarely does one openly shout hatred of Jews, but many sadly do of the only nation state of the Jews, and the rise in anti-semitic attacks is down to this one reason. 

People have quoted to me “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” I accept that. But why is it that members of our community all of a sudden seem motivated to fight back in this instance, against a tiny number of idiots, when approximately this time last year, when Israel was in a war of self defence, a considerable majority of Jews did nothing similar against the evil demonising of our people and only homeland? It simply doesn’t make sense and it seems that when it really matters, we always fail to not do enough. 

Instead, we should be more focused on standing up to ‘Stop the War’ and other similar groups, because the likes of these people, some that include public figures such as Ken Livingstone, Diane Abbot, Jeremy Corbyn (who is now a Labour leadership candidate) etc, wear an ‘acceptable’ mask, and are effectively responsible for the rise in attacks on British Jews and actually, pose the real threat. 

I myself ran as a parliamentary candidate recently in Hackney North & Stoke Newington, which includes the Stamford Hill Hassidic community. 

At the time, I was told not to sell myself to them on the Zionist support. My answer was, even if you’re not a Zionist Jew, the vilification of Israel, inevitably leads to anti-semitism, so regardless, we should all understand on which side our bread is buttered.

I repeat; the biggest threat to the safety of the Jewish community in this country and elsewhere in Europe & the world, are not the open Jew haters, but the latent ones, with their acceptable vitriol of the State of Israel. They are certainly more dangerous and worrying than a small number of morons in Golders Green one Shabbat afternoon seeking a bit of cheap attention.

So, to people who are incensed by this group upfront anti-semites, wake up and understand where the real threat to us lie, and if you are able and bothered to show up on 4^th July, then make sure you are where you need to be the next time there are more covert Jew hating events planned. They are ‘ten to every penny’.