The sad news reached us that JDL Europe National Director Ariel Nahal is suffering from a serious and progressive illness that prevents him at the moment from posting to this weblog, as he did on a near-daily basis. When medication and personal circuomstances allow it, he will soon continue his valuable and much appreciated work. Meanwhile, i will try to answer the mail that you send us, and will forward messages to the right JDL people.
David Ilschinger
JDL, Germany
2009/04/04
Ariel Nahal, JDL Europe National Director needs to take a break
2009/03/08
Portugal is seeing a Jewish revival over the past few years
For 1stst time since Inquisition, Portuguese cheese gets kosher seal
"Portugal is seeing a Jewish revival over the past few years."
For the first time since the Spanish Inquisition* in Portugal, a dairy product has been given an official kosher certificate. The ground-breaking product is a hard, goat's milk cheese, manufactured by the descendant of Anusim (Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity).
Last year, José Braz, owner of the Queijos Braz factory, contacted Daniel Litwak, the chief rabbi of Portugal's second-largest city, Porto, and asked him to arrange a kashrut certificate for Serra da Estrela cheese, which Braz manufactures. Braz believes that his own family were members of Portugal's Jewish community in the 14th and 15th centuries, but like many others were forced to convert to escape persecution by the Inquisition.
"When I spoke to José, he told me he wanted to reconnect to his Jewish roots - this was the reason for contacting me," says Litwak, who was born in Argentina. "I was surprised because his brand was doing rather nicely all over Europe. He did not need the certificate to increase his turnover."
New York-born Michael Freund, the chairman of Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based organization that helps people with Jewish roots become more involved in their Jewish community, who immigrated to Israel some 10 years ago, told Haaretz that Portugal "is seeing a Jewish revival over the past few years." "Recently, the first kosher wine in Portugal since the Inquisition has become available, then the first olive oil and now the cheese,"Freund says. "I see a definite connection between how many of the Anusim are rediscovering their roots and the increased interest."
Source: article by Cnaan Liphshiz in Haaretz
Photo: Shavei Israel
* The Portuguese Inquisition was established on the Spanish model in 1547 to root out heresy. In 1774, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquis of Pombal (1699-1782) abolished the legal requirement of "purity of blood" for holders of office and the distinctions between Old Christian and New Christian (Jewish converts and their descendants).
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Norwegian comedian Otto Jespersen condemned by peers
Another case of Holocaust comedy... I've lost count...
"The PFU, an association for Norwegian media professionals, yesterday declared comedian Otto Jespersen’s anti-semtic monologues to be in violation of the PFU code for decent and proper conduct.Dagbladet, a Norwegian daily, runs an article under the title "Jespersen’s harassment of Israel is unproblematic". The title is supposed to sum up the attitude of Per Edgar Kokkvold, a union leader present at the PFU hearing.
Whether it is Dagbladet as a newspaper or Kokkvold as an individual who is unable to distinguish between Jews as a people and Israel as a state is uncertain. That there is any confusion at all is somewhat alarming. The statements Jespersen is condemned for are directed against Jews, not against Israel.
At present 64% of Dagbladet’s readers think PFU is wrong in its verdict, and that Jespersen as a comedian has not being particularly unfair against the Jews especially."
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
Related:
Complaint filed against Norway’s "Holocaust" comic
Israel bashing: Ben Heine cartoons in Danish newspaper
European cartooning without borders ... These horrendous cartoons aren't "merely" anti-Zionism; it's old-school nazi propaganda!
"Ben Heine, he of the Iranian Holocaust cartoon competition fame" boasts in his blog: "Recent publication in "The Copenhagen Post" (Denmark) to illustrate an opinion article by Mohammed Husary on the Israeli attacks in Gaza last January. Many thanks to the editors."
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A sampling of Heine's wonderful talent. Ben, aka Hubert Lebizay, calls himself a "Belgian political artist", but is painfully silent on the Belgian political scene, whilst devoting all his talent and energy to denouncing the evil Zionists.
Holocaust cartoon exhibition - Teheran Aug. 14-Sept. 13, 2006 : "Welcome home", by Ben Heine (Luckily, only a handful of European cartoonists took part in the contest.)Iran's `Holocaust' cartoonists whine, wheedle and above all, L I E .
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Headless Naked Jewish Woman and Headless Muslim?/Christian? Palestinian Man Wearing a Palestinian Flag
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Another typically tasteful and tactful cartoon
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Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman is a Zionist pig
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Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman is a Zionist Hitler
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Ben Heine's cartoon provokes stream of anti-Semitic abuse
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Germany draws criticism for not boycotting "Durban II"
"Since 2001, despotic states under the leadership of Iran have sat and dominated at the anti-racism conference, at which they instrumentalize Western achievements for their intolerance and hostility to Jews and against the principles of democracy and freedom. If Germany doesn't boycott the Durban Review Conference in April 2009, it must share historical guilt for the second time. It will be the end of Germany's credibility with regard to Nazi atrocities." (Nasrin Amirsedghi)
Source: article by Benjamin Weinthal in TJP
"The German government's decision to not follow the US lead and withdraw from the Durban II UN anti-racism conference before its scheduled opening April 20 in Geneva drew sharp attacks this week from German and Israeli critics.
The previous conference in Durban, South Africa in 2001 was marred by anti-Semitism and aggressive hatred of Israel, prompting the US and Israel to walk out.
In the wake of the decision by Israel, the US, and Canada not to participate in Durban II, observers in Israel and Germany have expressed frustration and disappointment with the Social Democratic Party-led Foreign Ministry's failure to confront global anti-Semitism and prevent the demonization of Israel.
Thomas von der Osten-Sacken, a German publicist and Middle East expert who heads the non-profit relief organization Wadi in northern Iraq, told The Jerusalem Post that Germany's decision to participate in Durban II is "simply scandalous. They should have long since taken a position and boycotted that thing. But their silence speaks volumes."
A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry told the Post that the Germans are involved in the "text negotiations" and"efforts to prevent the misuse of the Durban processes."
When asked if the German government will participate in a conference infected by anti-Semitism and loathing of Israel, she said that a "decision has not been reached." She argued that the"German government is advocating a worldwide fight against racism."
But in an e-mail to the Post, Prof. Gerald Steinberg, chairman of the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University, wrote:"Officials have repeatedly stated that given their history and what they call the special German obligation to fight racism, they must be present at a UN anti-racism conference.
"This is absurd - Germany should be the first country to denounce and stay away from any activity that is anti-Semitic, as is the case with the Durban process, and is based on the abuse of the rhetoric racism and human rights to promote hatred and the singling out of Israel. The German position, including the support of many anti-Israel NGOs and foundations that claim to promote peace and democracy, but instead are leading anti-Israel campaigns, is fundamentally immoral."
An Israeli Embassy spokesman in Berlin declined to comment on Germany's presence at Durban II.
An amalgam of German institutions combating anti-Semitism, including the Central Council of Jews in Germany, have appealed to the German government to stay away from the anti-Israel conference, asserting that the 2001 Durban conference was a precursor to the replicating of anti-Jewish hostility and hatred of Israel at this year's conference.
The Post has obtained a copy of a letter sent to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in early September, which urged the Foreign Ministry to not participate in a "recognizably anti-Semitic propaganda event within the framework of the UN and in the process cooperate with such openly anti-Semitic forces like Iran."
The Coordinating Council of German non-Governmental Organizations Against Anti-Semitism, an umbrella organization unifying diverse NGOs, initiated the protest letter.
"Following the boycott declarations from Canada, Israel and the US, we expect a positive response to this request. Germany should give a clear signal, especially out of responsibility for its history, and should not take part in the 'Durban Review Conference,' in consideration also of the goals of the German Bundestag resolution of November 4, 2008, said Klaus Faber, a representative of the Coordinating Council and former state secretary in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
"Only in this way can we prevent the predictable anti-Semitic diatribes at the Durban II conference from being legitimized by Germany," he told the Post.
Nasrin Amirsedghi, a German-Iranian intellectual who fled the Islamic Republic of Iran, told the Post that, "Since 2001, despotic states under the leadership of Iran have sat and dominated at the anti-racism conference, at which they instrumentalize Western achievements for their intolerance and hostility to Jews and against the principles of democracy and freedom.
"If Germany doesn't boycott the Durban Review Conference in April 2009, it must share historical guilt for the second time. It will be the end of Germany's credibility with regard to Nazi atrocities."
- France will not boycott Durban II
Dutch Foreign Minister deplores revived antisemitism in Europe
"It is an excuse for terrorists, but also for youth to raise hell. Not only in the Netherlands, but in whole of Europe you see that. Calls to a new intifada and gassing of Jews. They're all dreadful slogans from which appears enormous hate. With on the one hand Islamophobia and on the other hand a revived antisemitism."
Maxime Verhagen, Dutch Foreign Minister, about using the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an excuse for violence in Europe.
Source: Islam in Europe
By way of illustration:
The "Norway, Israel and the Jews" blog reporting on the latest incidents of anti-Jewish/Israel violence in Sweden:
- “Malmö is Gaza”
- Dagsavisen gilds the rose
- Demonstrators attack police in Malmö, Sweden
- Demonstration in Malmö, Sweden
- Nazis, anti-fascists, threaten tennis match
Antwerp: muslims attack jews
Source: Islam in EuropeAccording to the Belga news agency, the man spoke a foreign language, but it's unclear which. According to one victim he spoke Arabic, but others think it was Polish (HLN, NL). Given the description below, it looks like a Muslim religiously motivated attack.
A press release from the Forum of Jewish Organizations, the Flemish Jewish umbrella organization :
"This evening there were three separate attacks, suspected to have been committed by the same culprit.
In the area of the Somersstraat between 8pm and 8:30pm, a man of Arabic origin attacked three religious Jews without provocation. The man, ~1.70m high, attacked his victims with a steel bar while shouting "Allah Akbar" ('Allah is Great') and "Yahud, Yahud" ('Jew, Jew').
One of the victims suffered multiple fractures to his hand and was taken for treatment to St. Vincentius hospital.
The last victim, while defending himself, took hold of the steel bar, which caused the culprit to flee.
The police was informed and a report was drawn up. They're taking these incidents very seriously.
The attorney-general was informed and asked for the pictures from the security cameras in the neighborhood were these incidents occurred.
It is not the first time that attacks were committed by Muslims against orthodox Jews in this neighborhood."
JDL Int'l website v4.0 released
We are glad to announce that the all new and spectacular JDL 4.0 website has been put online.
Please visit http://www.jdl.org !
Ariel
2009/02/06
The Reluctant Archbishop
by Baron BodisseyAnother Lutheran cleric in Sweden has decided that remembering the Holocaust this year is inappropriate, given the recent actions of the IDF in Gaza. Our Swedish correspondent CB sends this report:This is an article from the newspaper Dagen about a former archbishop who backed out of a Holocaust commemoration speech. One could call it an update to the sad state of affairs in the Lutheran Church of Sweden and its relations to anti-Semitism. Hammar’s actions don’t surprise me, I’m sad to say, but there are some noteworthy parts of this besides his backing out.
Apparently it is wrong in his view to come to the conclusion as a people that you don’t want to be oppressed again and that you need an army strong enough to deter neighbours planning your utter destruction.
One would think Israel’s response would be a most reasonable stance. When did it become the pinnacle of wisdom to be weaker than an enemy bent on your destruction? But not so in the leftist world of appeasement and irresponsible arms reduction. His way is the surest path to war, destruction and loss of lives. A militarily weak Israel will invite an attack on its soil with subsequent loss in life on all sides involved.
So, the former archbishop was, is, and will be unfit as a speaker about important subjects such as the memory of the Holocaust, as long as he clings to that set of values. But it is a sad state of the Lutheran church that he once was their archbishop.
And now CB’s translation of the article from yesterday’s Dagen:K G Hammar backs out of Holocaust speech
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Former archbishop KG Hammar receives criticism from Jewish spokespersons after refraining from speaking on Holocaust remembrance day, referring to the war in Gaza as the reason.
As Dagen related earlier, a similar decision in Luleå diocese evoked strong reactions. First the diocese cancelled a planed commemoration service for the victims of the Holocaust, but changed its decision after strong criticism.K G Hammar also referred to the Gaza war when he refrained from speaking at the Holocaust commemoration at Kulturen [Culture] in Lund. He is presently a guest professor at the University of Lund.
He tells Ekot [radio news] the task was to speak about the conclusions to be drawn from the memory of the Holocaust. In his opinion the state of Israel had come to the conclusion that Israel never wants to be oppressed again and therefore the Israelis always want to be stronger then their enemies. To Ekot he says:
“I don’t see that it’s possible for that historical connection to lead to any kind of peace. And precisely in that moment with the war going on I felt I was the wrong person, and at a planning stage I didn’t think that was especially strange. One should choose a speaker according to who is fit for the occasion, and that was not me.”
Anders Carlberg, who is the chairman of the Jewish congregation in Gothenburg, calls Hammar’s reasoning “stupendous”. In his view one must be able to relate to the historical event of the Holocaust regardless of the state of Israel.
Danger: Extremist Jews!
Swedish correspondent CB sends this report:This is from the blog by one of the editorialists of Svenska Dagbladet, the big conservative newspaper in Sweden. Gudmundson was able to get a copy of an email from a reporter of the TV program Existens, and it’s about reporters and programs that wish to expose growing Jewish extremism.
This is something they feel is important in a climate of growing anti-Semitism and violence directed towards Jews. Strange logic: “People want to kill Jews — let’s see if the Jews get extreme!”
What’s the reason for this move? To show the reactions of a people being persecuted in so many countries? Or a way to begin the exoneration of Hamas — that is, the Jews are equally bad, or worse?
Gudmundson began by noting that “the Catholic Church is exonerating a Holocaust denier. The former archbishop in the Swedish Lutheran Church refuses to speak at a commemoration of the Holocaust. In Malmö there is at present a trial of a man accused of funneling millions of Swedish krona to the anti-Semitic terror organization Hamas. But in an email, the Swedish television programExistens asks for signs of growing Jewish extremism.”
Here’s the email from last Friday (in English in the original):- - - - Original Message - - - -
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Subject: Inquiry from the Swedish Television
From: Eva Renström
Date: Fri, January 30, 2009 2:38 pm
To: mail@…
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Dear Peace-worker,
My name is Eva Renstrom and I’m working as a journalist at the Swedish Television; the public service company in Sweden, with a program called Existens; Existence. It’s a secular program about religion and society, and our assignment is to describe what happens when these two meets and collides.
Now we are planning to do a program about the escalated Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and what happens with the manifestation of the religions; Islam and Judaism, in the current situation.
Our focus will be Islam, but we intend to discuss growing radicalism and intolerance among the Jewish population as well. Here in Sweden, we see moderate movements in this direction. But since everything in Sweden is more or less moderate in comparison, we suspect that the effect is enhanced in the rest of Europe as well as in the Middle East. We want to know more about the risk of increased radicalism and extremism, about where this situation can take us. We want to know more about if and how the religious manifestation will change.Now I’m looking for someone to talk to; who can analyze the situation, especially when it comes to the situation among Jews. I’ve read about you on the web site, and I thought that you maybe can help me! I’m grateful for your help!
Best wishes, and a nice weekend to you!
EVA RENSTROM
Reporter SVT Existens
I just looked up the statistics: there are approximately 18,000 Jews living in Sweden today, out of a total population of 9 million. That is, about 0.2% of the Swedish population is Jewish.
Reliable statistics on the number of Muslims in Sweden are impossible to come by. Most analysts suggest that it is at least 400,000, or about 4.4% of the Swedish population.
In other words, there are more than twenty times as many Muslims in Sweden as there are Jews. Not only that, there are Swedish Muslims who openly, explicitly, and publicly call for the extermination of the Jews.
These rabid Jew-haters face no legal consequences for their behavior. Can any of our Swedish readers tell me whether SVT has aired any investigative programs about Muslim extremists in Sweden who advocate genocide against the Jews?
If the zealous sleuths of Swedish television look long and hard enough, they might be able to find a single loony Swedish Jew proclaiming “Death to the Arabs!” Maybe.
And if they do, you can bet they’ll parade him in front of the cameras to demonstrate that the Jews are at least as bad as Hamas, and no wonder the Palestinians want to kill all the Jews.
Behavior like this by the producers of state-funded television programming is nothing less than an abomination.
Disturbing: Anti-Semitism rears head in Iceland, too
One of the popuations most severely hit by the worldwide rise in anti-Semitism that's followed Operation Cast Lead has been one of the easiest to overlook: the minuscule Jewish community of Iceland. "In Icelandic, 'Zionist' is a derogatory term," said Dr. Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson, a Danish professor who has studied the history of Iceland's Jews. "It's a criminal emblem." Now, a bicycle repair shop owner in Reykjavik has refused to serve Jews, despite condemnation from the Icelandic government. The shop owner's stance may reflect a coming shift in the public face of anti-Israel feeling in the country. In the midst of a recession that has all but destroyed the Icelandic economy, a new far-left government has been carried to power. "I am afraid because the members of the cabinet we're going to see created today have expressed in recent weeks and in the past that they want to cut ties with Israel," said Vilhjálmsson. A local Jewish resident, who was reluctant to give his name due to safety concerns, agreed. Originally from the United States, the Iceland resident has made his home and raised his family in Iceland, and he is candid about the challenge. "Being Jewish in Iceland is very difficult," he said. "Is it a contradiction for me to try to be religious and live here? Maybe." He cited the lack of a synagogue, rabbi, or any organized community. Vilhjálmsson, who is also Jewish, has roots in Iceland and visits at least once or twice a year. He has been alarmed by a sudden rise in anti-Semitic activity in the past few years, especially in light of the Gaza war. "Every time there's a conflict between Israel and Palestine, things get inflamed," said Vilhjálmsson. "But it's not only a matter of the conflict - we also have a society where anti-Semitism was not criticized after [World War II], in the same way it was in a place like Germany." Anti-Semitism in Iceland in some ways resembles a time-capsule of the popular thought of the 1930s. Iceland never came under German occupation, and therefore did not have the same reckoning with the ugly fruits of bigotry as the Axis countries did after the war - a phenomenon that Vilhjálmsson has documented in his writing. Now, anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment have blurred in a country that, according to Vilhjálmsson, rarely receives balanced coverage of the Middle East conflict. He pointed to a Gallup poll released Sunday in which, of 2,000 Icelanders surveyed, only 3 percent had a positive attitude toward Israel, compared to 70% with positive feeling toward the Palestinians. The poll suggests that Jews and Israelis have not gained the public trust in Iceland, despite president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson's 2003 marriage to Dorrit Mussaieff, an Israeli citizen and at the time the only Jewish first lady outside of Israel. "When the bankruptcy came, you could see people expressing a new view [about Mussaieff]," said Vilhjálmsson. "Even though she was very good for Iceland, people said that 'an Icelandic person should never have married a Jewish woman. She is part of a Jewish conspiracy.'" However, despite the popular sentiment, the local source said he did not feel that Jews in Iceland were in any imminent danger. He also dismissed the headline-making bike shop owner. "Of the few Jews that are here, how many have bikes? How many are visiting his shop?" he asked. "It's just a publicity stunt. And anyway, there's 10 inches of snow on the ground.""I'm trying to see if there will be any consequences for Jews [because of the new government]," he said. "I imagine they might cut diplomatic ties with Israel."
2009/02/01
EU-funded Palestinian NGO leading the 'Spanish inquisition'
"The Spanish example of "lawfare" was initiated by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). With a large budget provided by the European Commission, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and other European governments, PCHR is among the leaders of the anti-Israel demonization strategy." Typically, Europe is the undisputed "leader" in the demonization of Israel.
"The case in Spain against Israeli officials, which stems from the 2002 air force attack that destroyed the home of a senior Hamas terrorist and killed several of his children, is based on the universal jurisdiction provisions in the legal systems of a number of democratic countries.
While designed to bring heinous dictators to justice, "lawfare" - as this tactic has been dubbed - is exploited by non-governmental organizations that use the façade of universal human rights to promote their political goals.
The pattern emerged in 2001 when Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Badil (which focuses on refugee claims) and other NGOs used Belgium as the venue for allegations of war crimes against then-prime minister Ariel Sharon. The case was eventually dismissed and the law changed after Belgian officials linked to African dictators realized that they, too, were vulnerable to prosecution.
In 2005, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, who had retired from the IDF and was traveling to London to raise funds for the treatment of autism, stayed on an El Al plane at Heathrow Airport after NGOs targeted him with legal proceedings. This case, too, was later dropped, but the damage had been done.
The Spanish example of "lawfare" was initiated by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). With a large budget provided by the European Commission, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and other European governments, PCHR is among the leaders of the anti-Israel demonization strategy.
The strategy was developed in the NGO Forum of the 2001 Durban Conference, the goal being to use boycotts and legal processes to brand Israel an "apartheid" state, while legitimizing terrorism. During the recent Gaza operation, PCHR issued over 50 statements, most of which included allegations of "war crimes."
In contrast, top Israeli government figures have been very slow to recognize these threats and devise a counter-strategy. While "lawfare" has been around for a number of years and PCHR filed its request with Spanish authorities in June, it has failed to register in the IDF and elsewhere.
After the Gaza operation, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to provide legal support for officials caught up in the harassment - a belated and irrelevant approach. In response to the developments in Spain, Defense Minister Ehud Barak reacted angrily and Pubic Security Minister Avi Dichter expressed hope "that common sense will prevail" among Europeans.
Somewhat more concretely, the Foreign Ministry has pressed European governments to amend their legal codes to prevent NGOs from bringing such cases to court, but scant attention has been paid in Israel to EU and government funding for PCHR. There has been no cost to European officials, such as the Spanish prime minister, who are still welcomed by Israel as peace mediators.
After the surprise attack delivered by the Spanish court, the Israeli government will have to give much higher priority to preventing "lawfare" cases before ministers and IDF officers are met by police in the arrivals hall and taken for interrogation."
Source: article by Gerald M. Steinberg in TJP
Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg is executive director of NGO Monitor and chairs the Political Science Department at Bar-Ilan University
Picture: Saint Dominic de Guzmán, Spanis founder of the Order of the Dominicans - most inquisitors were Dominicans (see The Manual of Inquisitors by Nicholas Eymerich and Dominican friar slams "Madoff the Pharisee" and Israel)
Icelandic shop: "Jews are not welcome"
Some in Iceland [320,000 inhabitants] don't like Jews. Even in Iceland ... "To protest against the Israeli operation in Gaza and show solidarity with Hamas, a bicycle shop in Reykjavik, capital of Iceland shows a poster reading "Jews are not welcome".
According to an Icelandic source, the word used 'Judar' has a negative tone in the local language whereas 'Gyndingur' is the correct neutral word."
Sources: EJP and DV.is
Vicious Jew-hater and Holocaust denier challenges German law
A vicious Jew-hater and Holocaust denier has stated that he will travel to Germany to challenge its law against Holocaust denial. Fredrick Toben, founder of the Adelaide Institute, a viciously libelous and hate-filled website based in Australia, posted his comments on YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVdBsIaRZEE>;.
(As of this posting, his video has been viewed by 3,000 and has been given a five-star rating by 90+ viewers. We need to change this, don't we?)
Last year, Toben was jailed in London for over a month until a British judge invalidated an arrest warrant issued by German prosecutors charging Toben with Holocaust denial, which is punishable for up to five years in jail. Ten years ago, the 64-year-old Toben spent seven months in a German jail cell for denying the Holocaust.
In 2002, Toben was ordered to remove all anti-Semitic/Holocaust denial material from his website by a federal judge in Australia. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has initiated a contempt-of-court case against him because Toben has refused to comply with that order.
2009/01/27
Catalunya government cancels Holocaust memorial day
"The Simon Wiesenthal Center denounced the government of the Spain’s Catalunya region for cancelling its public commemoration of International Holocaust Day on January 27th as a way to protest Israel’s operations in Gaza. An official from the city of Barcelona, where they memorial was to be held, was quoted as saying, "Marking the Jewish Holocaust while a Palestinian holocaust is taking place is not right."
"The Wiesenthal Center denounces this perverted inversion of truth and memory by officials in Barcelona. Holocaust survivors have no need for moments of silence for dead Jews from people who have no respect for live Jews," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Center. "In dealing a telling blow against Hamas in Gaza, Israel ensures that the terrorist organization's open goal of making the Holy Land 'Judenrein' (free of Jews) will never happen,"he added.
"The Catalunya government would do well to learn the moral difference between a terrorist group targeting civilians who protected themselves by using their women and children as human shields and a member state of the United Nations doing what any government, including Spain would do: eliminate such a threat against her civilian population. Israel should be rightfully proud of the extraordinary steps her military took to minimize casualties among civilians, cynically put in harm’s way by Hamas," Cooper concluded."
Source: Simon Wiesenthal Center
- ¿Qué està pasando en Cataluña?, Pilar Rahola
- The anti-Israel hysteria, by Pilar Rahola, Pilar Rahola
- 46 per cent of Spanish have a negative/very negative view of Jews
British bishop's Holocaust denial
"There was not one Jew killed by the gas chambers. It was all lies, lies, lies!""German prosecutors said Friday they had launched a probe against a controversial British bishop on suspicion of inciting racial hatred for comments he made about the Holocaust on Swedish television.
A spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in the southern city of Regensburg said it had opened an investigation against Richard Williamson, 68, for remarks he made in an interview broadcast this week.
"I believe there were no gas chambers... I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps but none of them by gas chambers," said Williamson during an interview with the SVT channel.
"There was not one Jew killed by the gas chambers. It was all lies, lies, lies!"
Six million Jews [includin 1.5 million children] were murdered by Nazi Germany during World War II including vast numbers by systematic extermination in gas chambers.
This week, Pope Benedict XVI reportedly decided to cancel the excommunication of four bishops who were consecrated in 1998 by the conservative French bishop Marcel Lefebvre, including Williamson.
The pope has already signed the decree lifting the excommunication, which will be made public later in the week, according to the Italian report Thursday which the Vatican neither confirmed nor denied.
Lefebvre, who died in 1991, was excommunicated in 1988 by pope Jean Paul II for having consecrated the bishops in defiance of the Vatican's authority.
Since assuming office in April 2005, Benedict has made great efforts to heal the schism with the more traditionalist Catholic movement.
Lars-Goran Svensson, the Swedish programme's producer, said the interview had been pre-recorded in Germany last November and its airing at this time was "pure coincidence.""
2009/01/26
Bloody Beating In Golders Green
An Orthodox man from Golders Green yesterday spoke of his determination to continue living an openly Jewish life after he was viciously beaten and left with blood pouring from his face, in one of the most serious incidents of an unprecedented wave of anti-Semitism afflicting Britain.
Wearing a kippah and his long Shabbat coat, Michael Bookarz was walking home from La Fiesta restaurant on Golders Green Road on Saturday night when he was set upon by two hooded attackers. "I was walking towards the A406 at about 10.20pm when I noticed a guy was walking towards me," the 31-year-old told TJ.
"He suddenly started running and punched me in the face. When I was on the ground, another person ran over and they both started kicking me and stamping on my body and head."One of them said this is because of what's happened to the Palestinians in Gaza. Someone must have looked out the window because they suddenly just ran off leaving me on the floor.
"I was scared but the main thought running through my head as it was happening was self-preservation and defending myself. The second the attack finished my next thought was to get help. I took my phone out to dial 999 and I could see blood covering the screen of the phone - there was blood pouring down from my nose."
The software developer - who suffered extensive bruising and swelling - was taken to hospital where he spent several hours undergoing X-Rays of his skull and left hand. On doctors orders, he spent the past few days recuperating before returning to work yesterday, despite still suffering pain.
"One of the things I feel very sad about is that I can't walk around in England safely," he said. "This morning when I was walking to shul I saw a guy across the road with a cap on and a scarf over his face. It was a cold morning but I looked twice just to make sure he wasn't dangerous. I wouldn't have done that a few days ago."
But Michael is nevertheless determined to try to ensure that the attack does not affect the way he lives his life and he urged others not to shy away from wearing kippot in public. He said: "I want to continue leading my life as a Jew in this country, I want to lead it as a free person. I'm not going to let them win."
The attack on Michael was one of three assaults in recent days, contributing to the more than 220 anti-Semitic incidents in Britain since the start of Israel's anti-terror operation in Gaza in late December. That includes at least 12 incidents of daubings at London synagogues and in Jewish neighbourhoods on Thursday and Friday last week.
The CST's Mark Gardner said: "It is likely that the end of the conflict in Gaza will calm the situation here in Britain, but we have seen a dreadful outpouring of anti-Semitic rage, and this will certainly not disappear overnight."
� Anyone with information on the attack on Michael should call Barnet Police on 0300 123 1212 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Holocaust Memorial Day in Holland
I have attended the annual "Auschwitz Herdenking" (Holocaust memorial day) in Amsterdam yesterday. Flanked by my wife, daughter and two very alert security guards.
The JDL was kindly requested by the Dutch Auschwitz Commitee to refrain from carrying flags or other JDL and/or Israeli insignia; to which we gladly applied - because that request made sense (we would NEVER used this specific occasion to promote our cause), in contrast to the request by some Jewish organisations to refrain from coming at all... The Auschwitz commitee was afraid that a visible presence of the JDL could have lead to confrontations with Maroccan/Muslim youth that were suspected to disturb the event.
All went well and respectful, without any disturbances - or even presence - of aforesaid youth.
The Dutch Maroccan community has provided in a private security guard; a measure that discouraged any troublemakers to come in the first place.
Directly after joining the procession from the Amsterdam cityhall to the Wehrtheim parc, i was recognized by a security guard (i was wearing a JDL pin on my sleeve) who started farntically talking into hís sleeve...
So, we had a Maroccan security guard standing right in front of us, most of the time looking me straight into the face (with his back to the proceedings) and another Dutch security officer to my right, watching me intently and scanning the surrounding area. I tested their alertness two times, by once reaching into my jack's innerpocket ;-) and once by stamping my feet to keep the cold away- very funny; they very alert indeed. Keeps them alert...
After the ceremony was over, and major Job Cohen of Amsterdam and all the other officials left, our "bodyguards" left us too.
It was a respectful and impressive ceremony, exactly as is should be. The security guards did a good job...
Ariel Nahal
2009/01/21
Norwegian envoy: Israelis and nazis the same
A Norwegian diplomat based in Saudi Arabia has sent out e-mails from her Foreign Ministry e-mail account equating Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza with the systematic mass murder of six million Jews by the Nazis.
The e-mail, sent out by Trine Lilleng, a first secretary at the Norwegian Embassy in Riyadh, includes a juxtaposition of black-and-white pictures from the Holocaust with color images of Operation Cast Lead.
"The grandchildren of Holocaust survivors from World War II are doing to the Palestinians exactly what was done to them by Nazi Germany," the e-mail states.
A copy of the e-mail was obtained by The Jerusalem Post.
The 40-plus pictures included as attachments in the e-mail include the famous image of a Jewish boy with his hands raised as a German soldier points his gun at him, next to an image of an Israeli soldier aiming his weapon at a Palestinian boy.
Another depicts a German soldier firing his weapon, next to an IDF soldier shooting his, while others juxtapose the barbed wire surrounding ghettos and concentration camps to the fence around Gaza, and the West Bank security barrier.
The e-mail asks recipients to forward the message to others.
Reached on her cellphone in Riyadh, Lilleng told the Post she had sent the message to "a few friends" in a "private e-mail," and had not sent any copy to the Post.
She would not say whether it was proper for her to use her ministry e-mail account for such a controversial message.
"I am not interested in saying anything about that," she said.
The Oslo-based Center Against Anti-Semitism in Norway, which has filed an official complaint with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, said it was appalled by the distribution of "clearly anti-Semitic propaganda" by a ministry official.
"The Center Against Anti-Semitism regrets that Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is thus contributing to the intensification of anti-Semitic tendencies, which lately have been quite visible in the Norwegian media, and which have been reproved by both us and by international experts," the center's director, Erez Uriely, wrote to Støre.
The center noted that the Norwegian government, along with other European governments, has sought to play a role as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as part of an Egyptian-proposed agreement.
"We fail to see that the distribution of anti-Semitic pictures is compatible with such a role," the letter states.
The center has asked the Norwegian Foreign Ministry to recall the disseminated pictures immediately and to apologize publicly for the incident.
The letter was hand-delivered to the ministry in Oslo on Tuesday.
"This demonization of both Israel and the Jews must stop," said group spokeswoman Dr. Rachel Suissa.
The Norwegian Embassy in Tel Aviv did not immediately respond when asked for comment on Tuesday.
German state to help build synagogue
Berlin, Jan. 21 (JTA) – The German state of Brandenburg will help build a new synagogue in the former East German city of Potsdam.
Not only is the state donating prime real estate in its capital to the project, the finance ministry also announced Tuesday that state funds of about $300,000 would be used to get the project off the ground this fiscal year, in keeping with a commitment signed in 2005.
Those funds are to be paid back by the Jewish community, which is seeking donations. Next year, funding from other state agencies will kick in, according to reports. Total costs are expected to be about $6 million, and construction is scheduled to be completed by 2012.
With the construction of a synagogue and community center, "a dream will become reality," said Michael Tkach, deputy head of the local Jewish community. "It will provide the basis for a vibrant Jewish cultural life for the Jewish community, and for the city of Potsdam."
According to the community's Web site, Potsdam's Jewish community is comprised of at least 1,200 members, most arriving from the former Soviet Union since 1990. The pre-war community dated back to the 18th century, and the first synagogue was built there in 1767. It was destroyed during allied bombings in 1945.
"Jewish life in Brandenburg should regain a secure foothold," Brandenburg's Finance Minister Rainer Speer said Tuesday.
Germany has seen a boom in synagogue construction in recent years, in cities and towns across the country. The need is related to the massive emigration of former Soviet Jews, which quadrupled the country's post-war Jewish population within 15 years to more than 105,000 officially.
In related news, architect Daniel Libeskind is to design a synagogue for congregation Beth Shalom in Munich.Rise in attacks prompts renewed fears for French Jews
PARIS (JTA) -- The spike of anti-Semitic attacks across Europe during Israel's three-week war in Gaza has struck a raw nerve here, reviving fears among French Jews that the violence of the second intifada years has returned to their country.
During the intifada earlier in the decade, a sustained surge in attacks against French Jews and the government’s perceived lackluster response prompted many Jews to fear for their future in France, with some leaving the country.
The government’s belated crackdown on the violence and the election in May 2007 of a new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, with warm ties to Israel and the Jewish community allayed the fears of many and helped tamper anti-Semitic attacks.
But the attacks returned this month with the latest conflagration in the Middle East, enraging French Muslims and resulting in near-daily assaults against Jews for the duration of the Gaza war.
"They are more worried about their safety. They are more afraid than before," said Rabbi Mendel Belinow, leader of a Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue and outreach center in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis that was firebombed Jan. 11.
Two of the nine Molotov cocktails thrown at his synagogue ignited, burning part of the center's cafeteria. No injuries were reported, though the rabbi was in the building at the time and was believed to have been a target.
The synagogue, located in a heavily immigrant suburb known for its high crime and poverty rates, also was attacked in 2005 when "Death to the Jews" was scrawled on its inner walls.
Over the past few weeks, the Jewish community has seen attacks ranging from firebombings to stabbings. The government’s inability to protect them from violence, despite the efforts of French authorities, has generated a renewed sense of unease in the French Jewish community, which numbers roughly 600,000 in a country of 60 million. France has 5 million to 6 million Muslims.
"It's harder to reassure them now," Belinow said of his approximately 160 congregants.
While the current cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is expected to diminish anti-Jewish violence, pro-Palestinian groups have promised to continue with their anti-Israel protests. Such demonstrations in France, which have drawn tens of thousands, commonly have ended in riots and are a mouthpiece for virulent anti-Zionism, including the burning of Israeli flags. Jews and synagogues have been attacked following protests by a fringe of violent youths.
Jewish community leaders warn that fears of further attack will disrupt the daily routines of Jews and intimidate them into hiding their religious identity -- and if the volatile situation is not controlled, to flee the country.
In Toulouse, where institutions were mostly spared from violence during the second intifada, Rabbi Jonathan Guez said he and congregants were shocked and unprepared when a car containing firebombs was rammed into the front gate of their synagogue and exploded on Jan. 5.
Guez said Jews would now be "more discreet" about displaying their religion publicly and careful about avoiding troubled neighborhoods. The few Jews who still live in government-subsidized housing projects are thinking about leaving the area, and the synagogue will be heavily secured with cameras and patrol units for the first time, Guez said.
During the violence in France during the second intifada, some French Jews fearful of anti-Semitism pulled their children from public schools and enrolled them in private Jewish schools, began wearing baseball caps on their heads to hide their yarmulkes, moved out of mixed Muslim-Jewish neighborhoods or immigrated to Israel.
But as the attacks against Jews waned, so did French aliyah, dropping to 1,910 in 2008 from 2,700 the year before. Oren Toledano, the director of the Paris-based aliyah department for the Jewish Agency for Israel, called this the "Sarkozy Effect," attributing it to the popularity of the French president among French Jews and the sense of security Sarkozy’s election gave them.
In the past three weeks, Toledano said, his phone has begun ringing off the hook again, with many French Jews considering aliyah calling to accelerate the process.
Many Jews fear Sarkozy alone isn't enough to reassure the community. When French politicians considered friends of Israel chose not to attend pro-Israel rallies in some French cities during the latest war, some Jews said they again felt abandoned by their lawmakers.
"One president who supports Israel doesn't mean Jews will feel represented," said Patrick Gaubert, president of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism. "One president is great, but it's not enough."
Frédéric Encel, a geopolitical scholar and expert on French-Israel ties, says the situation is still far better than it was at the start of the second intifada. Some French authorities were seen then as explaining away anti-Jewish crime in France. Now the country has a president and foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, invested in brokering Middle East peace.
On Jan. 16, Prime Minister Francois Fillon held a meeting of government ministers to prevent the import of the Israel-Hamas conflict to France. The meeting pledged swifter measures to punish perpetrators of xenophobic crimes, special judges trained in anti-Semitism and tighter security at pro-Palestinian protests, according to a report by the French news agency AFP.
As the government fine-tunes its security measures, community dialogue activists say the Gaza war destroyed years of efforts to prevent a repetition of the violent reaction in France to the second intifada.
On Monday, the Grand Mosque of Paris confirmed to the JTA that its members had pulled out from a major interreligious dialogue group, the French Judeo-Muslim Friendship organization. The mosque issued a statement last week complaining of the "total absence of condemnations" of Israel's operation in Gaza from the group’s Jewish contingent, according to AFP.
The Jewish representative to the group, Rabbi Michel Serfaty, insisted he would not slow his efforts with the remaining Muslims in the group, which was assembled five years ago.
"Prejudice can't be changed overnight,” Serfaty said.
"It's possible that what happens thousands of kilometers away can undo all our work," acknowledged a member of the Council of Jewish Communities, Andre Benayoun, at a synagogue in southern Paris on Jan. 16, where a back door was set ablaze by arsonists the day before.
Among other things, the council urges local politicians to prevent anti-Semitism through security measures and dialogue with Muslim leaders.
"We can never let our arms down, never resign,” Benayoun said of efforts to reach out to Muslims. We must “just start over systematically."
Why not become a JDL member?! Join today!
Let me remind you of a Mitzve: becoming a JDL member!
Please follow this link: http://www.jdl.org/information/membership.shtml
2009/01/20
ALERT: Europe Reimports Jew Hatred
The mythical Arab Street now reaches deep into Paris, London, Berlin and Madrid. "Give Giancarlo Desiderati credit for his unintellectual honesty. While most left-wing detractors of Israel claim their animosity toward the Jewish state has nothing to do with anti-Semitism, the head of a small Italian union, Flaica-Uniti-Cub, wasted no time with such sophism. Having long called for a boycott of Israeli goods, Mr. Desiderati last week made the logical next step. "Do not buy anything from businesses run by the Jewish community," his group's Web site urged Italians.
Jews around Europe are increasingly under attack since Israel decided two weeks ago to defend itself after years of rocket fire at its civilian population. There have been arson attempts on synagogues in Britain, Belgium and Germany. Police last week arrested Muslim protesters who wanted to enter the Jewish quarter in Antwerp. Several Danish schools with large Muslim student bodies say they won't enroll Jewish kids because they can't guarantee the children's safety. In France, a group of teenagers attacked a 14-year-old girl last week, calling her "dirty Jew" while kicking her.
At rallies in Germany and the Netherlands over the past two weeks, protesters shouted, "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the Gas." In Amsterdam, Socialist lawmaker Harry van Bommel and Greta Duisenberg, widow of the first European Central Bank president, marched at the front of one such "peace" demonstration. They didn't join in the background chorus calling for another Holocaust. Instead, they chanted, "Intifada, Intifada, Free Palestine." Mr. Van Bommel later insisted this wasn't a call for Jewish blood but for "civil disobedience" -- a laughable defense given that terrorists during the last intifada murdered more than 1,000 Israelis.
Most of the anti-Jewish violence and protests in Europe come from immigrants. In what may have been a Freudian recognition of the changing face of Europe, CNN two weeks ago used footage of anti-Israeli protesters in London in a report about the growing anger in the "Arab and Muslim world." The mythical Arab Street now reaches deep into Paris, London, Berlin and Madrid.
After a burning car was rammed into a gate outside a synagogue in Toulouse last week, President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement that was as morally confused as his judgment of Israel's Gaza offensive. Mr. Sarkozy, who condemned both Hamas terror and Israel's attempt to stop it, also blurred the distinction between the victims and perpetrators of anti-Semitism in France.
His country "will not tolerate international tensions mutating into intercommunity violence," he warned, suggesting that the violence in France comes not only from French Muslims but Jews as well. Mr. Sarkozy's comments also suggest that the fighting in Gaza is the cause for attacks on Jews in France -- that is, that the Mideast conflict is fueling anti-Semitism in Europe. It is exactly the other way around.
The rage against the Jews that is exploding in Europe has been carefully nurtured; it is not spontaneous sympathy for fellow Muslims in Gaza. How else to explain the silence when Muslims in other conflicts, from Darfur to Chechnya, are being killed?
The depth of anti-Semitic propaganda in Palestinian and other Muslim societies is one of the most underreported facts about the Middle East. It is this anti-Semitism that predisposes Muslims in Europe to attack Jews and fuels the Mideast conflict. The hatred predates Israel's creation. To illustrate this point: The Palestinian leader during World War II, Hajj Amin al Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, conspired with Hitler to bring the Holocaust to Palestine. Luckily, the British stopped the German troops in Africa. The Mufti spent the war years in Berlin and was later indicted for war crimes but with the help of the Muslim Brotherhood escaped to Egypt. Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Hamas and other Islamists continue what the Mufti had helped to start: a blend of European anti-Semitism and Islam-inspired Jew hatred. The rejection of Israel's right to exist is what drives their attacks. The media, though, largely ignores Hamas's ideology and its crimes of hiding its leaders and weapons among its own civilian population, and demonizes Israel's attempt to protect its citizens.
Hamas and other Islamists are not even trying to hide their ideology. Just read the Hamas charter or check out Hamas TV, including children's programs, for a nauseating dose of murderous anti-Semitism. Last week, the French broadcasting authorities banned Hamas TV for inciting violence and hatred. Unfortunately, just like Hezbollah TV, which is also banned in Europe for its anti-Semitic and jihadi content, audiences here can still receive these programs due to Saudi Arabia's Arabsat and Egyptian satellite provider Nilesat.
The Islamist variation of Jew hatred is now being reimported to Europe. Muslims in Europe, watching Hamas and Hezbollah TV with their satellite dishes, are being fed the same diet of anti-Semitism and jihadi ideology that Palestinians and much of the Middle East consume.
This brings a unique challenge to the difficult integration of Muslims in Europe. When it comes to issues like Shariah law and terrorism, one can expect a true "clash of civilizations." There is no Western tradition that would justify "honor killings." Anti-Semitism, on the other hand, is not alien to Europe's culture -- to the contrary, the Continent once excelled at it and many still share the feeling.
A Pew study from September shows 25% of Germans and 20% of French are still affected by this virus. In Spain, 46% have unfavorable views of Jews. Is there really no connection between this statistic and the fact that the Spanish media and government are among Europe's most hostile toward the Jewish state? Is it just a coincidence that Europe's largest anti-Israel demonstration took place Sunday in Spain, with more than 100,000 protesters?
A 2006 study in the Journal of Conflict Resolution based on the survey in 10 European countries suggests otherwise. Yale University's Edward H. Kaplan and Charles A. Small found "that anti-Israel sentiment consistently predicts the probability that an individual is anti-Semitic, with the likelihood of measured anti-Semitism increasing with the extent of anti-Israel sentiment observed."
With little hope that the media coverage will become more balanced and the incitement of the growing Muslim community will abate, the Jews in Europe are facing uncertain times."
German court prohibits calls to murder Israelis at demonstrations, but allows ...
"Fantastic good news/fantastic progress" : a German court prohibits calls to murder Israelis (Jews ?) at the demonstrations. But allows use pro-Hamas paraphernalia and "Jewish pigs" insults.
"A court in the German capital struck down an administrative ban on Hamas flags, clothing and banners on Friday, but left in place the ban on invoking Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar's call to murder Israeli children worldwide.
The decision paved the way for supporters of the Islamist movement to march in anti-Israeli rallies on Saturday with pro-Hamas paraphernalia.
The German Peace Council and the Palestinian community in Berlin prevailed in their effort to revoke the administrative order issued by Ehrhart Körting, the Social Democratic Party commissioner for security in Berlin, that banned use of Hamas flags.
However, the court prohibited calls to murder Israelis at the demonstrations.
Körting told the Berlin Morgenpost daily "that because of their terrorist attacks, and especially their constant rocket attacks on Israeli citizens, Hamas has been on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations since September 2003. Support for Hamas in Germany through demonstrations justifies the rocket attacks on Israel and encourages Hamas to undertake further rocket attacks."
Körting added that if a court permits support for "verifiably anti-constitutional and anti-Semitic organizations" due to freedom of speech protections, other ways must be found to restrict pro-Hamas activity.
Anti-Israeli demonstrations across Germany have been marked by calls to "kill, kill Israelis" and "kill, kill Jews", as well as "Jews out" of Germany and Israel.
A political commentator in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger wrote a column titled "About looking away and forgetting" that "blatant anti-Semitism is blossoming. Germany is currently experiencing perhaps the largest anti-Jewish manifestations since World War II. Jews are called child-murderers, and Israel is compared with the Third Reich."
A handful of critics have bemoaned German political and societal indifference to the widespread loathing of the Jewish state at the mass demonstrations in German cities. In Kassel, in Hesse state, protesters were greeted by cheers as they attacked a solidarity stand for Israel and attempted to tear down Israeli flags and banners on Saturday.
Police departments in Duisburg and Düsseldorf banned Israeli flags and pro-Israeli solidarity activity at rallies over the last two weeks. In Mainz, people waving Israeli flags at an angry pro-Palestinian demonstration over a week ago were forced to seek refuge in the Kaufhof department store. Aggressive protesters screamed "Jewish pigs" and motioned toward the Israel supporters who found shelter in Kaufhof. According to the pro-Israeli activists, consumers in Kaufhof said, "We do not need people like you here."
Kai Süssenbach, a police spokesman in Mainz, told a local television station that "a group of people were provokingly waving Israeli flags."
Süssenbach added that since the activists were not Israelis, it could be assumed they were provocateurs. The Kaufhof department store issued an order banning the pro-Israeli group from the store's premises.
Ironically, the Nazis stripped the Jewish owner of Kaufhof, Leonhard Tietz, of his property in 1933 and "aryanized" the store."
Source: article by Benjamin Weinthal in TJP
Danish schools caught up in Palestinian conflict
Barbed-wire fences and security guards are a regular part of many Jewish childrens' school day
A number of school administrators have come forth in recent days to confirm that they recommend Jewish children should not enrol at their schools.
According to school administrators, law enforcement officials and social workers, the on-going conflict in Gaza has led to heightened tensions between Jews and Arabs - particularly Palestinians - here in Denmark.
And although few headmasters of schools have faced the situation, most of those at schools with a high percentage of children of Arab descent say they try to prevent Jewish parents from enrolling their children there.
On Monday, headmaster Olav Nielsen of Humlehave School in Odense publicly admitted he would refuse Jewish parents' wish to place their child at his school.
The comments were made following an incident last week in which two Israeli citizen's were shot and wounded at a city shopping centre. Police believe the incident was a reaction to the Gaza conflict.
Other headmasters have now come forth to support Nielsen's position, adding that they are putting the child's safety first.
At Caroline Skole in Copenhagen's Østerbro district, video cameras watch over the playground and entrances of the school, which is surrounded by a 2.5 metre-high barbed-wire fence.
One parent whose child goes to the Jewish school said thinking about the extra security can be disturbing at times, but she felt it was necessary.
Rabbi Bent Lexner called the headmasters' concern 'theoretical. In reality, Jewish parents would never try to enrol their child in those schools.'
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