Report of Anti-Semitic Incidents - Aug-96

August, 1996

General

August was characterized by a solitary attack on one of the Moscow synagogues. The perpetrators are unknown. There were also a number of violent acts in other parts of the world as well as threatening letters received against Jews and Jewish targets.

In the propaganda sphere, anti-Semitic propaganda continued from radical right wing and radical Islamic elements.

In the struggle against anti-Semitism the German government took an important step by sentencing Gary Lauck, the leader of a neo-Nazi organization centered in the U.S., to four years in prison. In another incident, Erich Priebke, a Nazi war criminal who was accused of murdering Italian Jews in 1944, was acquitted in Italy. He was rearrested, however, following an appeal and extradition request from the German government. His acquittal aroused strong criticism, especially from the Italian leadership and the Jewish community.

Attacks and Incidents

Russia - An explosive charge went off in the Jewish Marina Rocha synagogue in Moscow. There were no people in the building at the time and no one was injured. The outside wall of the building was damaged.

Belgium - In a summer camp of a youth group belonging to the Jewish community in England which took place in a small town near the Belgian/Dutch/German border, local youths were attacked by about 20 drunk ruffians. One boy was slightly injured. During the disturbance the ruffians shouted anti-Semitic and Nazi-type slogans.

France - A hand grenade was planted in a Jewish-owned shop in the Saint Margarit neighborhood in Marseilles. This was a continuation of an anonymous announcement the store owner had received. The background to the incident is not clear.

Hungary - 100 tombstones were smashed in the Jewish cemetery in Budapest on Kuzma street (1Oth quarter).

Morocco - The mezuzahs were set afire in the entrance to two Jewish homes in Casablanca.

Australia - In two separate incidents two Jews were hurt on their way to the synagogue in Sydney's eastern suburbs. One was near the Yeshiva synagogue in Bondy where the victim required medical treatment. The second incident took place near the South Head synagogue in Rose Bay where a group of youths threw stones at a Jew and shouted anti-Semitic slogans.

The synagogue in Perth was sprayed with anti-Semitic slogans.

Venezuela - A cardboard box was planted at the entrance to the Caracas synagogue. The box which was a dummy bomb had swastikas drawn on it and the words 'This will be your end'.

Threats

Britain - A number of London synagogues received a letter from the C-18 organization in August. The letter comprised anti-Semitic comments and warnings. Among other things it contained swastikas and the words, 'Jews beware', 'Dirty Jews, we'll smash your brains'. The editor of an anti-Nazi newspaper also received such a letter.

Australia - An anonymous announcement of a bomb planted was received at the Mount Scopus Jewish school in Melbourne. The school was searched and no suspicious objects were found.

Anti-Semitic Propaganda

Britain - In the Hammersmith Broadway district stickers were found bearing a swastika and the words 'Jews are not a race' and 'Insects is a delicate word to describe the Jewish race'.

Australia - The house of a Sydney rabbi was sprayed with anti-Semitic slogans. A sticker bearing the words 'Boycott Jewish Business' was pasted to the shop window of a Jewish-owned store in Sydney. Anti-Semitic letters were received at synagogues and Jewish community institutions in Melbourne.

Syria - The mufti Ahmed Kaftaru sent a letter of support to Abbe Pierre who backs the historian Roger Garaudy, the Holocaust denier, who maintained that the Jews exaggerated the number of victims killed by the Nazis. The letter contained anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist defamatory remarks.

Morocco - An article appeared in the 'Al-Ousboua' weekly entitled 'Do Jews Rule The World?'. The article discusses the ardent obstinacy and tyranny of Israeli leaders. The Zionist rulers have sworn for hundreds of years to rule the world through the Torah and that is what they are doing. Also mentioned was the name of Garaudy as the one who researched the subject of the negative control of the Jews over the world.

The Islamic weekly 'A-Raya' publishes anti-Semitic information. One item referred to the Jewish summer camp in Safi. The newspaper wonders if there are hidden motives behind it and if so, why the Jews were permitted such initiatives while Islamic initiatives among the Arab population were thwarted.

Politics and Anti-Semitism

Italy - The Nazi criminal Erich Priebke, who confessed and was convicted of murdering 335 Italian Jews, was acquitted at the end of a ten-month trial. The court convicted the SS officer but acquitted Priebke of cruel and premeditated conduct as it accepted the defense's plea that Priebke had 'merely followed orders'. This placed Priebke's crimes in the province of the Statute of Limitations and resulted in his release. Protest demonstrations throughout Italy followed the verdict as well as strong criticism among leaders in Italy and Argentina from where he was extradited. Following an appeal of the verdict and an extradition request from the German government, he was rearrested.

Bulgaria - In the Supreme Court in Sofia a decision was taken to revoke judgments given in 1945 during the Communist regime according to which 51 leaders of the pre-Communist period were sentenced to various punishments for their part in Bulgaria's involvement in World War II and additional crimes. The decision is interpreted as rehabilitation of Nazi collaborators. Local reaction was mixed - newspapers supporting the Socialist party condemned the decision whereas opposition newspapers heartily supported it.

The candidacy of Foreign Minister Pirinski to the presidency (from the ruling Socialist party) was questioned in the constitutional court. His disqualification was considered as he was not born in Bulgaria and he is a Jew. The press stated that Pirinski's mother is apparently Czech of Jewish origin. The Bulgarian Jewish organization 'Shalom' publicly denounced the recent publications. Their announcement completely rejected combining issues in the election campaign which might be interpreted as anti-Semitic. It was also stated that Pirinski was not considered a Jew by the Jewish community and was never a member of it.

Struggle

Georgia - President Eduard Shevardnadze protested an article published in the 'Noah' newspaper in Tbilisi in which Jews were called 'blackmailers who pump money, gold and information from the country', and as a cause of unemployment and the other economic troubles plaguing the country. A complaint was reportedly lodged against the newspaper.

The American neo-Nazi Gary Lauck was sentenced in Hamburg to four years prison. The indictment included incitement to racism and dissemination of Nazi propaganda. Lauck is responsible for a good part of the neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic propaganda disseminated from the U.S. throughout the world. The legal question put before the German trial was whether it was at all possible to try him in Germany for his crimes. It should be noted that Lauck's actions are not illegal in the U.S. The judges emphasized that his activity was aimed at harming German democracy and a return to a totalitarian racist regime. In the material disseminated by Lauck there was an attack on the Jewish people, as well as emphasis on the 'Auschwitz lie' (Holocaust denial). Lauck has German roots. The German press generally supports the German court's decision.

Turkey - The author of the book 'The Jew's Wooden Sword' which was published this year stood trial. He was accused according to an article in Turkish law which deals with 'provocation, racism and religious prejudice'. The author was accused with inciting Muslims against Jews. The book comprises documents and pictures proving, as it were, intrigues of the Jews, converts and Free Masons that destroyed the Ottoman Empire and are trying also to destroy the Turkish Republic. The book 'proves' how the Jews gained control over politics, communication, the economy and culture.

Miscellaneous

Sweden - On the anniversary of the death of Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, memorial marches and demonstrations of support by groups of neo-Nazis took place in the town of Trollhattan. Neo-Nazis also arrived for the memorial commemoration from Denmark, Norway and Germany.