Report of Anti-Semitic Incidents - Apr-97

April, 1997

General

After an increase in March in the number of attacks and violent incidents

(which may have been the result of Easter), there was a return to a relatively low number which characterized recent months. Among these were shooting at a synagogue in Dallas in the U.S., a suspicious parcel received at the B'nai B'rith offices in Washington and an explosion in the purification room in the Ceuta cemetery. At the same time there was a continuation of attacks on synagogues (Britain), desecration of cemeteries

(Austria) and anti-Semitic type harassment in Britain and Poland.

In contrast to March, there was a slight rise in the number of threats sent to Jewish facilities, especially synagogues and schools in Britain, Italy and Australia and a number of countries in South America.

In the sphere of propaganda, manifestations of anti-Semitic propaganda continued in the overt press, the Internet and against Jewish or Jewish-owned facilities.

In the sphere of struggle, the police in Slovakia arrested those who had desecrated the cemeteries in March.

In various places throughout the world, apparently against the background of Holocaust and Memorial Day which took place in early May, steps were taken to commemorate the Holocaust and honor the memory of its victims.

Attacks and Incidents

U.S./Dallas - In the intermediate days of Passover a man armed with a rifle arrived at the 'Baruch Hashem' synagogue, which is a Messianic synagogue of Jews who believe in Jesus, and fired at the synagogue wall. Slight damage was caused to the synagogue but none of the worshippers were hurt. While shooting the attacker shouted, "Jews, die!" The man turned himself in to the police. During the investigation he said that he wanted to harm and even kill Jews. He had a K.K.K. (Ku-Klux-Klan) tattoo.

Washington - During the intermediate days of Passover a package was received in the B'nai B'rith offices in Washington. The next day a strong odour began to come from the package and a red liquid leaked from the wrapping paper. A letter was attached to the package referring to the Jews and Judaism. The police were summoned and they evacuated the building. A special unit which handles the removal of chemical and biological materials removed the package. The first examination revealed that the material was not poisonous.

Britain - A suspicious bottle which apparently contained medical material was thrown at the 'Jewish Preparatory School' in London during recess. A boy living in the neighborhood said that he had noticed a white man running through the parking lot. It appears that the bottle had been thrown from a nearby building or from the parking lot next to the school.

Abusive slogans, including a swastika, were written on the walls of the 'Ruislip and District' synagogue in Middlesex.

The doors of the prayer house in the Marfleet Jewish cemetery in Hull were set on fire.

Four Jewish youths from the Stanmore district in London were attacked while leaving a pub. The attackers shouted anti-Semitic slogans while attempting to strike them. When the youths entered their car, heavy objects were thrown at them which caused much damage to the car. The young people were not harmed.

A father and his son from the city of Essex were attacked on the way to the 'Chigwell and Hainault' synagogue by youths who shouted "Oy Yiddo" at them. The police who were summoned to the place caught two of the attackers and they were charged with racist assault. Another group of worshippers who passed the same place were attacked again by young people. The police were called again and the young people fled. Their identity is known to the police.

Austria - The Jewish cemetery in the Austrian town of Mattersburg was desecrated. The desecration was done by four children aged 9 to 13 who had been playing in the cemetery, uprooted gravestones and damaged them. The parents of the children said they were prepared to pay for the repair of the gravestones in the cemetery.

Poland - A youth delegation from an Israeli school ran into a group of skinheads in the area of the synagogue in Zamosc about 350 km south-east of Warsaw. The Israeli youngsters encountered outright hatred and anti-Semitism which included insults from passersby and children. The skinheads assaulted the group and a fight ensued, which was stopped by the intervention of the police. They arrested some of the skinheads and accompanied the group back to their hotel.

Spain - In early April the room for the purification of the dead in the Ceuta cemetery Was blown up. Ceuta is a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan border on the Mediterranean Sea. The attackers exploded the gas balloons that were in the room to heat the water. The purification room sustained a great deal of damage. The cemetery was not desecrated. An Arab group, apparently of Moroccan origin,, was responsible for the act. It is not known whether the motive was anti-Semitic or criminal.

Threats

Britain - Synagogues in East London received threats that worshippers arriving at the synagogue would be harmed.

Italy - On 25 April, an anonymous call was received at the secretariat of the Jewish congregation in Modena. The caller said 'the Jews were trash and their place was outside of Italy'. The date was a national holiday commemorating the liberation from the Fascist occupation in World War II.

Panama - An anonymous announcement threatening that a bomb had been planted was left on the answering machine of the Reform congregation's synagogue. The announcement said 'We are going to plant a bomb in the synagogue and you'd better act wisely'. The synagogue secretary summoned the police who searched the premises. Nothing was found. The announcement had been left on the eve of the Passover holiday and the seder was celebrated in the synagogue.

Anonymous threatening calls were received at the Einstein School and the 'Shevet Achim' synagogue in Panama. Nothing was found in a search of both places.

Mexico - A threat of a bomb planted in the 'Nayeh Yiddishe' school in Mexico city reached the National Crisis Center. The school was searched but nothing was found.

Guatemala - An anonymous threatening call on a bomb planted in an entertainment hall was received in a hotel office. On that evening the wedding of the daughter of one of the wealthy members of the local Jewish community was taking place. After the premises were searched and nothing was found the wedding took place.

A few days later another threatening conversation concerning a bomb planted was received in the community center of the Jewish community in Guatemala City.

Brazil - A telephone threat was received by the 'Mekor Haim' synagogue in Sao Paolo. The anonymous caller used anti-Semitic expressions, mentioned Hitler and expressed sorrow that Hitler had not finished the work he had begun. He also promised that the synagogue would be blown up.

Australia - An anonymous announcement on the planting of a bomb was received at the 'Emmanuel' Jewish school in the Randwick suburb of Sydney. The place was searched but nothing was found.

Propaganda

Britain - The British Nazi organization, 'British Nationalist Party' (BNP) has put out a new publication called 'Mindbenders' which focuses on articles against the Jewish community in Britain.

A British Parliament member from the 'Council of Christians and Jews' received an anti-Semitic letter describing the Jews as dogs, parasites and spreading the AIDS disease. Also written in the letter was the sentence 'God bless the name of Hitler'.

Denmark - Anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic propaganda was broadcast during the month on the 'Green Radio' radio station broadcasting from Christiania in Copenhagen. The station broadcasts such propaganda regularly and it identifies with the Libyan ideology (Qadhafi's green book).

Sweden - The Jewish community building in the city of Boras which is about 60 km. from Goteborg was covered with graffiti. Among those slogans written on the building were 'Arbeit Macht Frei' and a swastika.

Peru - A drawing with a swastika was pasted onto the window bars of a mini-market belonging to the Jewish community in Lima.

El Salvador - An abusive slogan with the words 'Death to the Jews' in Spanish was drawn on the stone which is part of a statue standing in the Israel Square in the city of San Salvador.

Costa Rica - Costa Rica has recently joined the many South American countries (like Argentina and Venezuela) that disseminate the 'Tiempos Del Mundo' newspaper, which has an anti-Semitic tone.

Struggle Against Anti-Semitism

Slovakia - The police arrested those who desecrated the Jewish cemetery in the city of Nove Zamky in southern Slovakia. (In late March, about 165 gravestones had been desecrated and broken and two graves had been destroyed. A swastika was drawn on one of them). A criminal file was opened against the three 16-year-old boys who were arrested for disturbing the peace and damaging property. The youths said they had done it to look for gold in the graves. They could nevertheless not explain why they had broken the gravestones.

Miscellaneous

Italy - In a marketing campaign for the weekly 'Espresso', the editors decided to sell together with the weekly a set of cassettes on the Nazi period, the work of the photographer Leni Piefensthal, including the speeches of Hitler and heads of the Nazi regime. Simultaneous to the weekly's publication, an exhibition of the photographer's work took place in Rome which documented the Nazi period. The exhibition was under the patronage of the mayor of Rome. Letters of protest were sent to the weekly's editor and to the mayor which expressed great sorrow and disappointment at this initiative that showed insensitivity and poor taste and was an insult to the feelings of the Jews and Holocaust survivors. A lawyer of the Jewish community in Rome decided to press charges against the Espresso weekly for dissemination of Nazi propaganda.

Norway - The Norwegian security services located a Norwegian Neo-Nazi gang which had planned a series of murders of left-wing and church individuals. Five people were arrested and a quantity of explosives (dynamite) was discovered, as well as a list of hiding places for weapons. Among the equipment of those arrested, a list was found of candidates to be liquidated.

Czech Republic - This month a committee was set up in Prague to map out the gaps in the study of the Holocaust and the lessons learned from the Holocaust, under the patronage of President Havel's bureau. The committee is made up of seven representatives of various institutions, including the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic, the Theresienstadt Camp site, the administration of the Ministry of Interior's Archives, the Museum for Gypsy Culture, the Charles Carolinum University, the Czech Republic's Government Council for National Questions and the Jewish Museum in Prague. Jan Munk, the director of the Theresienstadt Camp site and chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities, stated that the Committee's task would be to concentrate the present information and draw attention to the existing gaps in the study of the Holocaust and its influence on Czech society. Munk added that racial persecution during World War II influenced not only the Jews, but gypsies and homosexuals as well. In this respect, he said, there were more holocausts and we had to learn to classify and analyze them. Munk emphasized that the committee would not deal with the subject of individual compensation to Nazi victims and is not connected with the German-Czech declaration that was recently signed.

Argentina - In a special ceremony in the main cathedral of Buenos Aires, in which the Cardinal and head of the Buenos Aires Church, Antinio Quarracino, and the presidents of the Jewish community participated, a special memorial plaque was fixed to the cathedral wall in memory of victims of the Holocaust and attacks in Argentina. In his statement the Cardinal noted the common roots of the Catholics and the Jews. The memorial plaque was fixed to the outside wall of the cathedral as a gesture to orthodox Jews who are forbidden to enter churches.

Paraguay - The presidential candidate of Paraguay, Erjenia, made a statement in the media against Obeido, the ousted CGS, who is also a presidential candidate. He said that 'if Obeido had the courage to take responsibility, he could be a real leader, just like what happened to Hitler after the attempt to topple the government. Hitler took full responsibility courageously, went to prison and came out a great, leader'.

Politics and Anti-Semitism