Suburban Philly b-ball game erupts with chants of “ovens”
YWN reports on an incident in suburban Philadelphia:
A suburban high school basketball game took an ugly turn last week Tuesday night when fans began chanting antisemitic remarks. Now, the incident is being investigated by police and the Anti-Defamation League.
Upper Darby High School’s basketball team drew a large crowd for its home opener. Opponent Lower Merion also sent a large contingent. Fans from both schools who were present say the students were chanting back and forth to each other.
Upper Darby made reference to Lower Merion’s large Jewish population and, the fans say, toward the end of the game began chanting, “Warm up the oven.”
In a letter to parents, Lower Merion principal Sean Hughes said the chant “could only be classified as hate speech.”
Upper Darby spokesperson Dana Spino wouldn’t comment on the specific remark but agreed that students stepped over a line:
“We’re taking this very seriously, and as we’re continuing to investigate exactly what happened, we certainly are not going to tolerate this type of behavior in the future.”
Both schools contacted local police and the ADL. Hughes says Lower Merion’s goal is to make sure the individuals responsible face appropriate consequences.
(Source: KYW Radio 1060)
Comments (0) »Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 8:00 AM | Stand For Israel
Update: Police find stolen Auschwitz sign
Polish police have found the infamous sign stolen last week from the gate to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The sign, which read “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work will set you free”), had been cut into three pieces.
AP reports that five suspects were arrested when the sign was found Sunday night in northern Poland. (The memorial that stands where the camp was–where the sign was stolen from–is in the south, on the other side of the country.) More details were expected to be announced at a press conference planned for 8 am Monday in Krakow (3 a.m. EST).
Comments (0) »Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 8:28 PM | Stand For Israel
Infamous Auschwitz sign stolen
The infamous sign forged by concentration camp prisoners that hung over the gates to the Auschwitz concentration camp was stolen this week. The sign, which historians believe was placed by camp commandant Rudolf Hoss, read “Arbeit macht frei” — “Work will set you free.” Between 1 million and 1.6 million people died there.
Israeli President Shimon Peres met today with the Polish Prime Minister to express shock over the theft:
“The State of Israel and the entire Jewish people ask that you take the necessary steps in order to catch the criminals and return the sign to its place,” Peres said. “The sign has an extremely deep historical meaning for the Jewish people and for the whole world and it serves as a memorial monument to more than 1 million Jews who were murdered in this camp.”
An official from the Auschwitz museum said the thieves must have been familiar with the museum’s closed-circuit camera system and the nightly patrols, and that they escaped by cutting through a fence around the property.
Comments (0) »Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 11:20 AM | Stand For Israel
Is there a link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism?
In the last few years, anti-Israel rhetoric has gone over the top: Lovers of Israel know that there’s a place for criticism of the Jewish State and its actions, but observers have been deeply troubled by how criticism has gone way beyond that legitimate line.
To learn more from a number of experts, watch this television report from IBA News (Israel’s broadcast authority) on how stigmatizing Israel is related to anti-Semitism. (Sorry, no embed video – you’ll have to click the link!)
Comments (0) »Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 4:08 PM | Stand For Israel
Public menorah in Russia vandalized
JTA reports that a public menorah in the Russian city of Smolensk was vandalized yesterday:
The vandals also damaged posters and decorations set up around the menorah in Monday’s incident in downtown Smolensk, according to the Interfax news service.
Smolensk Rabbi Levi Mondshain and head of the local Jewish community Zinovy Agranat filed an official complaint with police, according to the report.
Hundreds of Jews had gathered Sunday in Victory Square in downtown Smolensk for a public candlelighting ceremony.
Comments (0) »Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 12:17 PM | Stand For Israel
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