Author of vile cartoon blames Israel for anti-Semitism
A German cartoonist who drew an image of a Jew about to eat a Palestinian child, with a glass of blood to wash it down, distanced himself from the cartoon following criticism of it — “because it can be perceived as anti-Semitic” – but then went on to blame the Jewish state for it anyway.
Walter Hermann’s caricature was visible as part of an enlarged photo of an anti-Israel demonstration, JTA reports. Until recently it was on display as part of a “Wailing Wall exhibit” in the center of Cologneby Hermann, but it has been removed from Cologne’s Cathedral Square.
We’re not sure what the “Wailing Wall exhibit” was, although its title is rather ironic. After all, the Western Wall of the Temple Mount got the nickname the “wailing wall” (which many modern Jews find a touch offensive) from the crying of Jews who would go there to pray for the restoration of the Temple, of Jewish sovereignty, and for God to stop the endless persecution of the tiny people.
In a remarkably un-self-aware statement distancing himself from his work, Hermann said that Israel itself was to blame for anti-Semitism and should “avoid actions that can revive deep-seated, anti-Jewish sentiment.”
Meanwhile, according to German newspapers, the local prosecutor failed to bring charges of ” incitement to hate” because they were brought by non-Jews. He said he will consider charges only from Jewish groups since only complaints by the group affected can be considered.
Perhaps the prosecutor has forgotten that most of Germany’s Jews are not around to file complaints.
(Also, we wonder whether the infamously anti-Semitic cartoons in the Nazi rag Der Sturmer were also Israel’s fault.)
Comments (0) »Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 9:05 AM | Stand For Israel
Report shows that London has become the epicenter of Hamas activity, Jews feel “under attack”
We’ve told you before how the British legal system is allowing itself to be used to harass Israelis — often at the behest of pro-Palestinian groups that are openly supportive of terror groups like Hamas.
Now, the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, a research center near Tel Aviv, has released a report showing that, beyond having a conveniently quirky judiciary, London has become the epicenter of Hamas’ political, propaganda and legal activities in Europe (click the link – that’s basically the report’s title).
Hamas operatives have been particularly successful in controlling the discourse regarding Arabs in Israel, and initiating widespread anti-Zionism throughout the UK.
Ironically, Hamas’ success is due to its taking advantage of Britain’s open society:
1. Political freedom and freedom of speech prevailing in Britain allows Hamas to incite against Israel, despite Hamas’ designation as a terrorist organization by the European Union. Though activities by terror groups is technically illegal in Britain, the legal system has shown great tolerance, which has been exploited by radical Islamic elements, including Hamas.
2. A broad infrastructure of Hamas activists, supporters, and collaborators took refuge in Britain in the 1990s, which work with radical leftist organizations that are hostile to Israel and the West. This enables Hamas to reach British political, media and academic elites.
3. The UK is one of the world’s media hubs, especially for Arab s newspapers, and broadcast and electronic media. This gives Hamas access to key outlets to spread its messages throughout the Muslim world.
The report notes that much of Hamas’ propaganda work is targeted at children and that the organization is able to get money and supplies “for Gaza” (really, for Hamas) from British organizations and politicians.
None of this would come as a surprise to brilliant British firebrand Melanie Phillips, whose book “Londonistan” argued that British “benign neglect” has allowed radicals to gain way too much of a foothold in the city. In her blog, Phillips quipped that, now, it should be called “Hamasistan.”
Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that Britain’s Jewish community reports feeling “under attack.” According to London’s Independent, Lord Mitchell, a Labor…
Read More » Comments (1) »Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 10:20 AM | Stand For Israel
Rabbi’s Message: Anti-Semitism lingers, even in the West
Rabbi Eckstein’s message for this week:
In some countries, anti-Semitic intimidation and violence are daily facts of life for Jews. Often, these are countries ruled by radical Muslim regimes hostile not just to Israel, but to the Jewish people as a whole.
In the West, we like to tell ourselves that public anti-Semitism is a thing of the past. And, indeed, it’s true that Jews throughout the Western world enjoy freedom of religion and freedom from fear and intimidation that is unheard of in most Arab and Muslim states. But then a story surfaces to remind us that what one author called “the longest and deepest hatred of human history” can not only live, but flourish, even in countries considered modern and “enlightened.”
In this case, the story that caught my eye comes from Sweden: “Threats and harassment are becoming increasingly commonplace for Jewish residents in Malmö in southern Sweden, leading many Jews to leave the city out of fear for their safety,” it begins, going on to say that crimes against Malmö’s Jewish residents doubled in 2009 from the previous year. This precipitous rise has created a climate of fear among the town’s small Jewish population. One father of two moved his family to Israel after concluding, “My children aren’t safe here. It’s going to get worse… Imagine that my family can’t feel safe in fantastic Sweden.”
That such a climate of anti-Jewish hatred could exist even in a democratic country like Sweden shows the pervasiveness and persistence of anti-Semitism. And the situation in Sweden is not unique. A recent study conducted by the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) found that anti-Semitism across Europe has risen to a level not seen since World War II. The spike is part of a rising tide of anti-Semitism worldwide that is fueled not just by radical Islamists, but by the political far left and far right as well.
Statistics recently released by JAFI show that this rise in anti-Semitism has coincided with a rise in aliyah (immigration to Israel), making it clear that many Jews have come to their biblical and historic homeland…
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Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 3:33 PM | Stand For Israel
Where anti-Semitism, bad art, and an absence of taste collide
SFI did not have the privilege of living in an era in which art was created to elevate the human spirit or to add beauty to the world. Alas, we’re stuck in an age in which many self-described “artists” seek not to lift souls but rather to “challenge viewers’ perceptions” (What does that mean?) or sledgehammer through some heavy-handed political theme. However lame those agendas can be, there are the rare “artists” who produce work that is, simply, vile.
A Danish gallery–apparently to coincide with International Holocaust Memorial Day–exhibited a piece by someone named Marco Evaristti (whose previous “art” includes inviting gallery visitors to turn on blenders filled with goldfish): A large model of the entrance to Auschwitz, which he says includes enamel and gold fillings taken from teeth of Nazi victims.
Evaristti–who was born Jewish and converted to Buddhism–has said that the work was meant “to relate to all the atrocities of the world which many tend to forget” and that he wanted to unite some of the most beautiful things in the world with some of the meanest.
We know that that sounds really profound and all. But, really, it’s just stupid. And utterly tasteless.
Some people have no respect.
Comments (2) »Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 10:34 AM | Stand For Israel
Anne Frank’s protector passes away at 100
If long life is sometimes a reward for goodness done in this world, we know why Miep Gies lived to 100.
Gies and several other non-Jewish Dutchmen hid Otto Frank’s family, along with four others, in a secret annex in Amsterdam during War War II. Gies had worked for Otto Frank as a secretary. Not only did she risk her life to provide them a safe haven–and bring them food and other necessities–but Gies made sure that the diary of Otto Frank’s younger daughter, Anne, didn’t fall into Nazi hands after they and the others hiding in the annex were captured by the Nazis.
Giep passed away yesterday at 100:
The family stayed in the secret room from July 1942 until August 4, 1944, when they were arrested by Gestapo and Dutch police after being betrayed by an informant. Two of Gies’ team were arrested that day, but she and her friend, Bep Voskuijl, were left behind — and found 14-year-old Anne’s papers.
“And there Bep and I saw Anne’s diary papers lying on the floor. I said, ‘Pick them up!’ Bep stood there staring, frozen. I said, ‘Pick them up! Pick them up!’ We were afraid, but we did out best to collect all the papers,” Gies said in a 1998 interview with The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
“Then we went downstairs. And there we stood, Bep and I. I asked, ‘What now, Bep?’ She answered, ‘You’re the oldest. You hold on to them. So I did.”
The girl had chronicled two years of the emotions and fears that gripped her during hiding, as well as candid thoughts on her family, her feelings for friend-in-hiding Peter van Pels, and dreams of being a professional writer. Mixed into the entries were the names of the Dutch helpers, who risked their lives to keep the family’s secret.
“I didn’t read Anne’s diary papers. … It’s a good thing I didn’t because if I had read them I would have had to burn them,” she said in the 1998 interview. “Some of the information…
Read More » Comments (4) »Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 8:34 AM | Stand For Israel
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