Report of Anti-Semitic Incidents - Mar-99

Report of Anti-Semitic Incidents - March 1999

General

A significant increase in attacks on Jews and Jewish facilities has lately been apparent in Russia and the CIS. This may be the outcome of virulent propaganda we have seen in recent months on the one hand, and the authorities lack of action in dealing with racism on the other.

Russia - The synagogue in Novosibirsk was desecrated. Unknown persons broke in at night, destroyed furniture and equipment, burnt holy books and torah scrolls, threw torah scrolls on the floor and drew swastikas and abusive slogans on the walls. This synagogue was returned to the Jewish community about a year ago and is the only active synagogue in the area. Among the abusive slogans were the letters RNE, the name of Barkashovs Neo-Nazi movement. It is assessed that his supporters perpetrated the act.

Synagogue windows were shattered in Voronezh in southern Russia on a number of occasions during the month.

ORT students in Moscow were harassed by a group of hooligans with chains who shouted at them Come on out, Jews! Well settle with you".

Ukraine - Anti-Semitic graffiti were drawn on the walls of the Brodsky synagogue in Kiev. UN77 - Nationalist Ukrainians - was written alongside one of the slogans. This might indicate that radical right-wing activists were the perpetrators.

Britain - Unknown persons tried to enter the Jewish youth club Sinclair House in Essex. When they did not succeed, they shouted anti-Semitic remarks, such as You fucking Jews, Hitler should have finished the job and threw stones at the club members who were working out.

A number of Jewish shops in Salford, Manchester, were attacked by unidentified persons who threatened them with iron rods. The background to the incident is unclear.

In two separate incidents in Middlesex, the words NF, fucking Jew were carved on cars owned by Jews.

Argentina - The Jewish cemetery in Rosario was desecrated. A number of gravestones were defaced and damaged.

Mauritania - A Jewish doctor was attacked by one of the patients in the hospital in Nouakchott. The man shouted Yahud, Yahud at the doctor and struck him on the head. The attacker was apprehended by people in the vicinity.

South Africa - Unknown persons broke the wall of the Jewish cemetery in Kroonstad and drew the words Luke 19:10 on a number of gravestones (a reference to the New Testament).

Britain - An anonymous phonecall was received on the answering machine of the Ealing Liberal synagogue in London. The message said that an attack there was imminent. This synagogue also received a letter from a person claiming to have been harmed by Jews. The connection between these two incidents is being investigated.

U.S. - An anonymous phonecall on the planting of a bomb was received at the Jewish community center and Jewish school (JCC) in Palm Beach, Florida. The place was evacuated and searched but nothing was found.

Brazil - Three anonymous conversations on an attack intention were received at the Hebraica Club in San Paolo.

Britain - Two anti-Semitic letters were received at the editorial offices of the London Jewish News. One letter said: Jews are bastards, liars, madmen and murderers and other expressions.

A number of people living in Winchmore Hill, Stoke-Newington, Stamford Hill and Southgate received anti-Semitic letters which included quotations from the Talmud proving that the Talmud is racist and should therefore be banned.

France - Unknown persons drew swastikas and graffiti on the walls of the new Jewish community building in Aix-en-Provence. Expressions were written such as Zyklon B, White Europe, Hitler is Alive. Handbills were also posted on the walls with a drawing of a Star of David hanging on a gallows surrounded by flames. Some of the handbills were signed by a French radical right-wing organization called Movement National Socialist Francais (MNSF).

Italy - Anti-Semitic slogans were drawn in the Boccea area in Rome.

Leaflets bearing anti-Semitic slogans were hung next to the Jewish club and Jewish school/kindergarten in Genoa.

A booth was opened in the center of Rome where Nazi flags and symbols can be purchased. The booth was set up to collect signatures against the entry of immigrants, but the organizers, who call themselves Young Fascists are using the place to sell symbols of Fascist culture.

Denmark - The president of the Jewish community in Copenhagen received an abusive anti-Semitic letter in which the Jews are accused of destroying the country.

Spain - Abusive slogans and swastikas were drawn on the walls of the Balmes community building and its library and on the famous Bernabeo soccer field in Madrid.

Hungary - A conference of Muslim countries called Europe and the Islamic Connection as a Growing Factor in Europe took place in Hungary. Following the conference a television program was broadcast describing Muslim attempts to penetrate the gypsy population in Hungary. Anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist slogans were heard in the program.

During the Hungarian national holiday, the Hungarian radical right-wing organization Hungarian Welfare Association, led by the anti-Semitic Holocaust denier Albert Szabo, held a rally in Blaha Lujza Ter in Budapest. The speakers gave anti-Semitic and anti-Israel speeches and slogans and called for the Jews to leave Hungary.

A letter denying the Holocaust was published among the letters to the editor of "Nepszabadsag". It was written by a journalist named Istuan Lubasz.

Poland - An anti-Semitic leaflet was pasted in the Warsaw airport. The leaflet said Jews Out! and The best medicine for the Poles health is to throw the Jews out of the government. A drawing of the stereotype Jew in anti-Semitic propaganda appeared in the leaflet.

Russia - Anti-Semitic slogans like Kill a Jew were drawn on the walls of the government school in Oryol in central Russia. The school rents rooms to the Jewish community which holds Hebrew classes there. Following the incident, the community leaders expressed their fear of continuing the lessons there.

The Novosti Nedeli newspaper published that the sale of Mein Kampf and other anti-Semitic books continues in Latvia.

Mexico - A number of swastikas were drawn in Guadalajara.

An abusive anti-Semitic letter addressed to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Anan reached the offices of the Keren Hayesod in Mexico. The letter said that Germany should stop paying compensation to the Jews and the Jews should be ashamed and stop being parasites and a burden on the nation which had merely defended itself against the Jewish-Marxist threat.

Swastikas were drawn on cartons of goods in the Superama Condesa supermarket.

U.S. - Anti-Semitic accusing letters were sent by electronic mail to Jewish students at Ohio State University in Athens, Ohio. The names of all the students who received hate letters appear in the Hillel organization e-mail list. A swastika was drawn on the entrance to the Shalom House old peoples home in Marin County, California.

A student at the Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, runs a Neo-Nazi organization from his room in the dormitory. The student, David Wolfgang Hawk, whose original name is Andrew Brett Greenbaum, founded an organization by the name of Knights of Freedom while he was in high school near Boston. He claims his purpose is to rise to power in that state as an absolute dictator, as ruler. He declared that the Jews are the descendents of Satan, that Buddhism and Islam are subversive cults and that women should be prohibited from working so that they could take care of their families. He is also interested in creating all white countries and to free Germany from the Jewish government which siezed power there illegally. He also declared that many govenrments throughout the world are controlled by Israel. Rumours that Hawk is Jewish have meanwhle reached the ears of other Neo-Nazi groups and Tom Metzger, the leader of the White Aryan Resistance said that if Hawk were really Jewish he would immediately lose his supporters. Hawk apparently has some 100 supporters, most of whom joined his organization since he set up an Internet site (www.kof.net) in August last year. The site makes many references to Hitler and Hawk appears there dressed in Nazi uniform. Hawk sells Nazi products through the site such as pins, flags and even an S.S. officer uniform. Many of these products are stored in his room in the university dormitory. The university authorities cannot do anything in the matter for fear of violating the students right to free speech and organization.

Australia - A fund-raising letter to write an anti-Semitic book was received at the offices of a Jewish organization in Sydney. Holocaust denial electronic mail was also received which praises the actions of the Germans.

In the Australia/Israel Review a critical article appeared on the book written by Scott Balson, member of the One Nation nationalist party. In response to the criticism, Balson himself published two anti-Semitic letters praising the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' and claimed that the elite racist international Jewry is perpetuating a scam.

The Adelaide Institute continues to publish Holocaust denial material in addition to the newsgroup Aus. Politics which accuses the Jews of controlling the Australian media.

Malaysia - The screening of the film Prince of Egypt was banned. In the past the authorities banned the screening of the film Schindlers List by Spielberg for anti-Semitic reasons. It can therefore be concluded that the ban on showing the film Prince of Egypt derives from the same anti-Semitic background.

South Africa - An unidentified person called Boerseun wrote a Holocaust denial letter to the Afrikaner where he maintains, among other things, that in the death camps in Germany not more than 400,000 persons died and that the Holocaust is really an April Fools joke.

Two officials of the Jewish community received anti-Semitic phonecalls.

Latvia - The terrible book Baigas Gads was shown over the Internet site in Latvia. The book is Nazi propaganda and includes pictures of atrocities. It was first published in 1942 and maintains that the Jews were responsible for the Soviet crimes in Latvia. The book was reprinted by Leonards Inkins who is also in charge of publishing the radical right-wing newspaper Latvians in Latvia. Following many appeals, Inkins membership in the right-wing TB/LNNK party (which is part of the coalition) was cancelled and the books distribution was stopped.

After an illegal parade held in February by members of the Latvian branch of the Russian Neo-Nazi organization Russian National Unity, administrative files were opened against the local leader and two of his friends. The local leader was convicted and received a fine of 25 lats (about 50 dollars). After the verdict was appealed the leader was sentenced to 14 days administrative imprisonment and his two friends to two days imprisonment each.

Russia - The Moscow Prosecutor decided on 3 March, 1999 to change the 2-year old law on administrative responsibility for the preparation, distribution and exhibition of Nazi symbols in the Moscow area. The change determines that punishment for these acts passes from the lawcourts to the police. This reduces the expected punishment: instead of imprisonment or service work, there is an immediate minimum fine of 20-100 salaries. The Moscow Prosecutor also filed a suit in the courts to close the district branch of the Neo-Nazi RNE.

Hungary - On the occasion of the Hungarian national holiday the Jewish community in Budapest held a meeting to protest anti-Semitism , nationalism and xenophobia.

European Parliament - On the initiative of the European Jewish Congress, a meeting was held on anti-Semitism in Russia during the plenary session of the European Parliament. Participating in the meeting were the president of the European Jewish Congress Ignatz Bubis, the president of the Jewish Congress in Russia Vladimir Gusinski and the rabbi of Moscow Goldshmidt. Many European Parliament members arrived at the meeting. The speakers, led by Bubis and Gusinski, referred to anti-Semitism in Russia and especially anti-Semitism deriving from the Communist party (among other things, the statements of General Albert Makashov). Traditional anti-Semitism has taken on a new look as anti-Zionism or anti-Israel but it is clear that this is only a cover. The members of the European Parliament insisted on the need to create all the legal instruments to struggle against the manifestation. They also requested to be kept regularly informed (through the European Jewish Congress) on anti-Semitic incidents in Russia.

Austria - The Catholic priest Gotfried Melzer was sentenced to six months parole for publishing anti-Semitic publications and incitement to hatred. Melzer is one of the organizers of the traditional parade to the grave of Andrew of Rinn, the Christian boy who is at the center of hundreds of years of blood libel.

South Africa - Jewish members of the Central Bauteng Bowling Association in Johannesburg staged a walkout from the council meeting in protest against the councils decision to shorten by 18 months the period of suspension of a club member who was convicted of making anti-Semitic statements. The man was suspended from the games for a period of two years and was asked to apologize for his anti-Semitic statements.

Poland - Hundreds of citizens of the city of Oswiecim demonstrated in protest of the Polish authorities intention to pass a law on commemorative sites and to declare the surroundings of the Auschwitz death camp a protected area with no commercial activity. They claim that the plan will harm their ability to make a living and lead to wide unemployment in the area. The Deputy Minister of Interior and government representative for the Auschwitz plan did not conceal the fact that the law intended to remove the crosses next to the Auschwitz death camp.

Czech Republic - Twelve members of the skinhead movement in the Czech Republic were arrested during a police raid in February. A list was also siezed of dozens of movement members and supporters in Pilsen and Domazlice. Neo-Nazi and racist written material, cassettes, symbols and the Phoenix skinhead magazines were confiscated. Those arrested belong to the Bohemia Hammerskins, a well-organized group which attracts the most radical skinheads. The group is the local branch of the international Hammerskins organization which originates in the U.S. There is another theory that the group arrested actually belongs to Blood and Honour which specializes in organizing concerts. If they are convicted, the movement leaders could receive from 3-8 years in prison. Those who appeared in the list of members and supporters of the movement may be tried and receive prison terms of up to five years. A concert that was to have taken place in the city of Line in western Bohemia by the Swedish band Screwdriver was cancelled due to the arrests. Despite the concerts cancellation, some 100 skinheads gathered at a local pub in the city. Calls of Zieg Heil coming from the pub resulted in the arrests of another 12 skinheads who wore Nazi symbols.

Latvia - On 16 March, 1999, a parade was held in the center of Riga by veterans of the Latvian Waffen SS units. Members of the Latvian radical right-wing party also participated in the event. The parade took place without any special incidents except for an anti-demonstration during which signs denouncing Facism and the Nazi occupation were waved. The Jewish community announced that it would not fly the Latvian national flag from the community building even though the day was declared a national holiday.

Austria - A high school in Vienna located the names of Jewish students who had studied in the school and who perished in the Holocaust. The students initiated setting up a memorial plaque in the school in memory of the Jewish students.

Germany - On 9 March, 1999 a demolition charge exploded in Sarbrucken next to a building where the exhibiton War of Destruction: Wermacht Crimes 1941-1944 was being held. This exhibtion has been controversial since it was first opened some three years ago. The main message of the exhibition - contrary to the accepted historical impression - is that the German army also played a role in the crimes of the Nazi regime and participated in the Holocaust acts of destruction. In the years since it was first opened, besides Neo-Nazi demonstrations against the exhibition, there was a vociferous debate among public figures for and against. There were demonstrations in the past - some of them violent - during the exhibition throughout Germany. In most of the cases supporters of the NPD radical right-wing party were behind the disturbances . Politicians from the center-right CDU also spoke out against the exhibition or boycotted its opening in various cities.

U.S. - During the month of March, the Saint Thomas church in New York held a charity concert to restore the Central Synagogue nearby which had almost burnt down in the summer of 1998.

Argentina - On 17 March a ceremony took place at Casa Rosada where the Organization Against Discrimination and Racism (INADI) was declared an official government office by decree of President Menem. The ceremony turned into an event commemorating the attack on the Israeli embassy. All the speakers at the event defined the attack as a crime against humanity and a black day in the history of Argentina. The 17th of March was declared henceforth to be a national day for the struggle against racism.

Germany/U.S. - Gary Lauck, a Neo-Nazi who headed the NSDAP-AQ organization which is based in Nebraska, U.S., and is responsible for disseminating Neo-Nazi anti-Semitic and racist propaganda material throughout the world in various languages, was expelled from the U.S. after a period of imprisonment in Germany. Lauck had been wanted by the German authorities for disseminating his organizations Neo-Nazi propaganda in Germany. He was arrested in Denmark and extradited to Germany where he was tried and sent to prison. The NSDAP-AO organization disseminates propaganda and stickers signed by the organization throughout the world in various languages. The material is also distributed from the centre of the U.S.

Latvia - The Latvian government decided to allocate 25,000 U.S. dollars to be transferred to a fund in London for Holocaust victims. The Latvian government decided that at least one half of this sum would be earmarked for the Jewish museum in Riga (which includes many documents on the Holocaust) and for continued research on the subject. The second half will be used for a Jewish school in Riga.

Germany - The Claims Committee, the body which represents the government of Israel and Jewish organizations around the world vis-a-vis the German government with regard to reparations for Nazi victims, reached an agreement with the German Ministry of Finance on extending the period of payment of allowances to needy Holocaust survivors. According to the agreement, 50,000 needy Holocaust survivors - 30,000 of them Israeli citizens - will receive a monthly allowance from the government of Germany all their lives.

International - From now on some 1,000 Righteous Gentiles will also be entitled to payments from the Fund for Humanitarian Purposes which the Swiss authorities established for needy Holocaust survivors. The directors of the fund thus accepted the initiative of the International Organization for the Return of Jewish Property (ILAR) and Yad Vashem who wanted to expand the rights of those non-Jews who rescued Jews in the Holocaust and most of whom are living today, mainly in Eastern Europe, under conditions of real poverty. The money to be distributed will range from 500 to 1,000 dollars.

France - The Union of French Banks, that represents 106 banks which operated in France from 1940-1945 under Nazi occupation, announced that French banks will take steps to return to the Holocaust victims and their heirs all the deposits and property that was held in these banks. The banks hastened to promise that they also intended on a personal basis to repay the debts to the heirs of those robbed. However, while the World Jewish Congress estimates that there are 65,000 accounts which have not been returned, the banks are not prepared to state any amount. The fact that the banks retained accounts of owners who have disappeared is against the law since they should have transferred them to the state within 30 years.