Struggle
26-11-2007 / Germany
Germany - Police hunt neo-nazis who cut swastika into woman's hip
German police say they have received two leads but have made no arrests yet in the case of a 17-year-old girl attacked by four far-right youths who cut a swastika symbol into her hip in the eastern town of Mittweida this month.
Police said on Sunday they had received two leads from the public after they released photofit pictures of the attackers. The victim said two of the attackers had badges bearing the letters NSDAP, the acronym of Hitler's Nazi party, on their bomber jackets. The town of 16,000, located in the eastern state of Saxony, condemned the attacks and called on the inhabitants to work with the police to find the perpetrators.
Source:
www.spiegel.de
Date: November 26, 2007
22-11-2007 / Canada
Canada-Quebeccardinal seeks forgiveness
Canada's senior Roman Catholic clergyman has issued an extraordinary mea culpa for a host of historical misdeeds including anti-Semitism.
In an open letter to the media Cardinal Marc Ouellet wrote "I recognize that the narrow attitudes of certain Catholics prior to the 1960s favoured anti-Semitism, racism, indifference towards the First Nations and discrimination in regards to women and homosexuals".
Source:
http://www.thestar.com/
Date: 22/11/07
21-11-2007 / United States
USA - Oregon man accused of hate crime in swastika painting
Fingerprints on a spray can point to a Klamath Falls, Oregon, man who has been accused of painting a 21-foot orange swastika and the words "No Jews" on a house under construction at April.
Edward Zielinski, 24, is charged with intimidation, a hate crime, among other offenses, said Sheriff Tim Evinger.
Source:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
Date: November 21, 2007
21-11-2007 / United States
USA- Fraternity punished for harassment in Illinois
An anti-Semitic harassment incident has resulted in the suspension of the prominent Greek Sigma phi Epsilon fraternity at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
At issue, was an alleged verbal altercation and anti- Semitic remarks with a mainly Jewish NIU fraternity. The Judical Hearing Board found the Fraternity responsible for harassment, imposed a 5- years suspension, a small fine, 2 years probation once the suspension ends and ordered members to attend civility classes.
Source: WBBM paty Cassidy
Date: 21/11/07
19-11-2007 / Britain
Britain - Oxford union faces boycott over Irving
The British defense secretary and at least three other lawmakers canceled appearances at Oxford University's debating society because of a speaking invitation made to David Irving, a historian once jailed in Austria for denying the Holocaust.
Defense Secretary Des Browne and the other officials decided not to speak at the Oxford Union when they learned Irving and Nick Griffin, head of the far-right British National Party, were invited to a forum on free speech.
The Free Speech Forum is planned for Nov. 26. Neither Browne nor the other members of Parliament were invited to attend that event, but were scheduled to speak before the Oxford Union on other days.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Date: November 19, 2007
By Kate Schuman
19-11-2007 / United States
USA-High school in Virginia learns from anti-Semitic incident
Last February, students from Boshop Sullivan Catholic High school in Virginia were blamed for anti-Semitic chanting and graffiti at a basketball game against Norfolk Academy.
Local Jewish and Catholic leaders have arranged for a Montreal troupe- Young Actors for Young Audiences- to perform a play "No More Raisins, No More Raisins, No More Almonds," by Batia Bettman about Jewish teens in Nazi ghetto. The religious leaders raised $120,000 to underwrite free student admission.
Sullivan students' participation is the school's principals of Price's incorporation of diversity awareness education into his curriculum after the February event.
"Instead of brushing an incident under the carpet, he said, no - this is a learning moment," Bettman said from her home in Montreal. "I think he's a very brave man and true educator, though I've never met him."
Performances were arranged by Communities Against Bigotry, an alliance of Catholic and Jewish leaders who came together after February to find ways to shape teen attitudes about racism and bigotry.
At Sullivan, the play fits into a new diversity curriculum integrated into regular classes, including art and literature.
Since February, Sullivan students also have visited the Virginia Holocaust Museum, taken a workshop taught by the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and heard a talk on genocide from an African refugee known as one of the "lost boys" of Sudan.
"Out of an ugly incident has risen a desire by people of goodwill to make sure that necessary steps are taken to ensure young people understand the dangers of what hatred bigotry racism and anti-Semitism can be."
Date: 19/11/07
18-11-2007 / Ukraine
Ukraine - Yuschenko holds meeting on anti-Semitism
Ukraine President Viktor Yuschenko discussed anti-Semitism in his country with the state prosecutor general.
In their meeting, Yuschenko and Oleksandr Medvedko spoke about investigations of anti-Semitic offenses.
Yuschenko emphasized that he wanted to present “a clear position of the Ukrainian state regarding offenses concerned with manifestations of anti-Semitism.”
Source: www.jta.org
Date: Nov. 18, 2007
18-11-2007 / United States
USA-student threatened by anti-Semitic group in Tennessee
Listeners of the anti- Semitic radio personality, Hal Turner, claimed responsibility Sunday for a death threat lodged last week against a Jewish college student in Murfreesboro.
In a post on HalTurnerShow.com, the Web site operated by the radio host, Turner referred to the threat from his listeners as a "tune-up".
The Federal Bureau of Investigation informed university official Friday of a potential death threat made against a student living on campus. University official said immediate action was taken to protect the student and to maintain safety on campus. Turner, a self- proclaimed "white nationalist" who on his talk show advocates the hunting and killing of illegal immigrants, Jews and public official said his supporters would take action to promote the "White race".
"This is a good opportunity for me to remind everyone that what goes on at this web site is not a joke. The issues raised here are serious. The people who visit this site are deadly serious in their commitment to the White race and we simply will not abide opposition or interference from the non- white hordes or their jew poppet masters" the Hal Turner show post states. "Unlike other pro- White sites, the people who come to this site don't simply talk, they take real action," the site states.
Date: 18/11/07
15-11-2007 / Australia
Australia - `Racist' Ocean Grove footballers sentenced
Magistrate Julian Fitz-Gerald in the Melbourne Magistrates'
Court fined Grubbers captain and best and fairest winner James Dalton $1000 but did not convict him of behaving in an offensive manner.
Mr Dalton's teammate Matthew Cuthbert was fined $750 and convicted for using insulting words, which Mr Fitz-Gerald described as appalling, offensive and racist.
Source:
www.geelongadvertiser.com.au
Date: Nov. 15, 2007
By Mex Cooper
15-11-2007 / Spain
Spain – An Announcement by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain
Following the decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to partially exclude incitement of genocide as a punishable offense, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain published an announcement which stated that the decision "distances our country from positions governing the most important European countries and it also clashes with international conventions on human rights, conventions which limit freedom of speech within the definition of honor and the defense of basic rights". The announcement goes on to say, because of the lack of borders, "The country will quite legally become the center for Nazi dissemination with its affect on the entire world". The Federation explains that: "Freedom does have limits which ensure and serve mutual life in peace within society without the infiltration of hatred".
Source: A.G.A.I
Date: 15th November 2007
15-11-2007 / Austria
Austria – The European Court Awards Compensation to a Journalist who Fights Antisemitism
On 15th November, 2007, the European Court on Human Rights exonerated the Austrian journalist Karl Feiffer of the charge of having "caused the suicide" of a German antisemite. The decision was handed down regarding a very complicated issue which included freedom of speech, slander and antisemitism. The Court decided in favor of the veteran journalist and determined that the Austrian courts had not defended Feiffer's good reputation. It decided that the Austrian Government must pay Feiffer 5,000 euros and a further 10,000 euros to cover court costs.
The European Court of Human Rights, which sits in Strasbourg, France, decided that the Austrian court had violated article 8 (the right to a private life) in the European Convention on Human Rights in that it "failed to preserve the balance between freedom of expression and the right of the plaintiff to protect his good reputation".
The course of events:
1995 – Professor Werner Fiefenberger, a German lecturer, published an antisemitic article; Feiffer published a reaction and was sued for slander.
1997-1998 – The courts rejected the suit and said that in his reaction to the article Feiffer had expressed a position supported by facts.
2000 – The Austrian General Prosecutor charged Fiefenberg with engaging in Nazi activity. A short time later, Fiefenberg committed suicide.
2000-2002 – An Austrian newspaper accused Feiffer of causing Fiefenberg's suicide. Feiffer sued the newspaper, but the court decided that he was "morally" responsible for the suicide.
2003 – Feiffer appealed to European Court of Human Rights against the Austrian court and the Austrian government.
2007 – The Court of Human Rights exonerates Feiffer and decides that Austria did not protect his good reputation. It determines that Austria pay Feiffer compensation and cover all court costs.
As mentioned above, on 15th November Feiffer won the case and said: "As if it weren't enough to suffer three years of delay of justice in the Austrian courts simply because I didn't believe that the Jews had declared war on Germany, seeing the judge wagging her finger at me and accusing me of being morally responsible for the suicide of was unbearable. The antisemitic journal Zur Zeit continues to be subsidized by the Austrian government".
Source:
http://www.haaretz.co.il/
Date: 15th November 2007
13-11-2007 / United States
USA-mends his way synagogue attacker
A former white supremacist who pleaded guilty to throwing stones engraved with swastikas through the windows of a Eugene synagogue during services in 2002 avoided a prison term Tuesday, when a federal judge sentenced him to probation following testimony about his efforts to undo the harm his racist actions caused the local Jewish community.
For the past 15 months, Gabriel Doyle Laskey, 23, of Springfield, a one-time member of the Oregon neo-Nazi group Volksfront, has been trying to make amends to Eugene’s Temple Beth Israel and its congregants.
Working with a mediator, he has written letters of apology, met with members of the temple, studied Jewish history with a rabbi and his wife, shared a Shabbat meal with eight people and filmed video segments as a means of communicating with victims who did not want to meet with him in person.
He has renounced his anti-Semitic beliefs and wants to have racist tattoos removed from his body. He also has agreed to make a sculpture for the temple grounds using the welding skills he is acquiring through Lane Community College.
Laskey apologized in federal court and asked the District Judge for another chance.
“I realize that I screwed up really bad,” Laskey said. “I realize I need to be punished for that, and I’m willing to accept that. I know I can’t change the past, but I’d like the opportunity to change the future, for me and for the community.”
The Judge granted him that opportunity. He sentenced Laskey to five years’ probation, as well as six months at the Lane County work release program followed by six months of home detention.
Source:
www.registerguard.com
Date: November 13, 2007
By Rebecca Taylor
13-11-2007 / United States
The United States – Google Post Warnings about Sites with Antisemitic Content
At a conference on "Hate on the Internet" held at the Daniel Hotel in Herzlia, Meir Brand, General Manager of Google Israel said, "Google has decided to react to antisemitic hate sites and has issued a warning notice alongside queries containing the word 'Jew.' "When the word "Jew" is typed in, "a page explaining the rating system immediate appears and warns of the possibility of reaching offensive results, states that the announcements do not express Google's opinion and refers the user to other Internet sites that react to the offensive material which distorts facts". The conference, which was initiated by the Anti-Defamation League, dealt with the question of how to grapple with manifestations of hatred such as antisemitism on the Net. Brand's reference to the search word "Jew" is the outcome of the fact that among the first results of the search to appear is the "Jew Watch" site which contains antisemitic material. "Like many other users, I also believe that the "Jew Watch" site is very offensive", Brand said. "However, I believe that disinformation should be fought against by means of correct information. Therefore, in consultation with the Anti-Defamation League, we decided on the use of these warning announcements".
In answer to the question as to why Google does not remove these offensive search results, Brand said, "The logic behind our non-intervention in anything that has to do with searching is that the results of the search should reflect what does exist on the Internet – the excellent, the good, the bad and the ugly. Google's removal of the search results does not bring about the removal of the contents from the Net". Brand added that Google should not become the main arbiter of what does and does not appear on the Net. This decision has to be made by the elected governments and the courts".
Source:
http://www.haaretz.co.il/
Date: November 13, 2007
By: Ma'ayan Cohen
12-11-2007 / Australia
Australia - Vorchheimer's attackers plead guilty
Two footballers have pleaded guilty to verbally assaulting Menachem Vorchheimer as he walked home from synagogue in October last year.
After a number of lengthy adjournments, James Dalton and Matthew Cuthbert appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court to answer a range of charges. They will return to court for sentencing on Thursday.
Cuthbert pleaded guilty to a charge of using insulting words in public. He admitted to saying, “I’m not going to apologise to no fucking Jew.” Three other charges against Cuthbert were dropped.
Dalton meanwhile, pleaded guilty to one count of offensive behaviour. It was Dalton, the captain of the Ocean Grove Football Club, who snatched Vorchheimer’s kippah and hat from his head.
Source: www.ajn.com.au
Date: November 12, 2007
11-11-2007 / Czech
Czech - More than 1,000 rally against neo-Nazi march in Prague's old Jewish quarter
Brandishing yellow stars and red flags, more than a 1,000 people rallied in Prague’s old Jewish quarter to block an extreme-right march on the anniversary of a notorious Nazi-era pogrom against Jews.
Hundreds of Jews and others gathered in the historic Jewish quarter to commemorate the Nazi pogrom, protest the march and be ready, if it went ahead, to prevent it from going through the Jewish quarter.
We are here "to protest attempts of neo-Nazi groups to publicly promote anti-Semitic, racist and other abusive ideas," said Jiri Danicek, head of the Czech Federation of Jewish communities.
Some of the counter-demonstrators wore the yellow stars of David that Jews were forced to wear during the Nazi era.
Source:
www.ejpress.org
Date: Nov 11, 2007
10-11-2007 / France
France - Frenchman convicted for Holocaust denial: one year in prison
A 38 year old French chemical engineer was sentenced this week to one year in prison and fined 10,000 euros (14,600 dollars) for denying the Holocaust.
Vincent Reynouard was convicted by a criminal court in Salerne, eastern France, for writing a 16-page pamphlet in 2005 entitled "Holocaust? The Hidden Facts."
The work sent to museums and city halls across France described as "an old propaganda theme" the death of six million Jews during World War II, saying such an extermination was "impossible."
It was the heaviest sentence handed down to date for Holocaust denial in France.
Source:
www.ejpress.org
Date: Nov. 10, 2007
09-11-2007 / Canada
Canada – The License of a Racist Teacher Revoked in Ontario
On 9th November 2007, the Disciplinary Committee of the Ontario Teachers' College revoked the teacher's license of Paul Fromm because of his participation in the activities of several racist organizations and because of racist statements he made in public. In 1992, the Canadian Jewish Congress exposed Fromm's participation in neo-Nazi organization and has been demanding his dismissal as a teacher ever since.
Source:
http://www.cjc.ca/
Date: 9th November 2007
08-11-2007 / Argentina
Argentina– A Memorial Ceremony for Holocaust Victims Held at the Russia Embassy in Buenos Aires
On 8th November 2007, the Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires, together with DAIA, held a memorial service for the victims of the Holocaust. During the ceremony Russian ambassador to Argentina, Yuri Korchagin, said that "It is unfortunate that today almost all the countries have to combat chauvinism, xenophobia and violent nationalism". He added that "History teaches us that what assists in the growth of nationalism and antisemetism is forgetting the lessons of the past".
Source: DAIA
Date: November 8, 2007
06-11-2007 / France
France – conviction of one attacker of young Jew in Suresnes
Suresnes – July 14, 2007 (92)
Three men attacked a young Jew while walking home on a Saturday night. He was pushed to the ground, kicked, beaten and called a “filthy Jew”. He was in care for one day. A complaint was filed.
An investigation was held and in a hearing held on November 6 at the Nanterre Court, one of the attackers was convicted and sentenced to:
5 months in jail
1000 Euro compensation
500 Euro fine in accordance with clause 1-475
The anti-Semitic character of the attack was not mentioned.
Date: 06/11/07
05-11-2007 / Germany
Germany - Charges filed against German extreme-rightist Horst Mahler
The former vice-president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Michel Friedman, has filed charges against extreme-rightist Horst Mahler, who greeted him with "Heil Hitler, Mr Friedman!” at the beginning of an interview during which he denied the Holocaust.
Mahler, who is known for his provocative attitude and has been convicted several times for inciting to hatred.
During the interview which lasted two hours, Mahler denied the Holocaust,
"The systematic extermination of Jews in Auschwitz is a lie,” 71-year-old Mahler said.
He called Adolf Hitler "the savior of the German people,” but “not only of the German people.”
Source: www.ejpress.org
Date: Nov 5, 2007
