Simon Wiesenthal Centre Names Top Antisemites of 2012

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

International human rights group Simon Wiesenthal Center has recognized 2012’s biggest anti-Semites in its annual top 10 list of worst offenders. 

Tied for the top spot were Muhammad Badie and Futouh Abd al-Nabi Mansour of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. The two earned the title for the Brotherhood after making a number of inflammatory statements against Israel, as well as for a public prayer by Mansour earlier in the year, calling on Allah to destroy Jews and their supporters.  

READ MORE... 

Indictment Filed Against Store in Poland for Selling Antisemitic Accessories to Soccer Fans

FSWC Reports:

From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) -- An indictment was filed against a store in Poland for selling anti-Semitic accessories for soccer fans. 

The Lodz District Attorney's Office filed the indictment Friday with the district court in that city.

READ MORE...
 

New Evidence Revealed Against Alleged Former SS Guard Residing in U.S.

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com: 

The case of an 87-year-old Philadelphia man accused by Germany of serving as an SS guard at Auschwitz has largely centered on whether he was stationed at the part of the death camp used as a killing machine for Jews.

Johann "Hans" Breyer - while admitting he was an Auschwitz guard - insists he was never there.
World-War II-era documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate otherwise.
 
READ MORE...  

New Statue of Hitler at Site of Warsaw Ghetto Causes Outrage

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

A statue of Adolf Hitler has reportedly been placed in a building located in what used to be the Warsaw Ghetto. The Simon Wiesenthal Center said the statue, which depicts Hitler kneeling in prayer and is titled "Him," is part of a new exhibition by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.

The center issued a statement Thursday calling the display a "tasteless misuse of art."

READ MORE...  

Remnants of Jewish Tombstones Destroyed in Greece During WWII Found

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

In a find that local Jewish groups have described as highly significant, Greek police said last week that hundreds of marble headstones and other fragments from Jewish graves destroyed during the Nazi occupation in World War II have been recovered.

The 668 fragments were found buried in a plot of land in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, following a 70-year search for the remains of graves smashed when the city's main Jewish cemetery was destroyed.

READ MORE...  

Canada Adds Iranian Revolutionary Guards Unit to Terrorist List

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Canada added Iran's Quds Force to a list of terrorist groups on Thursday, saying the elite special operations unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard had been arming the Taliban, Hamas and other terror and militia groups.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the Quds Force was responsible for "exporting the Iranian Revolution through activities such as facilitating terrorist operations." 

READ MORE...  

Ruling Party in South Africa Endorses BDS Campaign Against Israel

FSWC Reports:

From Haaretz:

Johannesburg - The ruling African National Congress voted at its annual conference Thursday night to support the Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. The ANC declared it was "unapologetic in its view that the Palestinians are the victims and the oppressed in the conflict with Israel." 

In another resolution referring to Israeli anti-African protests in June that turned violent in south Tel Aviv, the conference declared: "The ANC abhors the recent Israeli state-sponsored xenophobic attacks and deportation of Africans and requests that this matter should be escalated to the African Union." 

READ MORE...
 

Iranian Media Outlet: Newtown Massacre was an Israeli Conspiracy

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

"The Newtown massacre was the result of an Israeli conspiracy" an Iranian news website proclaimed Tuesday.

The United States is still reeling from the murderous rampage that left 20 children and six adults dead in Newtown, Connecticut, on Friday. Tehran – which on Sunday offered its condolences to the victims and their families – is now promoting an alternative explanation to the horrific event. 

READ MORE...  

Six-year old Jewish Boy Youngest Victim of Shooting Rampage in Newtown, Connecticut

FSWC Reports:

From Haaretz:
 

A Jewish child was identified as the youngest of the 26 victims killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. 

First grade student Noah Pozner, the youngest of the victims murdered on Friday, had just turned 6 years old November 20. He will be laid to rest on Sunday. 

READ MORE...
 

New Law in Germany Protects Circumcision

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

German politicians passed a law on Wednesday to protect the right to circumcise infant boys in a show of support for Muslims and Jews angered by a local court ban on the practice in May.

The ban – imposed on the grounds that circumcision amounted to "bodily harm" – triggered an emotional debate over the treatment of Jews and other religious minorities, a sensitive subject in a country still haunted by its Nazi past. 

READ MORE...  

Should Trudeau Speak at Islamic Conference?

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center remains concerned that Justin Trudeau's scheduled appearance at an upcoming Islamic conference in Toronto will lend credibility to the terror organization Hamas and violates traditional Liberal values.

READ MORE in the National Post. . .

Painting Made From Ashes of Holocaust Victims Pulled from Swedish Art Gallery

FSWC Reports:

From Haaretz:

A Swedish art gallery in Lund reportedly has cancelled the exhibition of a painting made of Holocaust victims’ ashes.

The gallery owner, Martin Bryder, is quoted as telling Sydsvenskan, a local newspaper, that he decided to pull the exhibition of a painting by Carl Michael von Hausswolff because of protests by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Jewish community of Malmo. The Simon Wiesenthal Center called the painting a "desecration" and "abomination." 

READ MORE...
 

Teacher in France Fired After Complaining About Antisemitism in Her Classroom

FSWC Reports:

From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

A school in France terminated the employment of a teacher shortly after she complained about anti-Semitic behavior by her students.

Lyonmag.com, a news site, reported that the teacher’s contract at the Condorcet secondary school in Saint-Priest, a southern suburb of Lyon, was terminated on Nov. 28, following the publication of an open letter about her written by Lyon’s chief rabbi, Richard Wertenschlag.

Wertenschlag published the “worried” letter about the teacher, who is in the process of converting to Judaism, in the Bulletin de Tilsitt, a local publication. The rabbi wrote that she had told him her students repeatedly insulted her in connection with her conversion.

READ MORE...

THOUSANDS CHEER HAMAS PLEDGE TO DESTROY ISRAEL

FSWC Reports. . .

From the National Post

For four days, an emboldened Khaled Meshaal has sprouted fiery rhetoric to hundreds of thousands of hero-worshipping Gazans.

The Hamas leader, often with Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh by his side, has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and pledged never to accept a two-state solution. He also urged Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to heal their rift and work together — a reconciliation that would almost certainly doom any peace process, say commentators.

On Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, accused the international community of a “deafening silence” in response to Mr. Meshaal. He also directed his anger at Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas for not speaking out.

READ MORE. . . 

Sale of Barbed Wire from Former Concenctration Camp Halted Amid Protests from Jewish Groups

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

The foundation in charge of a former Nazi concentration camp in the Netherlands has cancelled the planned sale of pieces of barbed wire dug up at the site after protests from Jewish groups.

Kamp Amersfoort Foundation director Harry Ruijs said he would no longer sell the 50 pieces of wire for €10 ($13) apiece to finance an exhibition of artifacts discovered at the site around 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Amsterdam.
 
READ MORE...  

European Jewish Congress Slams Antisemitic Attacks in Sweden

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Dr. Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress (EJC), has warned that the Swedish Jewish community is in grave danger after a series of anti-Semitic incidents, most notably an attack on two Jewish women in Malmo early last week.

“The situation is intolerable for Jews in Malmo and every week we hear of another attack,” Kantor said. “The community is slowly being pushed out; it is dying of '1,000 cuts.' Each attack should be seen and dealt with as a part of a greater pattern to make Jewish life unsustainable in Sweden.
 
READ MORE...  

Swedish Art Gallery Defends Painting Made from Ashes of Holocaust Victims

FSWC Reports:

From Haaretz:

A Swedish art gallery owner defended his gallery’s decision to show a painting made of Holocaust victims’ ashes as “having no moral flaws.” 

Martin Bryder, who owns a gallery in Lund, told Sverige Radio that he “sees no moral problem or flaw with exhibiting” the painting created by artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff using the ashes of victims from the Majdanek extermination camp. 

The exhibition is scheduled to open at the Martin Bryder Gallery on Dec. 15.  According to a local newspaper, Sydsvenskan, von Hausswolff had collected the ashes more than 20 years ago. 

READ MORE...
 

Swedish Artist Uses Ashes of Holocaust Victims for Painting

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com: 

A Swedish artist is accused of desecrating the bodies of Jewish Holocaust victims by using ashes taken from the crematoria of the Majdanek concentration camp to paint a picture, the British Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Wednesday.

According to the report, artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff mixed the ashes from the Nazi facility with water to compose a small painting of grey streaks, and his work is now on display in a gallery in the Swedish city of Lund.

READ MORE... 
 

German States Seek to Ban Neo-Nazi Party

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

The heads of Germany's 16 federal states unanimously agreed on Thursday to push ahead with a legal bid to ban the far-right National Democratic Party  (NPD) despite reservations from Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The agreement follows a similar recommendation by regional interior ministers on Wednesday. The Bundesrat upper house, which represents the federal states, will now vote on Dec. 14 on whether to file a case with the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.

READ MORE...  

Ecuadorian President Equates Jewish Victims of Terrorism with Libyans killed in NATO bombings

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Jewish leaders expressed outrage Wednesday over a statement Ecuador's President Rafael Correa made about Argentina's worst terrorist attack. Correa told a TV interviewer that he was familiar with the 1994 bombing that killed 85 people in the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires. The bombing was the worst terror attack in Argentina's history.
READ MORE...

Miami Beach Menorah Vandalized (Again)

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

A large menorah decorated with an assortment of seashells, which is on display in Miami Beach, was vandalized Sunday night with the words "You Killed Jesus" scrawled on its base, Fox News reported Tuesday. 

This specific menorah has a history of its own, being torn down three times throughout its first year in the public space. The anti-Semitic writing was added on the 11th anniversary of the first time it was vandalized. 

READ MORE.... 

New York City would-be synagogue bomber pleads guilty

FSWC Reports:  

From ynetnews.com:

An Algerian immigrant charged with plotting to blow up synagogues in New York City has pleaded guilty to state terrorism charges.

READ MORE...

Son of Nazi hunters threatened for his support of Israel

  FSWC Reports...

 

From ynetnews.com:

"I am not afraid of the threats. I might not be brave, but I'm certainly not a coward, especially after my parents' car was blown up and we received three mail bombs," Arno Klarsfeld told Yedioth Ahronot. 

READ MORE...

Hungarians Protest Antisemitism

FSWC Reports...

From Ynetnews.com:

A call in the Hungarian parliament for Jews to be registered on lists as threats to national security sparked international condemnation of Nazi-style policies and a protest outside the legislature in Budapest on Tuesday.

READ MORE...

Antisemitic Abuse at British Soccer Match

FSWC Reports. . .

From the UK Telegraph:

Just days after Ashley Mills and several other Spurs fans were attacked by a group of neo-Nazi thugs before Tottenham's game in Rome, West Ham supporters sang "Viva Lazio", "Can we stab you every week?" and hissed on several occasions, mocking the mass execution of Jews during the Second World War.

READ MORE . . .

Israeli children learn to sing through the terror of war

Even during a rocket strike, Israeli children are taught – not to hate, but how to sing through fear & terror

CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video

Despite Attacks, Israeli Hospitals Continue to Treat Gazan Patients

While Hamas terrorists continue to launch rockets against Israel, hospitals in Israel continue to care for the Palestinian sick and injured.

READ MORE . . . 



                                   

The Map Tells the Story

Israelis Living Under Terror

Israelis living under terror have 15 seconds to run from an ongoing barrage of rockets from Gaza to save themselves & their families. 

CLICK HERE to see what is happening in Southern Israel on YouTube

FSWC Media Release on YRP Investigation into Antisemitic Hate at Toronto East End Madrassah

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center Praises York Region Police for Placing Thornhill Jaffari Center & Toronto East End Madrassah on Notice & Noting Leaders are Responsible for Antisemitic Content

“Unlike the beliefs of the ancient Romans, the Jews, and the Nazis, Islam is not restricted to a certain community of certain race, but is for all human beings and aims at human prosperity and salvation.”

 - Excerpt from curriculum taught to elementary level Muslim students at the Toronto East End Madrassah

Toronto, November 8, 2012 – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) – the organization which lodged the complaint with police in May 2012, is pleased to learn the Islamic Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat of Toronto (ISIJ) – tied to the Jaffari Center in Thornhill, Ontario, and the Toronto East End Madrassah have been put on notice by the York Region Police (YRP) that the antisemitic hate contained in their school curriculum is not acceptable, and reassured by a YRP report suggesting Canadians must examine our level of tolerance for allowing such offensive ideology,- that is in conflict with our country’s core values, to be taught to our children.

Although criminal charges are not being laid in this instance, the YRP Report (http://www.friendsofsimonwiesenthalcenter.com/downloads/news_110812.pdf) makes it clear that further promotion of antisemitic material, resulting in a cumulative effect of hate propaganda, may lead to a different outcome:

“Repetition can remove ambiguity and ultimately tip the scale into the criminal.”

   - p.5, YRP East End Madrassah Hate Propaganda Investigation

READ MORE . . . 

French Jewish leader compared Radical Islamism to Nazism

19. October 2012 – Richard Prasquier, president of the French Jewish community umbrella organization CRIF, has compared Radical Islamism to Nazism following the rise of anti-Semitism in France.  He stated that the views had two characteristics in common. Read more.

Jewish graves desecrated in New Zealand

19. October 2012 – About 20 graves in central Auckland, some dating back to the 1880s, were vandalized with spray-painted with Nazi symbols, including swastikas. Stephen Goodman, president of the New Zealand Jewish Council, said it was the first anti-Semitic vandalism at the cemetery. Read more.

Dutch town drops plan for joint memorial to Holocaust victims and German soldiers

19. October 2012 – Following protests in the Netherlands, the Dutch town of Geffen decided not to display the names of German Wehrmacht soldiers along with Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Geffen’s Mayor, Roel Augusteijn, said that the monument “was meant to promote reconciliation”. Read more.

Russia to save Israel from UNESCO condemnation

18. October 2012 – On Wednesday members of the UNESCO vote on five resolutions proposed by Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Syria. If passed, it would have led to strong criticism of the state of Israel. Russia’s envoy to the UN successfully suggested an alternative plan, delaying resolution for a six month period in which an independent UN fact-finding mission would be send to Jerusalem. Read more.

Germany’s parliament considering reviewing of education programs in school

18. October 2012 – After receiving a government commissioned report showing that anti-Semitism in Germany remains high the German parliament, the Bundestag, considered changing education programs at German schools. Currently the education on anti-Semitism in Germany focuses on the Holocaust only. Read more.

Twitter blocked access to a neo-Nazi account in Germany      

18. October 2012 – Twitter has blocked access to a neo-Nazi account in Germany but tweets are still visible around the world. It is the first time that Twitter has exercised its ability to block content on a country-by-country basis. Read more. 

Dutch Jews oppose joint monument to Holocaust victims and German soldiers

18. October 2012 – Chairman of the Hague-based Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, Onno Hoes, asked not to unveil the monuments, which he defined as dangerous – fearing the falsification of historical events. Read more. 

Hamas opposing Holocaust education in UN-run Gazan schools

18. October 2012 – The Hamas again rejects teaching about the Holocaust in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip. Hamas stated that it is more important for children to learn about the “massacres perpetrated by the Zionist enemy”. Read more. 

American Congressman Pascrell supports renaming Park after Holocaust Denier

17. October 2012 – Congressman Bill Pascrell (NJ) offered his support for renaming a section of Clifton’s Richardson Scales Park in memory of Chester Grabowski.  Grabowski was a known anti-Semite and Holocaust denier. Read more. 

Rabbi Cooper’s open letter to Egyptian President Morsi

17. October 2012 – Rabbi Cooper, Associate Dean, and Yitzchok Adlerstein, Director of Interfaith Affairs of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, wrote an open letter to Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi. The authors accused the Egyptian state as being anti-Semitic and demanded change. Read more. 

Colombian President states the world must recognize Israel as a Jewish state

17. October 2012 – Colombia’s President, Juan Manuel Santos, states at a ceremony on Tuesday in Bogota, he was bestowed with the Shalom Prize of the World Jewish Congress, that the world has to recognize Israel as the state of Jewish people.  Read more.

Twitter may face legal actions over French anti-Semitic tweets

17. October 2012 – French anti-racism groups states they were looking at all legal options to target the authors of thousands of anti-Semitic and racist posts on social platform Twitter. Read more.

Italian Prime Minister attended for the first time the annual ceremony commemorating the roundup of Rome’s Jews in 1943

17. October 2012 – Mario Monti, Italians Prime Minister, attended as first Prime Minister in the history of Italy the annual ceremony commemorating the roundup up of Jewish people in Rome by Nazi troops on October 16^th, 1943. Read more.

Greek Neo- Nazi party, Golden Dawn, on the rise

16. October 2012 – The Greek Golden Dawn party blames immigrants for high unemployment rates in Greece and Jews for the financial crisis. Golden Dawn denies the Holocaust, uses neo-Nazi signs and symbols, i.e. the swastika, and supports fascist ideology. Read more.

21-year-old man who attacked Jewish leader in Budapest sentences to prison

16. October 2012 – The 21 year-old man who attacked 62- year old Jewish leader, Andras Kerenyi, in Budapest was sentenced to two years in prison 11 days after the attack. He was convicted on charges of violence and causing light physical injury to Andras Kerenyi. Read more.

Vienna’s Jewish archives to remain in Israel

16. October 2012 – Austria’s Jewish community legally challenged the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish people in Jerusalem to transfer the archives of Vienna’s Jewry from Israel to Austria. Parts of the Austrian archives were transferred to Israel as a permanent loan in the past. Read more. 

New sanctions imposed on Iran by the EU

16. October 2012 - The European Union governments imposed new sanctions against major Iranian state companies in the oil and gas industry.  Furthermore restrictions on the central bank were strengthened. Read more.

19 Iranian state-controlled television and radio channels were barred from broadcasting in the EU

16. October 2012 – Eutelsat, one of Europe’s biggest satellite services, barred 19 Iranian state-controlled television and radio channels from broadcasting in the European Union.  Critics of Iranian state-controlled broadcasting in Europe have long argued about non-objective Iranian media. Read more.

EU praised by Netanyahu for tougher sanctions against Iran

16. October 2012 – Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, praised the European Union for its decision on toughening sanctions against Iran. Stating those measures were having a strong impact on the Iranian economy. Read more.

Fidel Castro recruited Nazis during the Cuban Missile Crisis

16. October 2012 - The German intelligence released papers revealing that Fidel Castro, former Cuban President, hired former Nazi officers from Germany to train his army during the Cuban Missile Crisis the 1960s. Read more.

Anti-Semitic picture posted on Occupy Wall Street Facebook Page

15. October 2012 – A highly anti-Semitic picture was posted on the official Occupy Wall Street Facebook Page.  The director of legislative affairs at B’nai Brith, Eric Fusfield, condemned the picture and asked for removal. Read more.

Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden was called to an emergency meeting at the Swedish foreign ministry

15. October 2012 – Isaac Bachman, Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden, was called to the Swedish foreign ministry to explain media reports published on Sunday October 14^th, claiming Sweden was to object to proposed further sanctions on Iran at a meeting of the EU’s Foreign Ministers. Read more.

Jewish groups requested the EU repeatedly to place Hezbollah on terror list

15. October 2012 – The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) repeatedly asked the European Commission to classify the Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.  The ADL noted that the Hezbollah’s terrorist activities have been well documented for the past thirty years. Read more.

World’s largest Jewish community center to open in the Ukraine

15. October 2012 – Financed by two Ukrainian businessmen,  Hennadiy Boholiubov and Ihor Kolomoisky, thr world’s largest Jewish community center will open tomorrow in Dnipropetrovsk. The Center compromises of a synagogue, a Holocaust museum, a banquet hall, a hotel, kosher restaurants and a library. Read more.  

Jewish man attacked on a subway in Paris

14. October 2012 – A Jewish man was attacked and rendered unconscious in on a subway in Paris. He stepped onto the subway in front of his synagogue but wasn’t wearing anything that would identify him as Jewish. Read more.

Sweden opposes new sanctions against Iran

14. October 2012 – The Swedish government is trying to prevent the EU from imposing future sanctions on Iran fearing the loss of a lucrative deal for the Swedish communications company Ericsson. Readmore.

Germany’s new neo-Nazis: More dangerous and reckless than ever

12. October 2012 – Germany’s neo-Nazis nowadays blend in well into their communities, making it harder to detect them. Experts say that Germany’s neo-Nazis are more dangerous than ever. Not just their appearance and behaviour but also their tactics changed over the years. A neo-Nazi can eat a Turkish kebab for lunch, but still beat up Turkish immigrants in the evenings. Read more. 

President of the WJC welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to the EU

12. October 2012 – Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize, being awarded by the Nobel Prize Committee in Norway, to the EU for reconciliation, democracy and advancement of Human Rights. Read more. 

Auschwitz Sonderkommando survivor, Shlomo Venezia, passed away

11. October 2012 – Shlomo Venezia, a survivor of the Auschwitz Sonderkommando, passed away on October 1^st, aged 88. He was one of the few survivors of the Sonderkommando who came forward decades after the Holocaust with a rare eyewitness account. Read more. 

Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn on EU equality committee

11. October 2012 – Eleni Zaroulia, wife of Golden Dawn’s party chairman, has been appointed to represent Greece on the Council of Europe’s committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination. US based anti-racism watchdog, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), condemned the move.Read more. 

Chief of New York City’s police department warned of possible Iranian terror attacks in New York

11. October 2012 – NYPD commissioner Raymond Kelly warned of possible Iranian-sponsored terror attacks against Jewish targets in New York City due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. New York is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. Read more. 

Czech Bar Association (CAK) punished lawyer over anti-Semitism

11. October 2012 – Yesterday, October 10^th,  the Czech Bar Association (CAK) gave a one-year professional ban to lawyer Petr Koci. Petr Koci has raised a bias objection to a court expert because of his Jewish origin. At that time Koci was representing a member of the far – right Workers’ Party of Social Justice (DSSS), Lucie Slegrova. Read more. 

Over the past year anti-Semitic attacks in France increased 45%

11. October 2012 – In 2012 France is faced with 45% more anti-Semitic attacks than the year before. French statistics show that the incidents increased after the Otzar Hatorah Jewish school in Toulouse got attacked by Mohammed Merah half a year ago. He murdered a rabbi and three children. Read more.

Security increased at French Jewish sites

10. October 2012 – After blank bullets were fired at a synagogue near Paris the government decided to increase security at Jewish sites such as synagogues and Jewish centers. The Chairman of the Board of Jewish Communities in Vald’Oise said in an interview with Le Parisien, that the increase of anti-Semitic attacks are worrisome. Readmore. 

French Jew Serge Haroche is co-recipient of 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics

9. October 2012 – Morroccan-born Serge Haroche, a French – Jewish physicist, is the co-recipient of 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with US-American scientist David Wineland. The 2012 prize went to the scientists “for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems”. Read more. 

EU criticizing Turkey for intolerance against non-Muslims

10. October 2012 – The EU has expressed serious concerns about Turkey’s progress in meeting political criteria for full membership in the Union. Non-Muslim religious communities have reported several hate crimes in the past which weren’t punished by the authorities. Read more.

German law will allow practice of circumcision

10. October 2012 – The German cabinet has announced its support for proposals that would allow the practice of circumcision as long as it is carried out by trained experts, and parents are informed about medical risks. Read more.

Slovenia to vote on proposed ban on ritual slaughter

10. October 2012 – Slovenia’s National Assembly is set to vote on a proposed ban on ritual slaughter this week. It wouldn’t be the first country within the EU to restrict/ ban ritual slaughter. Slovenia has a population of two million inhabitants. According to the European Jewish Congress 400 people in Slovenia are Jewish. Read more.

Growing Radicalization of France’s Muslim Youth

9. October 2012 – One man was shot and 12 arrested by the French police over the past weekend in countrywide anti-terrorist raids. Jewish communities in France have been warning the authorities for years about the threat of rising anti-Semitism and radical Islam. Read more.

Hungarian radio station praised attack on Jewish leader

8. October 2012 – A Hungarian nationalist online radio called a recent attack on the leader of the Jewish community in Budapest a “response to general Jewish terrorism”. Read more.

Jewish and Christian groups respond to anti-Muslim NYC subway ads

5. October 2012 – Three groups, including Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, are planning to place their own posters next to the American Freedom Defense Initiative’s, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” on New York’s subways. Read more.

Jews in Argentina urged their government not to negotiate with Iran

5. October 2012 – Jewish foreign minister of Argentina, Hector Timerman, recently met Ali Akbar Salehi, his Iranian counterpart. The ministers focused on the deadly bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in 1994. Iran is accused of directing the attack. Read more.

Istanbul to celebrate Jewish culture on October 7^th

5. October 2012 – Istanbul’s vibrant Jewish community invites its city’s residents and visitors to learn about Jewish culture and traditions on October 7th. Istanbul is only one of the many cities in Europe embracing the European Day of Jewish Culture. Read more.

US sanctioned two Lebanese charities with Hamas ties

4. October 2012 – The US sanctioned two Lebanese charities, Al-Waqfiya and Al-Quds International Foundation, that fund-raised for Hamas. Read more.

Birobidzhan– Capital of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region

3. October 2012 – Established by Stalin in 1934 and 5000 miles away of Moscow the Jewish Autonomous Region, Birobidzhan, was part of the Kremlin’s effort to create an alternative to Palestine.  Today Jewish life can still be found there. Read more.

“We do not want infidels in this area”

4. October 2012 – The Gatestone Institute, an international policy council and think tank, is publishing monthly reports about the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries. The August 2012 report was published today. Read more.

The Jews of Europe before the Second World War

4. October 2012 - Bernard Wasserstein sheds in his book The Jews of Europe before the Second World War light on Jewish life in Europe in the years leading up to World War II. Read more. 

Jean – Marie Le Pen defends his daughter’s comments about a potential “kippa ban”

4. October 2012 – Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder and former leader of the French Party “Front National”, stated in an interview with French daily newspaper Le Monde that his daughter simply answered the interviewer’s question. Furthermore, he added that a ban on yarmulkes would make it easier to enforce a ban on burkas. Read more. 

German court seeks fine against British bishop for Holocaust denial

3. October 2012 – A court in the German city of Regensburg seeks fining British Bishop Williamson. Ultraconservative catholic Bishop Williamson is denying the Holocaust ones again. In 2008 Bishop Williamson stated on Swedish TV that he doesn’t believe Jewish people were killed in gas chambers during WW2. Read more.

International Human Rights group accused Hamas security forces in Gaza of abusing prisoners

3. October 2012 – Human Rights Watch accuses Hamas security forces in a 43-page report of systematic abuse. Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007, denies the allegations made by the Human Rights organisation. Read more. 

Japanese diplomat, Chiune Sugihara, who saved Jewish families inspires Australian WWII play 

3. October 2012 – Chiune Sugihara, known as the Japanese Oskar Schindler, was stationed in Lithuania as vice-consul during WWII. The diplomat defied orders from the foreign ministry in Japan and issued visas for 10,000 Jews to flee the country. Read more.

Jewish Leader Ronald Lauder interviewed by “Der Spiegel”

3. October 2012 – Interviewed by German news magazine “Der Spiegel”, president of the Jewish World Congress, Ronald Lauder, talked about the West’s conflict with Iran and possible unilateral actions of Israel. Read more. 

“True Finns”, Finland’s third largest party, plans new bill to ban ritual circumcision 

2. October 2012 – Finland’s third largest political party, “True Finns”, demanded again a legal ban on ritual circumcision of boys under the age of 15. The first suggestion was made by the party’s lawmaker, Vesa-Matti Saarakkala, earlier this year in March. Read more. 

Jewish gravestones found at the bottom of the Vistula River in Poland 

2. October 2012 – 17 Gravestone pieces from a Jewish cemetery in the Polish Brodno district were found at the bottom of the Vistula River. Further discoveries were a fountain, vases and marble steps, fittings of the Royal Palace in Warsaw. Read more. 

Anti-Muslim, Pro-Israel subway ad debuted in New York City

25. September 2012 – Launched by the pro-Israel American Freedom Defence Initiative, the controversial ad, equating Islamic jihad with savagery, will remain posted for a month. It was posted yesterday in ten subway stations in New York. Read more. 

Islamists called on terror attacks in Germany 

25. September 2012 - Islamist extremists called on for terror attakcs in Germany after receiving information that a German citizen played the lead role in the low-budget youtube film Innocence of Muslims. Read more. 

US President, Barak Obama, stressed in his speech at the UN General Assembly that the US will do what must be done to prevent a nuclear Iran

25. September 2012 – In his speech at the UN General Assembly, Obama broached several issues including the murder of US ambassador Christopher Stevens to Libya, the controversial anti-Islam movie and securing Israel. Furthermore, he criticised Iran for not proving that its nuclear program is peaceful. Also, he stressed that the US is trying to solve the issue with diplomacy but, at the same time, time is not unlimited. Read more. 

Kippa as symbol of defiance for Malmö’s Jews in Scandinavia

24. September 2012 – After anti-Semitic incidents and anti-Israel riots in Scandinavia over the last few years, the Jewish communities and people in favour of Israel made the Kippa a symbol of Jewish defiance wearing it protesting against anti-Semitism. Read more. 

Ahmadinejad not taking seriously the possibility of Israeli attack on Iran

24. September 2012 – Ahmadinejad stated on Monday that Iran is not taking any threats coming from Israel seriously and that, in case Israel would attack the theocracy, Iran has the resources necessaries to defend itself. Read more. 

Stephen Strelecky wins compensation over office anti-Semitism

24. September 2012 – Stephen Strelecky, an Australian Jew, won a compensation claim after a two-year battle in Australia, claiming he was the victim of anti-Semitism while working for the Australian Taxation Office in 2009. Read more. 

Germany launched war crimes investigation against former Auschwitz SS guard 

24. September 2012 - Germany launched war crimes investigation against Johann ‘Hans’ Breyer, a former SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp. Breyer stated he was stationed outside of the concentration camp and has nothing to do with the murder of 1.5 million Jews. Read more. 

Foreign ministers of Germany, France and the UK called onto the EU to sharpen sanctions against Iran 

24. September 2012 - Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, was asked by foreign ministers of Germany, France and the UK to toughen sanctions against Iran. Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is going to address a speech to the UN later this week. Read more. 

European Jews support French Jews against Marine Le Pen

23. September 2012 – Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right party National Front (FN), called on for the ban of religious symbols in public spaces. When he was asked if the ban would also includes Jewish kippas, Marine Le Pen stated that the FN would “obviously (….) ban the kippa in public places.” Read more.

Protesters in Toronto demand government actions against anti-Islamic movie 

22. September 2012 – Zafar Bangash, director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, organised a protest against the anti-Islamic film, Innocence of Muslims, last Saturday in Toronto. 1,500 people attended and chanted anti-US, anti-Canadian and anti-Western slurs. Read more. 

German postal service to deliver neo-Nazi newsletters 

20. September 2012 –The German postal service, Deutsche Post, legally has to deliver un-addressed far right newsletters published by the NPD, German’s neo-Nazi National Democratic Party. German federal court in Karlsruhe ruled that the NPD has the same rights as any other German political party. Read more.