Report of Anti-Semitic Incidents - Nov-98

Report of Anti-Semitic Incidents - November, 1998

General

There was no significant change in the number of anti-Semitic incidents during the month of November. It is noteworthy, however, that for the first time after many years, strongly anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in the Czech Republic and in other places in Eastern Europe.

There was a significant rise in anti-Semitic propaganda recorded, especially in Russia and the C.I.S., as well as other places in the world. Among others much use has recently been made of the Holocaust as a propaganda tool.

Anti-Semitic Attacks and Incidents

Britain - Swastikas and anti-Semitic derogatory slogans were drawn on the entrance doors and windows of the Netherlee and Clarkston Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Glasgow. The slogans said 'We hate all the Jews' and 'Nazi Boys'.

A man who was waiting in his car near the gate of the Birmingham Central Synagogue in Birmingham was threatened with a knife by Arab looking passengers in another car. The passengers asked where the mosque was and when the man replied that he didn't know they told him that they were 'Jew killers'. After it became known that the man was not Jewish he was left alone.

Czech Republic - A young Jewish soldier serving in the Czech army was attacked by skinheads in a Prague pub. The attack occurred after the Jewish soldier asked the skinheads to stop their anti-Semitic remarks. The soldier was hospitalized as a result of the attack. The incident was censured by the rabbi of the city who also had an unpleasant experience with a group of skinheads a few days later. Skinheads shouted anti-Semitic and nationalistic disparaging remarks at him while he and his child were passing by a place where a meeting of young left-wing supporters was being held.

The Jewish cemetery in Trutnov was desecrated. A large number of tombstones were pulled out from their place. The abusive slogan 'Juden Raus' and a drawing of a swastika and gallows were also found. During the same week the Holocaust memorial and a sign marking the location of the old synagogue in the city were also damaged.

Germany - The Jewish cemetery in Schoenhauser in the Berlin area was desecrated. A number of tombstones were pulled out and toppled. The background to the incident is unclear.

Italy - The memorial plaque to Yitzhak Rabin in a Rome park was smashed a few days after it was erected. The words 'Death to Zionism' were written on one of the walls near the park.

Greece - Unknown persons tried to break into the main synagogue in Saloniki. The background to the incident is unclear.

Serbia - Two serious anti-Semitic incidents occurred in the past two months in Belgrade and its environs. The exact date is unknown.

a. Molotov cocktails were hurled late at night at the synagogue in Belgrade and in Novi Sad. No one was hurt and there was no damage to property.

b. Anti-Semitic slogans were drawn on the walls of the synagogue and the Jewish community offices in Belgrade. Among the slogans was written, 'Long live Adolf Hitler', 'Death to the Jews', swastikas and S.S. symbols.

Russia - Eight young people attacked an Israeli teacher from the Migdal Or school in Moscow. As a result of the attack the teacher required medical treatment in hospital. One of the youths was a skinhead. The incident was assessed to be anti-Semitic.

Argentina - A demolition charge exploded next to the Citibank branch in Buenos Aires. No one was injured but property was damaged. A nationalist radical right-wing movement assumed responsibility for the incident. It is assessed that the incident occurred following the U.S. Citibank's acquisition of the Mayo Banco which is under Jewish ownership and the intention to fire some of the bank employees.

Australia - A man entered the premises of a Jewish school in Sydney with his car and shouted at the pupils 'Kill all the Jews and the Israelis'. He left the school area afterwards.

During a soccer game in which a Jewish team from Sydney participated, spectators shouted anti-Semitic slogans and harassed Jews in the crowd during and after the game.

While a Jew and his daughter were returning home from a synagogue in Melbourne, they came across a man who goaded his dog to bark at and jump on them. He also shouted anti-Semitic remarks at them.

Threats

Britain - A letter threatening the planting of a bomb was received by the Jewish Free School in London. The school was searched but nothing was found.

Germany - An anonymous bomb threat to a restaurant next to the Jewish Community building in Fasanenstrasse was received at the Israeli representation in Berlin. The place was searched but nothing was found.

Argentina - A pamphlet was found in the Bialik school in Buenos Aires announcing the date of a possible attack on the school.

At the Clarin newspaper editorial offices in Buenos Aires an anonymous announcement was received on the planting of a bomb. The place was searched but nothing was found. A number of articles were recently published by Clarin on the cooperation between Peron and the Nazis and Argentina becoming a refuge for war criminals who fled from Europe after World War II.

Canada - An anonymous threat on the intention to 'blow up people' was received at the office of the Jewish Agency emissary in the Jewish Community Center in Ottawa. The place was searched but nothing was found.

Racist and Anti-Semitic Propaganda

Britain - The Electoral Reform Society received an anti-Semitic letter which said that the 'Zionist Jews are trying to destroy the white race'. The letter was signed by '88' (the number signifying the initials of Heil Hitler).

A swastika was carved on the outside wall of a Jew's apartment in South Harrow, Middlesex.

The offices of the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) in Britain received an anonymous anti-Semitic letter from a German claiming that the Jews are the root of all evil and that they control the world media. He referred to the Holocaust as the 'so-called Holocaust'.

At the offices of the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (CARF), an anti-Semitic printed leaflet was received from the Historical Review,claiming among other things that the Holocaust was propaganda to preserve world Zionist control,and that Anna Frank's diary was forged . France - Roger Garaudy, the writer who was recently convicted in France for publishing a book denying the Nazi destruction of the Jews, published a new book this week, called 'The Trial of Israeli Zionism'. It criticizes the 'dogmatic dedication of the golden number (that is, six million Jewish victims) and raises the demand for a public scientific debate on the question of the gas chambers'. The book also maintains that the claim that Jewish flesh was used to produce soap is a fabrication spread by Simon Weisenthal. The book was published by the Paris publishing house Vents Du Large which is close to Islamic circles.

Italy - During the famous Roma-Lazio soccer derby in the Olympic stadium in Rome abusive placards were waved denouncing Rome's chief rabbi and the Jews in general. Among other things, one placard said 'Auschwitz is your homeland and the ovens are your home'. It appears that this derby game is a traditional place for right-wing disturbances.

Switzerland - As part of the renewed preoccupation with Jewish wealth and gold in Switzerland, four anonymous letters were received in the mail during the week of 1-7 November, 1998 at the Israeli embassy in Berne The letters contained anti-Semitic abuse such as 'All the Jews are pigs' and 'Jews are thieves'.

The fourth letter which arrived on 9 November, 1998, was the most abusive and contained a threat on the lives of various people. It said that "...Hatred towards the Jews in Switzerland due to the blackmail connected with the Holocaust has not yet ended and has not been forgotten at all. On the contrary , hatred against the Jewish pigs has become stronger".The Mafia of the stinking Bronfman, Singer, Burg, Hershenson, D'Amato and the clown Christoph Meili who are supported by the Jews, are the country's no. 1 enemy and they will pay for their visit to our country with their lives!'.

Another reaction to the Jewish wealth and gold affair in response to the cancellation of the planned visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to Switzerland was a number of anti-Semitic and abusive letters received at the Israeli embassy in Berne on Friday, 27 November, 1998:

a. A letter was sent to the embassy with the address 'The Jewish Embassy, Yitzhak Meir'. A picture of the ambassador with a cross and a question mark drawn on his forehead was pasted to the envelope.

b. A postcard which said the following was also received at the embassy: 'All the Jews out, before we do it. The Prime Minister of Israel should be hanged. A bomb will arrive immediately'.

Germany - The well-known esteemed German author Martin Walser made controversial statements in early November on the Holocaust, the responsibility and guilt of the German people and the manner of remembrance and commemoration. Some of his remarks were interpreted as an attempt to evade responsibility. Walser, who in no way denied the responsibility of Germany for the Holocaust, stated that there was a need for Germany to become a normal country which had already paid enough for its responsibility for the terrible events in history'. Following these statements a public controversy arose in which leaders of the Jewish community were also involved.

Envelopes were sent to a number of addresses in the Jewish community in Berlin. They contained pamphlets from Belgian and British right-wing organizations on Holocaust denial and German publications on compensation and the Jewish plot concerning reparations and compensation for Jewish Holocaust survivors.

Poland - The priest Yanokovski, who is known for his anti-Semitic opinions and statements, resumed his sermons in Gdansk after a year's break. He said that he did not regret anything he said about the Jews a year ago. He also said that the demands of the Jewish intellectuals to declare Auschwitz as extra-territorial reminded him of Nazi policy.

Serbia - Anti-Semitic remarks about members of the Jewish community at their workplaces and in the street have increased in recent months. Television networks and the press have also provided a platform for anti-Semitic statements, as well as interviews with persons representing anti-Semitic claims such as 'the worldwide Jewish plot against Serbia' and 'world Jewry which spreads the culture and rituals of Satan'.

The latest issue of the 'Beli Orao' magazine included a number of anti-Semitic articles such as the historian who wrote about the all-European satanic grouping of Jews and Free Masons against Serbia and the orthodox church'. He further defines the American mediator Holbrooke as a 'Serb-hating Zionist who bows before the stinking Serb-killing Albanians'.

The 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' are sold freely in shops in Belgrade and outside of it. A new book called 'Izgon' (the explosion) is being sold which was written by Momcilo Selic and contains classic anti-Semitic statements. The book 'The Terrible List of the Communist Crimes in Serbia' is being published once more. It accuses the Jews of a great part of the crimes described.

Russia - The member of parliament and retired general Albert Makashov exploited the rallies organized by the left-wing bloc against the policy of Yeltsin and his government and accused the Jews of Russia's current economic difficulties. He called for expelling the 'Zhids', arresting them and even killing them - 'All the Zhids to the grave'. These harsh statements were broadcast over and over again in the Russian media. Various attempts to officially denounce Makashov in the Russian parliament were unsuccessful.

About 40 members of the 'Black Hundred' organization (a notorious anti-Semitic organization during the Czar's reign), demonstrated opposite Parliament's lower house (Duma) on Tuesday, 24 November, 1998, the funeral day of the murdered Duma member Starovoytova The demonstrators, led by Alexander Stilmark, carried signs with the slogans: 'Kill the Jews' and 'Put the Jewish Fascists on trial like at Nuremberg'. The Attorney General ordered an internal investigation to gather evidence against the organization suspected of attempts to create religious, nationalist and racist hostility which are illegal according to the Russian federal constitution.

Azerbaijan - The word Zhid, a derogatory name for the Jews, was carved on the wall of the Jewish youth club in Tashkent.

Venezuela - Crosses were drawn on two homes in the Altamira neighbourhood in Caracas.

Argentina - Swastikas were drawn on the door of an elevator of a central building where three Jewish families live in Cordoba.

Brazil - A flag with a swastika on it was waved on a tower belonging to the phone company in Nova Hartz. The flag was removed only after two days.

U.S./Albania - During a demonstration of thousands of Albanians opposite the U.N. building in New York, a sign accused the Jews of 'Activity against Kosovo' and 'Ingratitude towards the Albanians who saved the Jews 50 years ago'.

Australia - Dr. Firaz Othman wrote anti-Israel and anti-Jewish letters which were published in the press. Following the publication of the anti-Semitic letters, a Jew by the name of Dr. Hack contacted Othman and expressed resentment of the letters. Othman treated Hack very rudely. After the confrontation with Othman, Hack received a number of anonymous calls. In another conversation between the two, Hack reacted harshly when Othman called him a 'Dirty Jew' and Othman sued Hack.

A Muslim who is known for his anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist views, called into a radio program and expressed anti-Semitic ideas. The announcer made no effort to stop the remarks.

Abusive slogans and swastikas were drawn on a kosher food shop in a Sydney suburb and on an apartment building where many Holocaust survivors live. An abusive slogan was written on the Students' Center at the university in Sydney which said 'All the Jews should have been burnt - 6 million was a good start, in my opinion - A. Hitler'. A swastika was also drawn on an apartment owned by Jews in Melbourne.

Anti-Semitic denunciations and anti-Semitic e-mail were sent to private homes, the offices of the Jewish community and to Jewish organizations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. An anti-Semitic letter was received at the Jewish Museum in Sydney. One of the letters addressed to a leader of the Sydney community ridiculed his family who had died in the gas chambers in Auschwitz. It also claimed that the Jews suffer from emotional disturbances. Other letters called for 'Death to the Jews, the reptiles of humanity'.

Outside a courtroom in Sydney, where a hearing was being held against the Adelaide Institute for racist propaganda, a man ridiculed the son of a Holocaust survivor and claimed that there were no gas chambers. The man also wrote letters in the same vein to persons in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Despite the hearing, Frederick Toben, the head of the Adelaide Institute, continues to disseminate Holocaust denial letters to Jews and non-Jews and his institute continues to publish pamphlets denying the Holocaust and denouncing Zionism.

A member of the Australian Civil Liberties Union, Jonathan Graham, sent a letter to a public body in Sydney claiming the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' are not a forgery since the 'Zionists really control the world'. He also wrote anti-Semitic letters to members of parliament and federal offices.

Olga Scully continues to publish anti-Semitic and Holocaust denial material which is distributed throughout Launceston. She also wrote a Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic letter to the Hobart Mercury newspaper. Holocaust denial cassettes were put through the open windows of cars parked in the city.

An anti-Semitic article against the 'ostentatious women' of the Jewish community was published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Many anti-Semitic and Holocaust denial articles were sent to various Internet sites belonging to new/communication groups.

Joseph Hill, who in the past had sent a number of accusing letters to the Jewish community, opened an Internet site for Nazi propaganda. The right-wing 'National Action West Australia' organization published the address of his new site. The site has connections with the 'Southern Cross Hammerskins', the Adelaide Institute and other right-wing organizations.

In the November edition of well-known right-wing newspapers such as 'Lock, Stock and Barrel', 'Spotlight Nexus' and 'Strategy', anti-Semitic and Holocaust denial articles were published. Australian Arabic newspapers such as 'Al-Moharer Al-Australia' and 'Nidaul Islam' also published such articles.

A letter written in Queensland and appearing in the 'Canberra Times' called on the 'Jews to fight their war in Iraq and to fill their coffins with themselves'.

Struggle Against Anti-Semitism

Russia - The affair of General Makashov who began an anti-Semitic campaign in Moscow and continued it in the press accusing the 'Jew-boys who suck the blood of Russia of all the country's ills', was brought up for debate in the Duma. President Yeltsin strongly condemned anti-Semitic manifestations in politics and instructed the courts to fight the phenomenon by every means at their disposal. During the debate in the upper house" the Federation Council" the speaker of the house denounced anti-Semitism. A number of democratic Duma members decided to put forward a motion for the agenda condemning the anti-Semitic general's remarks. The Communist faction requested the proposed motion be removed from the agenda or alternatively, be changed to a document expressing the Duma members' concern over the worsening relations between various nationalities in Russia. Others openly supported Makashov's anti-Semitism and even gave examples of Zionist control over the media in the provinces.

European Parliament - The European Parliament plenum devoted a debate on 19 November, 1998 to anti-Semitism in Russia following Makashov's denunciations and the Duma's refraint from censuring him. All the members of the European Parliament who spoke used strong words to forcefully condemn the Duma's behaviour in general and the Communist party in particular. Only the representative of the Le Pen faction was conspicuous in finding excuses for Russian conduct and called on the European Parliament not to dictate conditions to Russia. The speakers noted that Makashov's anti-Semitic statements recalled the darkest days of Europe in the 20th century and that in Makashov's statements it is possible to see the shadow of Stalinism. The speakers expressed the fear that the situation could deteriorate even more to anti-Semitic attacks such as had also occurred in the past in Russia. At the end of the debate the plenum approved the censure resolution.

Spain - Pedro Varela, the former leader of a Neo-Nazi organization and the owner of a publishing house and bookstore which specialize in Nazi literature, was sentenced to five years in prison for justifying genocide and incitement to racial hatred. This was the first time a person was convicted for such crimes in Spain.

Italy - The Italian soccer association opened an investigation against the two teams who competed in a Derby game in Rome at which their fans waved anti-Semitic signs and shouted anti-Semitic slogans. The teams are to be fined up to 30,000 dollars. The police recommended that soccer games not take place where there is fear of anti-Semitic expressions and placards until after the investigation.

Czech Republic - Four men were arrested on suspicion of desecrating some 40 graves in the Jewish cemetery in Trutnov at the beginning of the month. The slogans written on the graves were 'Death to the Jews' and 'Jews out!'. The three teenagers and one 21 year old will be tried for breaking the Czech law against crimes of hatred and convicted of hooliganism.

The Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic filed a complaint of racial incitement against a Czech Republic newspaper for the publication of an anti-Semitic article relating to Jewish attempts at international control, based on the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' .

Lithuania - The regional court in Vilnius decided to continue legal process against the war criminal Gimzauskas whose trial was to open in January 1999. The court also decided not to combine Gimzauskas's file with that of Lileikus.

Australia - The 6 November, 1998 issue of the 'Australian Jewish News' newspaper stated that the two pistols belonging to Hitler which were found near his and his lover Eva Braun's body may be offered for sale in Melbourne. They are valued at about five million dollars. The chairman of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League and the vice president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) condemned the idea and stated that the deal has a bad smell. The council's vice president added that 'every dollar from such a sale must echo with the blood and memory of millions of Holocaust victims'.

On 2 November a hearing took place for the first time in Australia on the subject of racism over the Internet. The ECAJ filed a complaint in May 1966 to the Committee for Human Rights and Equal Opportunities against the Adelaide Institute. This institute, led by Dr. Frederick Toben, disseminates anti-Semitic and Holocaust denial material over its Internet site. The institute accuses the Jews, among other things, of genocide, fraud, conspiring against the authorities and breaking Australia's racial laws (accusations similar to the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion'). The complaint maintains that the material disseminated by the institute violates a clause in the Australian law against racial discrimination. Another hearing will be held against the Tasmania resident Olga Scully in late December 1998. The ECAJ filed a suit against her in August 1996 for her distribution of anti-Semitic publications in the mail boxes of Jews and non-Jews living in Launceston and selling publications such as the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' in the market.

Miscellaneous

The Netherlands - Newspapers in the Hague stated that there are schools in the Netherlands which teach about World War II in an unusual manner. It was published, for example, that a school teacher gave students an assignment to write anti-Jewish 'Nazi propaganda' as if they were part of the Nazi propaganda system. Following the objection and complaints of parents, the assignment was cancelled. The subject was brought to the knowledge of bodies handling the subject of anti-Semitism in the Hague.

Oswiecim - A Jewish center for education was opened in the synagogue in Oswiecim, the city next to the Auschwitz death camp. Representatives from Jewish organizations in Israel and the U.S. arrived for the dedication ceremony. The synagogue in Oswiecim is the first institution returned to the Jewish community according to the new law in Poland.

Germany - A Neo-Nazi delegation on a flight from Germany to Israel was taken off the plane in Istanbul after the Israeli Ministry of Interior announced that it would not allow them to enter Israel. Joachim Siegrist, the well-known racist in Germany, was to head the group, but in the end was not even on the flight. The delegation comprised 40 members, including veteran party members from the Third Reich period, young nationalists and leaders from the radical right wing.

Switzerland - An official report of the Swiss committee against racism which was presented on 5 November, 1998, maintains that there has been an increase in anti-Semitism throughout the country. The report which was presented to a member of the Government Federal Committee Against Racism, indicates a distressing increase in anti-Semitism among Swiss citizens. The report is based on anti-Semitic letters sent to newspaper editorial offices, threatening letters sent to Jewish community heads, anti-Semitic remarks heard on television programs and other daily incidents in Switzerland.

U.S./Lithuania - Jonas Stelmokas who was involved in the murder of Jews in Lithuania during World War II died in an old people's home in Pennsylvania before the U.S. managed to implement the order deporting him back to his homeland Lithuania. The deportation judge sentenced Stelmokas to be deported to Lithuania in April because he lied about his membership in a police auxiliary unit which was supported by the Nazis during the war. Stelmokas appealed the verdict. He was 82 when he died.

U.S. -' Newsweek' magazine revealed that at least 300 American companies cooperated with Nazi Germany in World War II. The most prominent was the Chase Manhattan Bank whose Paris branch developed ties with the Nazi regime. Newsweek states that lawyers intend to add Chase Manhattan to the list of English and French banks in the representation suit claiming that the banks closed the accounts of Jews and confiscated Jewish property, even without specific instruction from the Nazis. Another American bank which may be put on the list is the J.P. Morgan Bank.

The 'Washington Post' stated that historians and lawyers investigating suits on behalf of former war prisoners showed ostensible evidence that the large American car manufacturers, 'Ford' and 'General Motors' cooperated with the Nazi regime in Germany through the exploitation of forced labourers. In some cases the American directors of the German branches of the two companies agreed to convert their plants for military production. When World War II broke out in 1939 these companies controlled 70 percent of the German car market. According to the reports of American soldiers from the war period, when the American army liberated the Ford plants the soldiers discovered foreign labourers imprisoned behind barbed wire and company documents praising the 'genius of the Fuehrer'.

Lebanon - A book written by Zuweib Yasser and published by Dar Al-Nada came out recently in Beirut entitled, 'Ifaq, the Story of the Zionist Octopus in the United States of America'. The book is written similar to all such books in a conniving and prejudicial manner and it analyses the extent of Jewish influence which reached its peak during Clinton's second term of office.

Egypt - The Cairo weekly 'Maswar' reported that the French Academy in Paris revoked its decision to grant the Egyptian author Muhammad Salmawi the Francophone Order of Merit (awarded for important service to the French language). This was a result of the strong protest against the Academy by Jewish and Zionist organizations in Paris due to Salmawi's defence of the Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy at the time. During a special meeting of the Academy, its secretary reportedly read a number of Salmawi's articles and the decision was reached that he was not considered an anti-Semite but it was nevertheless decided not to award him the decoration in order to prevent the protest of Jewish organizations. Salmawi himself described the decision as a real mistake on the part of the Academy. He expressed his surprise that no Arab element acted to support the Academy's decision, including the Arab League and the Egyptian Writers' Association.