Report of Anti-Semitic Incidents - Mar-97

March, 1997

General

During March the number of violent anti-Semitic attacks and incidents doubled compared to February, and rose in comparison to the relatively low number characterizing the previous months in general. Most prominent in incidents and attacks was the large number of cemetery desecrations (in Britain, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Slovakia and Greece), and damage to synagogues (in Italy, France, Germany, Britain and Australia). The background to this may have been the Easter holiday.

At the same time there was an increase in the number of threats and nuisance phone calls against Jewish individuals and facilities.

Anti-Semitic propaganda continued to appear in the overt press, over the Internet and against Jewish facilities in various places throughout the world.

The struggle against anti-Semitic manifestations was evident in Britain (a verdict against the leader of the neo-Nazi Combat-18 organization and the denunciation of the 'Nation of Islam' organization), in France (the beginning of the trial of skinheads who were accused of desecrating the body of a Jew in 1990 in Carpentras), in Poland (the admission that a priest had offended the Jews), in Hungary (the confiscation of copies of 'Mein Kampf') and in South Africa (the announcement by the heads of a Muslim radio station that the declarations of the anti-Semitic Holocaust denier Ahmad Huber who visited South Africa, were not the opinion of the station).

Attacks and Incidents

Italy - A Molotov cocktail was thrown at one of the doors of the Great Synagogue in Rome in Lungotevere De Cenci. No one was injured and no damage was caused to property. The police apprehended the person who threw the Molotov cocktail. The background to the incident is unknown.

Britain - Graffiti were found on the wall of the Wembley United Synagogue in London and on the path leading to the synagogue.

Gravestones were smashed on three separate occasions in the Failsworth cemetery. Three gravestones were smashed the first time, five the second time and the third time, five more were smashed and swastikas were drawn. The cemetery guard found youths trying to get into the cemetery a number of times.

An anti-Semitic letter was received at the offices of the Jewish Society in Cambridge University. The letter contained a picture of Hitler and the threat that "the next time we will kill those of you that have remained". A razor blade was also put into the letter to injure the person opening it. The same letter was received at the 'Beth Shalom' Synagogue in Cambridge. This was not the first time that the Jewish Society has received such letters.

Scotland - The local Jewish cemetery in Glasgow was desecrated. About 20 gravestones were smashed. About a half year ago in the same cemetery about 200 gravestones were smashed. The vandals are unknown. It is assessed that the damage was carried out by local youths as the cemetery is located in a depressed area.

Mud and dirt were thrown at the entrance to a rabbi's home in Glasgow.

France - Unknown persons drew swastikas and graffiti on the walls of the Toulon synagogue on Lazar Camot Avenue.

Sweden - The prayer house in the Jewish cemetery in Malmo was set on fire. The fire was started by a burning article thrown through a window that had been broken with a metal rod. Part of the prayer house was damaged and will not be able to be used in the near future. It is assessed that the action had been planned and that it originated with the radical right/neo-Nazis as the cemetery is shared by three religions and only the Jewish section was damaged and burned. The cemetery was also desecrated last year.

Germany - The Jewish cemetery in Weissensee was desecrated. On a number of gravestones and on the building at the site swastikas and defamatory inscriptions were drawn. One of the slogans said "Jews Out". There are no details on the perpetrators.

A small symmetrical hole was discovered in a window in a synagogue in Cologne indicating that a shot had been fired at the synagogue by a light firearm.

Poland - About 30 windows were smashed in the Jewish Cultural Center in Zary in the Zielona Gora (west) area. They were broken by stones thrown at the building by unknown persons. In response to the incident a spokesman of the Polish 'PAP' news agency was quoted as saying that "we regard this act as vandalism carried out by hooligans".

Slovakia - The Jewish cemetery in Nove Zamky in southern Slovakia was desecrated during the Easter holiday. Unknown persons desecrated about 165 graves and drew a swastika on one of them. Similar incidents of gravestone desecration occurred in Slovakia in the past in the cities of Stupava

(August, 1995), Nitra (July, 1995) and Topolcany.

The Jewish cemetery in Kosice was desecrated. 76 graves were desecrated and damaged, among them the graves of two rabbis and a common grave for Holocaust victims. It is assessed that this desecration also occurred during the Easter holiday.

Greece - The Jewish cemetery in Trikkala was desecrated. About 80 percent of the gravestones were smashed, This ancient cemetery has existed for about 200 years and stretches over about 10 dunams. A swastika was also drawn.

Brazil - The house of Rabbi Blumfeld who lives in the Copacabana neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro was set on fire. The rabbi's house is situated next to the 'Bar Ilan' Jewish School. The rabbi was out of the country when the house was set on fire. The perpetrators are unknown but it is assessed that the arson was of criminal origin or revenge within the community.

At the end of an activity of the 'Youth Front' in Rio de Janeiro, while the young people were getting onto the buses, a taxicab passed by and the driver threw an empty bottle at the boys. In a pursuit attempt after the driver another bottle was thrown.

Argentina - A suspicious parcel was sent to the Spanish school in Santa-Fe which is north of Buenos Aires. The guard opened the parcel which contained a book and abusive language.

Australia - Eggs were thrown at a synagogue window in Brisbane.

A Jewish rabbi and teacher were harassed while walking along the street in a Sydney suburb by the driver of a passing car who saluted them with the Nazi salute.

Threats

Sweden - An anonymous person called the Malmo police station and said that he had planted a bomb in a building. That evening a Purim party took place in the community center. The place was searched but nothing was found. Other buildings were also searched but nothing was found.

The Chairman of the Jewish community in Helsingborg (which is about 60 km from Malmo) experienced a number of anti-Semitic incidents in recent weeks. He received a threatening phone call which said "You bloody Jews, it's a pity Hitler didn't get you. You should be killed". A woman called the Chairman of the community and said that his name had appeared on the Internet at the site HTTP://WWW.ARISKKAMP.COM which is a neo-Nazi site. Alist of names, addresses and phone numbers appears on the site. It said that he was a Jew. The Chairman of the Community discovered that a sticker had been pasted on his mailbox. The sticker contained the following text in German (derogatory language) "Dampf Mit Dem Judischcn Terror" and a swastika.

Britain - A Jewish family living in London has been receiving anti-Semitic letters for the past nine months, some of them in German. This month the family received a letter which also included threats on the life of one of the family members. The letter was placed on their car and a swastika was drawn on it. The family also received two telephone threats this month, in one of which threats on the life of the family were heard.

Two threats were recorded on the answering machine of the Jewish Welfare Board in Manchester. The speaker had a heavy Arabic accent. The first threat mentioned a possible attack on Jews in Britain in the Midlands area and the second threat said they would not harm Jews but rather would bring about the Islamization of all the Jews, by the grace of Allah.

U.S. - Threatening letters written in Arabic, English and German were sent to churches and synagogues in Houston, Texas. There was a mention or Islam and the Koran on the first page of the letter and on the second page was written "... We will hurt the Jews on Saturday and the Christians on Sunday".

Argentina - Threats and nuisance phonecalls were received by a number of community institutions in Santa Fe which is north of Buenos Aires. The messages were recorded on answering machines as they had arrived after the institutions had closed. The callers identified themselves as the 'Neo-Nazi Commando'.

Columbia - A threatening call was made to the principal of a local school in Cali. The school was evacuated and searched but nothing was found.

Propaganda

Britain - Material denying the Holocaust was inserted into copies of a new edition of 'The Diary of Anne Frank' which was exhibited for sale in London book stores. In one of the stores advertising the book a swastika was drawn on the front window.

The student associations of the Universities of Durham and Warwick received an anti-Semitic pamphlet called 'In a Nutshell'. The pamphlet was produced by a company called 'Truth At Last' which is located in Marietta, Georgia in the U.S. The Jewish Students' Organization intends to investigate if additional student associations received the pamphlet.

The offices of the chief Rabbi of London received an anti-Semitic letter. Among other things the letter mentioned 'Jewish corruption' and the 'Jewish Mafia'.

In the subway in Essex anti-Semitic slogans were written, such as 'Death to the Jews'.

Swastikas and the words 'SS' and 'Jews' were drawn on a hut in Brondesbury Park in London. Young Asians are known to frequent the area.

An anti-Semitic letter was received at the South London Liberal Synagogue with the title 'Christianity Has Failed in Europe'. The letter accuses the Jews of controlling the media and expelling Christian preachers from Israel.

Scotland - Two anti-Semitic letters were received at the Glasgow Jewish Telegraph Office. Anti-Semitic pamphlets were sent to the synagogue and the Resource Center.

Sweden - In a suburb of Stockholm large swastikas were drawn and a sentence 'Kill the Jews' was written on a school building.

An anti-Semitic letter was received in the Jewish Museum in Stockholm. The letter contained statements such as 'All bloody Jews should be killed because of the way they are behaving in Palestine'.

Australia - An anti-Semitic abusive letter was received by the Holocaust Survivors' Association in Sydney.

Struggle Against Anti-Semitism

Britain - Charles Sargent, one of the leaders of the violent British nco-Nazi organization, Combat-18, was sentenced to 17 months imprisonment for his part in disseminating the 'Stormer', a British neo-Nazi publication, published by Combat-18. Another C-18 member who was involved in disseminating the publication was also sentenced to 17 months in prison. A third member received a 12-month sentence.