Only synagogue left in the Azores to be renovated

The tiny Sahar Hassamain synagogue in Ponta Delgada (São Miguel island), built c. 1820, which has been redundant for many years and has fallen into a state of disrepaired, will soon be repaired and hopefully open to the public.

"IT ALL ENDS WITH ME

" Letter from the Azores (from FORWARD January 9, 1998)

"I am the last Jew in all of the Azores," Jorge Delmar says... He is a stocky man in his early 50's who runs an import- export business in Ponta Delgada, the capital city of Sao Miguel, the largest of the nine islands that comprises the Portuguese archipelago. "Thirty years ago, there were 16 Jewish families on this island," he adds. "We were a community. We had services in the old synagogue and made all the festivities in my grandfather's house. But all the others have died or converted or moved away. I am the only one left."

Mr Delmar's wife and children are Catholic. He says his wife sometimes asks him, "Why do you say you are a Jew? What happened to the Jews?" He tells her, "As my mother is a Jew, I am always a Jew. That's all."

The truth, though, is more complex. Mr Delmar's connection to the Azores began in 1818, when the Bensaude family of Morocco came to this volcanic outcropping, mythologized in lore as the remnants of the lost continent of Atlantis. The family made their fortune trading crops with England for manufactured goods, and trading bills of exchange while transporting emigrants to Brazil. In the process, they changed the nature of the Azorean economy, says professor of economic history at the University of the Azores, Fátima Sequeria Dias."

Read the whole piece here

Photo

Spanish court considers trying former US officials

They can play around with Israelis - like Belgium did with Ariel Sharon - but when charges were filed against American officials, including George H. W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Norman Schwarzkopf and Tommy Franks, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld threatened to remove the NATO headquarters fom Brussels and to boycott the Antwerp port, the "universal competence law" was promptly revised.

"A Spanish court has agreed to consider opening a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, over allegations they gave legal cover for torture at Guantanamo Bay, a lawyer in the case said Saturday.

Human rights lawyers brought the case before leading anti-terror judge Baltasar Garzon, who agreed to send it on to prosecutors to decide whether it had merit, Gonzalo Boye, one of the lawyers who brought the charges, told The Associated Press.

The ex-Bush officials are Gonzales; former undersecretary of defense for policy Douglas Feith; former Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff David Addington; Justice Department officials John Yoo and Jay S. Bybee; and Pentagon lawyer William Haynes.

Yoo declined to comment. A request for comment left with Feith through his Hudson Institute e-mail address was not immediately returned.

Spanish law allows courts to reach beyond national borders in cases of torture or war crimes under a doctrine of universal justice, though the government has recently said it hopes to limit the scope of the legal process.

Garzon became famous for bringing charges against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, and he and other Spanish judges have agreed to investigate alleged abuses everywhere from Tibet to Argentina's "dirty war," El Salvador and Rwanda.

Still, the country's record in prosecuting such cases has been spotty at best, with only one suspect extradited to Spain so far.

When a similar case was brought against Israeli officials earlier this year, Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos assured his Israeli counterpart that the process would be quashed.

Even if indictments are eventually handed down against the US officials, it is far from clear whether arrests would ever take place. The officials would have to travel outside the United States and to a country willing to take them into custody before possible extradition to Spain. (...)

The judge's decision to send the case against the American officials to prosecutors means it will proceed, at least for now. Prosecutors must now decide whether to recommend a full-blown investigation, though Garzon is not bound by their decision.

The proceedings against the Bush Administration officials could be embarrassing for Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has been keen to improve ties with the United States after frosty relations during the Bush Administration.

Zapatero is scheduled to meet President Barack Obama for the first time on April 5 during a summit in Prague."
Source: TJP
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Spanish judge to continue probe in Saleh Shehadeh killing (TJP, Feb. 27, 2009)

"(...) Universal jurisdiction allows Spain and other European countries to prosecute foreigners for war crimes if a court is satisfied that the suspects will not be tried for their acts in their home country.

Andreu is probing the actions taken by National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who was defense minister at the time; Likud MK Moshe Ya'alon, who was chief of General Staff; Dan Halutz, then-OC Air Force; then-National Security Council head Giora Eiland; the defense minister's bureau chief, Brig.-Gen. Mike Herzog, who was a senior Defense Ministry official in 2002; and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, who was head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Almog.

Should Andreu choose to issue an international arrest warrant for any of the seven, they could be arrested upon arrival in any EU member state.

The Spanish government has been considering a proposal to amend the controversial war crimes law that now allows the court to investigate the Israelis.

"The [Spanish] government is considering whether to introduce a proposal to change legislation which has been abused by groups all over the world," Juan Gonzalez-Barba, deputy head of mission at the Spanish Embassy in Tel Aviv, told The Jerusalem Post.

Such legislation would have to be introduced by the Spanish Justice Ministry, and could take months, he said.

The Spanish diplomat, who was speaking at a Hebrew University conference on the aftermath of the Gaza war, added that it was uncertain that such legislation would be retroactive and therefore affect the case before the courts.

He conceded that the matter could impact relations between the two countries."

Spanish/European Moral Hypocrisy Strikes Again: Navon on Judge Andreu

Greek Holocaust denier acquitted by Athens Appeals court

"In 1945 the White Race suffered the greatest catastrophe in its history. Hitlerian Germany's epic struggle for dominance by Aryans ended without a victory." " (Kostas Plevris)
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"... the Appeals court prosecutor characterized Plevris’s defamatory book - which denies the Holocaust, calls the Jews "sub-human" and threatens them with the "re-opening of the crematoria in Auschwitz" - a "scientific work"."

"ATHENS (EJP): The Greek Jewish community said Friday it was "shocked" after neo-Nazi militant Kostas Plevris, who wrote a book denying the Holocaust and containing offensive references to Jews, was acquitted by an Appeals court in Athens.

Plevris was found not guilty of "incitement to racial hatred and violence against the Jews" by the 5-member court.

In a reaction, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) expressed its "disappointment and amazement at the decision of the Athens court.

"This decision saddens and causes concern among citizens of a modern democratic society as a self-confessed advocate of Nazism and racism remains unpunished though he not only distorts proven historical evidence, but even worse, uses his pen to incite hatred and provoke discrimination and violence against citizens of Greece and Europe," the Central Board said.

"The Greek Jewry believes that the fundamental constitutional right of freedom of speech has nothing to do with the direct threats, insults and incitement to racial hatred and violence against the Jews that Plevris includes in his book" titled "Jews-The whole truth".

Plevris had been convicted in first instance in December 2007 and condemned to 14 months of imprisonment on probation for three years for "racial insult", "incitement to hatred and racial violence" on the basis of the 1979 anti-racist law.

At the time, the Jewish community saw the trial as a key test of the Greek authorities’ determination to deal with anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial in a country where anti-Semitic literature such as the infamous "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" is on sale in bookshops. The charges against Plevris were also brought by the Helsinki Monitor and the "Anti-Nazi Initiative" organization, two human right Greek NGO’s.

He immediately appealed the sentence.

According to Moses Constantinis, the Appeals court prosecutor characterized Plevris’s defamatory book - which denies the Holocaust, calls the Jews "sub-human" and threatens them with the "re-opening of the crematoria in Auschwitz" - a "scientific work".

To express the resentment of the Greek Jews, the Jewish umbrella body has decided not to be represented at the European symposium "Building together the Future of Europe" which will be held next Monday in Brussels, "given that theoretical analysis and statements made by Greek MEPs on the denunciation and condemnation of anti-Semitism are meaningless".

Around 6,000 Jews live in Greece."
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From The Jews - The Whole Truth :

Adolf Hitler: The tragic leader of the German Third Reich is certainly the most impressive leadership figure of the modern age… Human history will blame Adolf Hitler for the following: 1. He could have rid Europe of the Jews, but did not; 2. He did not use the special chemical weapons, which only Germany possessed, to gain a victory... Because of the defeat of Germany then, the White Race and Europe are at risk now… The day will come when Europeans will either dominate or be destroyed. Either way they will acknowledge that Hitler was right... (p. 881)
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Heinrich Himmler: Chief in Command of the SS… facts and arguments verify the high moral standing of the Man who, despite the fact that in one day he could have issued the order for all Jews to be put to death, chose to expel them from Europe so as to rid the continent of the White Race of the non-European Semites.... The SS, in particular the combatant SS (Waffen SS,) were the knights in armor of the modern age, indomitable fighting men from every country in Europe, who sacrificed their lives for the ideal of a New Order for civilized peoples. Unfortunately for the human race, they were defeated… They were all fine examples of faith, discipline and fighting skill, serving the ideals of National Socialism. Their bearing reflected the greatness of their character so only the very best of the Aryan Race were included in the ranks of the SS…. (p. 869)
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Joseph Goebbels: One of the brightest minds of the century. A philosopher and fighter with a deep understanding of mass psychology, on every battlefield he vanquished Jewish Bolshevism and headed his country's all out war. (p. 885)Hitler was blamed for something that did not actually take place. Later the history of humanity will blame him for not ridding Europe of the Jews, though he could have … My dear Jews, I do not ask you to suffer all the things that your holy books tell you that we should suffer from you… You are criminals because that is what your religion has taught you to be. You are murderers because crime is instilled in you from an early age. Therefore we others have the right to deal with you. And that is what we will do. (p. 852)
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ZYKLON B, so extensively publicized as the gas used to put Jews to death in the special gas chambers (which have not been found) was merely a poisonous gas used to fumigate the concentration camps … everything else [said about it] is fiction produced for the purposes of propaganda. (p. 1008)
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The SS divisions fought with unparalleled heroism. (p. 853)
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In 1945 the White Race suffered the greatest catastrophe in its history. Hitlerian Germany's epic struggle for dominance by Aryans ended without a victory. (p. 869)

- Kostas Plevris - Greek Neo-Nazi Author Convicted
- K. Plevris: "I am a Nazi and a fascist, I am racist, anti-democratic and I am an anti-Semite"
- Kostas Plevris: Hitler could have rid Europe of the Jews but did not
- Anti-semitism in Greece: Final conviction of "Eleftheros Cosmos"

Norwegian media ridicules and misquotes Israeli editor

"The only problem was that Gerstenfeld never made the comments for which he was quoted. He never said that "Norway is the most anti-Semitic country in Europe". Neither did he say that "Norwegians are barbaric and uncivilized". These comments were invented by Norwegians, in order to make Gerstenfeld look bad. (...) To the extent that Norwegians will remember Gerstenfeld it will be as the ridiculous Israeli who tried to use the old accusation of "anti-Semitism" to intimidate and silence perfectly legitimate criticism of Israeli atrocities."

"Norway does not get a lot of attention from the outside world. We’re just like New Zealand with more snow. Things more or less work and we coexist peacefully with our neighbors so there isn’t much to write about. For example, Norway is a member of NATO and has been allied to the USA for more than half a century. Yet history books covering USA’s foreign policy have a tendency to omit Norway altogether. This is painfully embarrassing for a small nation which looks to the West for protection and considers USA its closest ally. So on the few occasions when Norway does get mentioned we do get our knickers in a twist.

In 2008 the Israeli political scientist Manfred Gerstenfeld published the book "Behind the Humanitarian Mask: The Nordic Countries, Israel, and the Jews (2008)". The book consisted of essays on historical and modern expressions of anti-Semitism. Nordic elites, the book suggested, "are imbued with humanitarian racism", camouflaging and morphing classical anti-semitism into "legitimate criticism" of the world’s only Jewish state – Israel, which the media and politicians set impossibly high standards to while at the same time turning a blind eye to the vices and evils of Israel’s enemies.

Not exactly the sort of book Norwegians were waiting for; we prefer people to focus on the many nice things about our wonderful country. For instance, Norwegian development aid now constitutes 1% of our GDP. How come Gerstenfeld couldn’t have written about that, instead of making nasty insinuations about anti-Semitism? Nonetheless there were the beginnings of a painful debate. People started referring to the book. Some insisted that there might be something to it and called for self-scrutiny. Perhaps Norway wasn’t so perfect after all ?

Then Manfred Gerstenfeld agreed to an interview with Fredrik Græsvik from the Norwegian TV channel TV2. Subsequently on March 1st, 20 Norwegian newspapers quoted Gerstenfeld as saying that "Norway is the most anti-Semitic country in Europe" and "Norwegians are barbaric and uncivilized". The quotes spread like wildfire throughout the nation and across the border to Sweden, a nation which had as little reason to love Gerstenfeld as Norway had.

In the wake of the newspaper articles there were vicious talkbacks. Blood-maddened bloggers tore to the cyber surface. How dared he? Could this obscure Israeli, this think-tank employed buffoon, possibly be serious? But there was more than anger and indignation in the air. There was a liberating sense of relief. The Israeli editor of that most unwelcome book was nothing but a racist, Norwegian hating scum-bag ! No need to read his book then. No need for a debate based on such a very silly person's book. And so it all died down and "Behind the humanitarian mask" slipped from view and the Norwegian media could get back to the legitimate criticism of Israel at which they so excel.

The only problem was that Gerstenfeld never made the comments for which he was quoted. He never said that "Norway is the most anti-Semitic country in Europe". Neither did he say that "Norwegians are barbaric and uncivilized". These comments were invented by Norwegians, in order to make Gerstenfeld look bad. Here is the letter from Gerstenfeld to the CEO of TV2, and here is the reply from journalist Fredrik Græsvik, in which he sort of apologizes and sort of is very cavalier about the whole thing.

But already now this is non-news, the stuff of which yesterday was built. To the extent that Norwegian will remember Gerstenfeld it will be as the ridiculous Israeli who tried to use the old accusation of "anti-Semitism" to intimidate and silence perfectly legitimate criticism of Israeli atrocities.

But now you know, at least. And that’s something."

Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews

Related:
- And so the plot thickens…
- God’s chosen people…

"Do not let Israel become the Sudetenland of today", Hanna Orgonikova (ECI)

"Do not let Israel become the Sudetenland of today." (Hanna Orgonikova, Czech member of Parliament)

European Coalition for Israel (ECI) marked the 70th anniversary of the Munich Treaty in Prague.

"The historical lesson of the Munich treaty in 1938 is clear. Appeasement does not lead to peace. Those forces which in 1939 invaded Czechoslovakia but ultimately wanted to exterminate the Jewish people can be compared to those powers of today that have as their ultimate goal the complete destruction of Israel and promise the world community peace if only Israel is sacrificed. But appeasing these powers will not lead to peace just as betraying Czechoslovakia did not bring peace but war."

This was the message of the European Coalition of Israel during a three day working visit to Prague which ended on Thursday. Prague is the current seat of the rotating EU-presidency which is now held by the Czech government. The message resonated well with those members of parliament and of the Czech government with whom the ECI met. "Israel cannot become the Sudetenland of today", warned Czech member of Parliament Hanna Orgonikova, who urged all people of good will in Europe, elected members of Parliaments as well as members of civil society, to work together in order to raise awareness about the current existential threat to Israel and the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe. (Sudetenland was the part of Czechoslovakia which was given to Hitler in the Munich treaty in an attempt to appease him.)

The same message of support for Israel was echoed also by other members of parliament who commended the recent Czech appeal by Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg to withdraw EU participation from the upcoming UN world conference on racism in Geneva as a protest against the slanted anti-Israel agenda. The message from ECI was the same: "Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past by letting a UN lead conference single out one nation as the root cause for international conflict, namely Israel." A growing number of EU member states now support a boycott of the Durban II conference.

At an emotional meeting with the vice-president of the Czech senate, Peter Pithart, Harald Eckert, a Christian leader from Munich and a board member of the European Coalition for Israel, presented a letter from the office of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel which affirmed the historical role of Nazi Germany in the Munich treaty and the invasion which followed. The meeting between ECI and the vice-president took place in the exact same room in the senate building where the Munich treaty was announced to the Czechoslovakian government in 1938. This week also marked the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939 and the ECI delegation, consisting of both German and British representatives, together acknowledged the guilt of their governments in betraying Czechoslovakia in order to appease Hitler. In the framework of the ongoing United Nation Year of Reconciliation Harald Eckert of Germany and David Noakes of Great Britain asked the Czech vice-president of the Senate for forgiveness for the role of their countries in the betrayal of Czechoslovakia and the invasion which followed.

Apart from meeting with political leaders the delegation also visited an exhibition in the National Museum where the original Munich treaty in four languages is on display, borrowed from the four signatory countries, Germany, Britain, Italy and France. Prior to the political meetings the ECI delegation met with local Christian leaders in Prague for a reconciliation event. A similar people-to-people reconciliation event with representatives also from France and Italy is planned for later this year."

Source: ECI - A Christian initiative promoting European-Israeli Cooperation

- European Coalition for Israel warns against surge of anti-Semitism in Europe

- "Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?", asks ECI director

- European Coalition for Israel on working visit to Paris

London embassy questions Guardian's agenda

""The [Guardian's] agenda was to build case against Israel, they knew they wanted to build the accusation of war crimes and wanted to back it up with evidence and to juxtapose it with sound bites from Amnesty and other human rights groups." "

"The Israeli Embassy in London has questioned the methodology and agenda of the Guardian newspaper after it carried three stories and an editorial over two days attacking Israel accusing it of committing "war crimes."

On Monday, the paper accused Israel of deliberately firing on Palestinian medical staff and the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians with unmanned aerial vehicles. Then on Tuesday it devoted an editorial and another article accusing of using civilians as human shields.

Embassy spokesman Lior Ben Dor told The Jerusalem Post that he was called last Friday by one of the authors of Tuesday's story, Julian Borger, to comment but said he felt from the conversation that it was a fait accompli as the story was complete and conclusions drawn and the he was being called to "create a fake sense of balance."

Borger had told Ben Dor that he had already called the IDF Spokesman in Jerusalem but was told they would not comment as the issues raised were still under investigation.

Ben Dor said he felt it was a token call to try and be seen to be adding a semblance of balance to their story and to try to get something more after not getting anything from the IDF spokesman.

"The general feeling was that the story was already done and they wanted a sentence or two from the Israeli side," he said.

He also questioned the methodology and agenda of the Guardian.

"The problem with methodology is that they are not going to Gaza with open mind," he said.

"The agenda was to build case against Israel, they knew they wanted to build the accusation of war crimes and wanted to back it up with evidence and to juxtapose it with sound bites from Amnesty and other human rights groups."

He added that any evidence they used should be looked upon with suspicion as people in Gaza cannot speak freely without risking their lives."We know of many cases of people who spoke against Hamas were denied charity aid, tortured or even killed.

"People in Gaza cannot speak freely, out of fear of intimidation, violence and in some cases murder. Clancy Chassay [Guardian journalist who wrote the stories] will go home to London the next day but the Gazans will have to face Hamas."

Citing the editorial in Tuesday's Guardian, Ben Dor said that the Guardian admits that firing rockets at Israel is also a war crime.

"None of this is to deny that a case also exists against Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza. Firing unaimable rockets at civilians in southern Israel is also a war crime," it said in Tuesday's editorial.

Ben Dor said: "The editorial stated this so why didn't they build a case to show that indeed the firing of rockets and mortars at civilian population centers is a war crime? They could have gone to Ashkelon or Beersheba to collect evidence from civilians targeted by Hamas. They could have devoted a paragraph to Hamas war crimes instead only a sentence in an editorial, in which they try to create an atmosphere of balance but they fool no one.

"They could have collected evidence from Gazans who could have told them how their houses were used as launch pads or how Gaza residents were used as human shields, as Lorenzo Cremonesi [a reporter from the Italian Corriere Della Sera newspaper] had done after Operation Cast Lead."

Ben Dor said the Guardian will have to do more to be considered credible and balanced.

"It's not because of laziness, it is because of a clear and embedded anti-Israel agenda, to vilify Israel whenever possible," he said.

Source: article by Jonny Paul in TJP

Trócaire: Misdirected Catholic Aid from Ireland Fuels Conflict

"Palestinians living in Gaza are being treated worse then [sic.] animals in a zoo. Ireland must do everything we can to end Israel’s collective punishment of civilians, which is a flagrant breach of international law." (Justin Kilcullen, director of Trócaire [he is also head of CONCORD, the Brussels-based powerful European confederation of 1,600 NGOs across 21 countries for relief and development. The European Union generously provides funds to Trócaire and CONCORD.)

Source: NGO Monitor

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"- Trócaire, founded in 1973 by Irish Catholic bishops, is the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Funders include Irish Aid (Government of Ireland), which has budgeted €116 million to Trócaire between 2007 and 2011.

- In its programs related to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Trócaire displays a consistent bias, including the "campaign on the illegal Wall" and "Exile Remembered: Israel, Palestine, and the Nakba – 60 years on," marking the "750,000 people...made homeless during the foundation of the Israeli state." Trócaire's website also refers to the "nakba or catastrophe – the start of a process of dispossession which continues today."

- Trócaire's NGO partners in the region include Badil, B'Tselem, HaMoked, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Zochrot, and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

- Trócaire often engages in political campaigning to influence European policy and public opinion. During the Gaza operation, Trócaire called for "the suspension of EU-Israel Association Agreement."

- Trócaire officials make statements about international law that do not reflect expertise or objectivity. On the Gaza violence, Director Justin Kilcullen declared: "In the last seven years 17 Israeli civilians have died in Israel from homemade rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. Israel's response to this is massively disproportionate and a clear violation of international law." Whether an attack is disproportionate hinges on its relation to military necessity, not past casualty comparisons, and the right to self-defense is explicitly guaranteed under international law.

- Eóin Murray, Trócaire Palestine Programme Officer and former coordinator of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, erased the context of terror and accuses Israel of racism in an item on his blog: "[s]ettlers are allowed to do as they please but Palestinians are prevented from doing anything, on the basis of their ethnicity... [This is] systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over another to maintain a regime.""

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Read the whole report here and here

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Over 3000 journalists in Gaza: one Western journalist in Lhasa

Norwegian painter Håkon Gullvåg lauded by PM for vilifying Israel

"Håkon Gullvåg is an accomplished artist and advocates imposing a cultural boycott on Israel. He has also presented a painting to the Israeli embassy in Oslo, titled "Invasion"."

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"Now how can an exhibition like Gullvåg’s possibly be described as “bold”? And what sort of debate can it possibly foster? And how can the paitings be "politically explosive" ? At times one can’t help but wonder if we Norwegians aren’t just a little bit preoccupied with portraying Israel as a villain. It just doesn’t stop."

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"Requiem for the children of Gaza" (9 metres wide)

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Source: article in Norway, Israel and the Jews blog (March 20)

"... Norwegian painter Håkon Gullvåg is in the news for focusing on Israel in his exhibition next weekend. The "Requiem for the children of Gaza" is 9 metres wide. In "The flag" below, the flag of Israel is splattered with blood is placed upon a bed of flowers and human skulls.

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"The flag"

Below the artist comments in Adresseavisa, a small Norwegian daily which primarily covers the Trondheim region:

"- I have worked with large things before too, but this became larger than usual. I don’t quite know why.

- The paintings are politically explosive?

- Yes, this exhibition is more political than the ones we have had before. It is the result of my committment the last years which have reflected directly upon my art. Earlier I have been part of support actions fundraising, but now my committment is being directly reflected in my paintings, says Gullvåg."

Addresseavisa also reports that art professor Øivind Storm Bjerke believs Gullvåg is "asking for trouble" and makes several comparisons to Norwegian artist Kjartan Slettemark’s Vietnam picture, which was assulted by an axe-wielding citizen. Also in Adresseavisa, Mayor of Trondheim Rita Ottervik expresses her support for Gullvåg. Here is an extract from Adresseavisa (March 20):

"- I think most people have taken the side of the Palestinian population of Gaza and do not defend Israel’s behavior, says Mayor Rita Ottervik who is looking forward to open Gullvåg’s exhibition.
- It is no issue for me to open up for debate, says Rita Ottervik.
- Do you agree with the content of Gullvåg’s paitings?
- I have not seen the exhibition. I open many exhibitions without neccessarily being in agreement with every detail. It is great that Gullvåg committs himself with a political message. I think it is spectacular, and it facilitates societal debate, says Ottervik."

Now how can an exhibition like Gullvåg’s possibly be described as "bold" ? And what sort of debate can it possibly foster? And how can the paitings be "politically explosive" ? At times one can’t help but wonder if we Norwegians aren’t just a little bit preoccupied with portraying Israel as a villain. It just doesn’t stop.
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Another art exhibition which has received far less attention than Gullvåg’s, is "It’s not forbidden to think" by Ahmed Mashhouri, who in a series of prints exhibited some of the most controversial parts of the Koran. After only a few hours the exhibition was attacked, partly demolished and subsequently taken down and sent to another town. Read more on Islam in Europe or if you read Norwegian, to the source - Varden.

Which artist do you think is the most "explosive" of the two?"

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PM thanks painter for Middle East effort

Source: article in Norway, Israel and the Jews blog (March 22)

"On Saturday the mayor of Trondheim applauded painter Håkon Gullvåg for the "brave" political commitment of his next exhibition, where he displays a painting of a blood-splattered Israeli flag and a 9 metres wide canvas titled "Requiem for the children of Gaza". The film clip here is from the annual meeting of Trondheim Arbeiderparti on February 8th 2009. We see the leader for Trondheim Arbeiderparti Rune Olsø, leader of the Palestine-committee Wenche Aarethun and painter Håkon Gullvåg present Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg with a painting by Gullvåg. The Norwegian Prime Minister then thanks Gullvåg for the painting itself as well as for "painting pictures which place this (the plight of the Palestinians) on the agenda", and says that the worst thing that can happen to the Palestinians is to be forgotten.

Håkon Gullvåg is an accomplished artist and advocates imposing a cultural boycott on Israel. He has also presented a painting to the Israeli embassy in Oslo, titled "Invasion". It is at this moment uncertain whether the Mayor of Trondheim considers also this to be a "bold" move on Gullvåg’s part."

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- Anti-Semitism in Norway: the accusation that never was ?

- God’s chosen people…

- Norway NGO funding: boycotts and apartheid rhetoric instead of peace and coexistence

- Norway's pro-Israel opposition leader under 24-hour guard
- Norwegian envoy equates Israel with Nazis
- For Norwegian F.M. Europe much too lenient with Israel
- Norway Funding PA Hate Media
- Norway says it has severed Hamas ties
- Jostein Gaarder - a better friend to the Jewish people than Israel
- Jew-hatred in contemporary Norwegian caricatures
- The Norwegian Organization With Israel for Peace

Durban II:Jewish group warns against attempts to present new text as "wolf in sheep’s clothing"

"Rather than participating in a rigged and politicized process, Europe should exercise its leadership on human rights issues in the UN and work to ensure that the fundamental issues facing humanity be dealt with in a serious and responsible manner, instead of entrusting this issue in the hands of those who are using this important topic for political reasons." (Moshe Kantor)

European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor has warned European nations "not to fall prey to false attempts to manipulate the European community into participating in a mockery of human rights", in a reference to the upcoming "Durban II" United Nations conference on racism in Geneva.

The appeal was made on the eve of a summit meeting of the 27 European Union heads of state and government in Brussels under Czech presidency.

While commending recent statements by numerous European leaders who have raised serious concerns about the conference, the EJC has called upon the EU Presidency and European leaders to withdraw from the gathering "immediately, and without hesitation".

Moshe Kantor said conference planners Iran, Libya, Cuba and their allies "are attempting to pull the wool over the world’s eyes".

"We call upon the EU to categorically and unequivocally announce their withdrawal from Durban II without delay. By doing so, the EU would prove to the world that it is a moral beacon for human rights and that Europeans are unwilling to participate in this assault on freedom", Kantor stated.

Kantor also raised the prospect that the chief conference planners, including Iran, Libya, and Cuba might attempt to avert the growing pressure to boycott the conference by presenting a so-called moderated text that would actually be "a wolf in sheep’s clothing".

The EJC president called this possibility a "bait and switch tactic to gain Western legitimacy and support", urging the European presidency and European leaders to "take a moral stand and immediately reject the conference".

"Rather than participating in a rigged and politicized process, Europe should exercise its leadership on human rights issues in the UN and work to ensure that the fundamental issues facing humanity be dealt with in a serious and responsible manner, instead of entrusting this issue in the hands of those who are using this important topic for political reasons", Kantor stressed.

Official UN documents and declarations, especially ones that deal with racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, should not arbitrarily choose between conflicts or target specific countries, including one UN-member state (Israel) or one regional conflict (Israeli-Palestinian), he added.

Kantor noted, "We all remember the catastrophe that was Durban I. Europe must heed the lessons of our past as we attempt to build a more tolerant future.

"European leaders have an obligation to assert their moral leadership in the eyes of the world by rejecting this cynical attempt to cloak anti-Semitism and racism in the guise of a conference ostensibly dedicated to its eradication".

The EJC, together with the Czech Presidency of the EU, the European Parliament and the European Commission will organize a symposium on March 30 at the European Parliament in Brussels on eradicating racism and anti-Semitism and fostering tolerance throughout Europe."

Source: article by Maud Swinnen in EJP

Related story:
Text on Israel cut from Geneva UN racism conference draft

Ken Loach: "self-proclaimed Jewish State" is greatest instigator of anti-Semitism

"Nothing has been a greater instigator of anti-Semitism than the self-proclaimed Jewish State itself." (Ken Loach)

See video here introducing the "Media Circus Russell Tribunal on Palestine" and admire the self-styled European Bertrand Russells and Jean-Paul Sartres of today. All of them put together have never written a single book worth reading ... In other words, their intellectual output is far from impressive. The initiator of the "Media Circus Russell Tribunal on Palestine" is the head of the official Belgian (French) of the Secular Action Center (Centre d'Action Laïque), Pierre Galand.)
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Source: article by Ben Cohen in Z Word

"Ken Loach, whose oeuvre as a film director includes the masterful Kes and the cringe-making Land and Freedom, believes that antisemitism is "understandable".

According to The Parliament:

"British film director Ken Loach says that a rise in anti-Semitism in Europe since the Gaza crisis is "not surprising and understandable".

He was responding to a report earlier this week by the Vienna-based agency for fundamental rights (FRA) which said cases of anti-Semitism had risen across Europe since last December.

The agency, which collected information from 19 EU members, said rises in anti-Semitism, ranging from vandalism to physical attacks, were a serious concern …

But, speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, Loach said, "If there has been a rise I am not surprised. In fact, it is perfectly understandable because Israel feeds feelings of anti-Semitism".

Loach, famous for films like Kes, Cathy Come Home and Riff Raff, stressed that "no-one can condone violence".

But the director, who has spoken out against Israel in the past, branded the report as a "red herring" designed to "distract attention" from Israel’s recent military actions."

This is a wonderful example of what David Hirsh refers to as the "Livingstone Formulation".

Let’s be clear. What we have here is a Marxist film director, a professed internationalist, saying that if a Jew is beaten to a pulp, Israel is to blame - and that those who dare complain about it are engaged in the well-worn Zionist tactic of changing the subject.

This is the same logic which blames Al Qaeda for assaults on Muslims or the Victoria’s Secret catalog for rape. It is idiocy and it is dangerous. And if Loach and those like him think we’re just going to take it lying down, they are even more stupid than I thought."

Brussels: Launching of the "Russell Tribunal" on Palestine
Editorial: Why Ken Loach should apologise for High School Musical 3
I Understand
A year ago in Brussels another tribunal/another condemnation :
- Israel on trial in Brussels: Iranian and Syrian Ambassadors give standing ovation to judges
- Israel bashing: International citizens' tribunal to try Israel in Brussels
The real thing:
the Russell-Sartre Tribunal

Islamic religion teacher in Brussels disputes Nazi camp survivor testimony

"This never happened to me in 25 years" (Henri Kichka, a Nazi camp survivor. His 15-year old sister was killed in Auschwitz and his father died at Buchenwald. Henri Kichka was saved by the Americans when they liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp in April 1945.)

"An islamic religion teacher disputed the testimony of a Nazi camp survivor who recounted his story to students in a Brussels secondary school, Le Soir daily newspaper reported Tuesday.

Henri Kichka, from the Union of Jewish deportees in Belgium, had been invited last Friday by the school in Laeken, a Brussels commune, to describe how he survived Buchenwald and his family members were killed in the death camps.

During the meeting with the 150 students, the school was told by a teacher of Islamic religion that Kichka’s account "was largely exaggerated".

"This never happened to me in 25 years", Kichka, who is regularly invited to meet young people, told Le Soir.

The school management had decided to film the meeting because, it said, "witnesses disappear and we want to keep tracks".

On Monday, the trade unions saw the video. "To us, there is no doubt, the teacher quoted negationist ideas from Roger Garaudy", a French revisionist author and philosopher who converted to Islam and called the Holocaust a "myth".

"This will not remain without effect", the school said. An administrative investigation has been opened."

.

Source: article by Maud Swinnen in EJP

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Unrepentant, the teacher, Abdeltem Samani, has just declared on RTL TV channel that he does not take anything he said back.

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Henri Kichka, who is 83, is the author of an autobiographical book: "An adolescence in the darkness of the camps".

Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia's anti-Israeli activities

"It is unreasonable to provide information about the Holocaust, in which Hitler murdered six million civilian Jews in a meticulously planned industrialised process, without at the same time providing information about 'al Naqba'." (Joakim Wohlfeil, Diakonia’s Policy Officer)

"In one single month, October 2008, Diakonia sponsored 10 articles in the Swedish media, nine of which dealt with the world's only Jewish country. ... Yet Congo, which has seen hundreds of thousands of civilians slaughtered, raped and expelled, has merited just one single article, written back in February." (Ilya Meyer)

Source: Seismic Shock

"Over the last few weeks, it has become readily apparent that charities are increasingly flexing their political muscles when it comes to Israel-Palestine. Oxfam, Christian Aid, War on Want and various other NGOs have issued factually inaccurate statements concerning Operation Cast Lead. Amos Trust, meanwhile, encouraged its supporters to watch the Go To Gaza, Drink The Sea play. For whatever reason, it appears that radical anti-Zionism is becoming increasingly more popular among NGOs. (...)

The leading Swedish Christian aid organisation is Diakonia, which was created by and is supported by the Swedish Alliance Mission, the Baptist Union of Sweden, InterAct, the Methodist Church of Sweden and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden.

Yet bizarrely, Diakonia’s Policy Officer Joakim Wohlfeil has openly admitted that Diakionia is is more a lobby group with a clear political agenda for the Middle East than a Christian aid organisation. Wohlfeil also claims:

"It is unreasonable to provide information about the Holocaust, in which Hitler murdered six million civilian Jews in a meticulously planned industrialised process, without at the same time providing information about 'al Naqba'."

Diakonia’s regional manager in Jerusalem Cristoffer Sjöholm recently addressed a Sabeel conference, boasting of his organisation’s work of convincing a Swedish company to close a factory built in the West Bank.

Diakonia has previously funded a Sabeel survey, met with the Sabeel to discuss 'present and future partnerships', and openly lists Sabeel as a partner in the Middle East. Naim Ateek himself has praised Diakonia’s work alongside Sabeel.

Diakonia also actively encourages a boycott of the train company Veolia, which has already been successful in Sweden. Now the Interfaith Group for Morally Responsible Investment in the UK is planning a similar move to boycott Veolia.

What is striking and disconcerting about the case of Diakonia in Sweden is that mainstream Christian institutions and the leading Swedish Christian charity have essentially allowed politically-driven anti-Zionist liberation theology to trump both Christianity’s call to 'love thy neighbour' and the core values of the Diakonia charity itself.

Yet at the same time, the status of Diakonia and of these church organisations in Sweden allows them to have a 'halo effect', as many will instinctively trust Diakonia due to its status and reputation. (...)"

Related:
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia totally obsessed with Israel

EU Czech presidency: strong call to withdraw from 'Durban II' conference

"The EU will probably send its own suggestions. If the conference papers will realign with these suggestions then we will stay, otherwise there is a strong call to withdraw." (Karel Schwarzenberg)

"BRUSSELS (EJP)--- The Czech EU presidency said Monday there is a "strong European call to withdraw" from the upcoming 'Durban II' Geneva UN conference on racism if final documents do not take into consideration the EU suggestions.

At a press conference after a meeting in Brussels of the 27 EU Foreign Ministers, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg (photo) declared: "We had a thorough discussion about the Durban II conference. The main voices were very skeptical about the direction of the final documents which are prepared".

He added: "The EU will probably send its own suggestions. If the conference papers will realign with these suggestions then we will stay, otherwise there is a strong call to withdraw".

The Geneva conference is scheduled to take place April 20-24.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has already announced that his country would not attend the Geneva gathering unless "radical changes" were made to the draft final text, which includes what he has called "aggressive and anti-Semitic statements."

The United States, Canada and Israel have also announced they will boycott 'Durban II'.

On Monday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned the Geneva meeting "might be abused to produce one-sided statements" about the Middle East peace process and European and American policy in the Muslim and Arab world.

"I am in favor of canceling participation in the conference, unless the documents are changed substantially within the next hours and days," he said."

Source: article by Yossi Lempkowicz in EJP

Sweden: when incitement against Jews is allowed

"That is, in spite of the calls for "killing the Jews", these statements are not a crime in the legal sense in Sweden, because of the current conflict in the Middle East, according to the Chancellor of Justice. The logical conclusion is clear. If one mentions Palestine in hate speeches and calls for mass murder against Jews, one risks nothing in Sweden."

Posted in April 2006 in Islam in Europe

"The following are parts of an opinion article written by four Swedish Jews about a recent decision by the Swedish government not to investigate Muslim incitement against Jews in Sweden.

"Discussions about the limits of freedom of expression are running high right now, not least because of the Muhammed cartoons in Danish Jyllandsposten. The EU Council states in a controversial message on the 27th February, that it acknowledges and regrets that these cartoons were considered offensive and distressing by Muslims across the world and that a spirit of respect for religious and other beliefs should prevail.

It is a crime in Sweden to express derogatory statements about ethnic, racial, national, religious and sexual minorities or to incite hatred and violence against them. Simultaneously the limits of what one can express in Sweden against Jews are being expanded gradually. All Jewish institutions in Sweden are being continuously guarded because of threats directed to Jewish individuals as well as to Jewish institutions, and the Jewish communities spend 25% of their budget on security.

The hate website Radio Islam continues to spew forth its coarse Anti-Semitism, spread lists of Jews (real or imagined) and conspiracy theories on its site without the security police or the prosecuting authorities doing anything about it. When the radical right-wing party the Sweden Democrats on the other hand, had one of the Muhammed cartoons on its web-site, it was closed down after a quick and direct intervention by an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the beginning of this year, the Chancellor of Justice, Goran Lambertz, discontinued his preliminary investigation against the great mosque in Stockholm. Cassette tapes had been sold in the bookshop of the mosque with a violently Anti-Semitic contents. After a couple of broadcasts on the 26 and 27th November last year, the Stockholm mosque was reported to the police.

In his decision to discontinue the preliminary investigation Lambertz wrote that "the lecture at hand contains statements that are strongly degrading to Jews, among other things, they are throughout called brothers of apes and pigs". Furthermore a curse is expressed over the Jews and "Jihad is called for, to kill the Jews, whereby suicide bombers - celebrated as martyrs - are the most effective weapon". The Chancellor raises the question whether the statements “should be judged differently, and be considered allowed, because they are used by one side in a continuing profound conflict, where battle cries and invectives are part of everyday occurrences in the rhetoric that surround the conflict". Lambertz thought that the "recently mentioned statements in spite of their contents are not to be considered "incitement against an ethnic group according to Swedish law". His conclusions were that the preliminary investigation should be discontinued because this case of incitement against Jews could be said to originate from the Middle East conflict. That is, in spite of the calls for "killing the Jews", these statements are not a crime in the legal sense in Sweden, because of the current conflict in the Middle East, according to the Chancellor of Justice. The logical conclusion is clear. If one mentions Palestine in hate speeches and calls for mass murder against Jews, one risks nothing in Sweden".

One could say that the "battle cries and invectives" that are "everyday occurences" in the Middle East happen to come only from one side against the other. I have yet to see the Jewish rhetoric calling to wipe out all Muslims or Arabs from the Middle East.

However, I also find the general conclusion interesting. What Lambertz is saying is that since Muslims call to kill Jews in the Middle East, it is fine for them to do it in Sweden as well. I wonder what would happen if Jews in Sweden would call for a holy war against Muslims (as part of the Middle East conflict, of course). Would that be allowed? How about other things that Muslims do in the Middle East and that happen to be against Swedish law ?"

Related:
The radical reinterpretation of incitement against Jews by the Chancellor of Justice in Sweden

Anti-Semitism in Norway: the accusation that never was ?

"... then what do we have? An Israeli writing a book about anti-semitism in Norway, being quoted for saying something he never said."

However twisted and biaised, at least there is a debate ...

Source: And so the plot thickens… in the "Norway, Israel and the Jews" blog

"On March 1st Manfred Gerstenfeld was quoted in 20 Norwegian newspapers for saying that "Norway is the most anti-semitic country in Europe" and "Norwegians are barbaric and uncivilized". Naturally, the Norwegian people reacted with disgust. Did this affect the perceptions of Gerstenfeld’s book "Behind the humanitarian mask"? My guess is that it did.

What Norwegian will be interested in a book about anti-semitism in Norway, edited by an Israeli who insults the entire Norwegian people by calling them "barbaric and uncivilized"?

It now appears that Gerstenfeld never said any such thing. Ilya Meyer, Swedish citizen and former member of Shalom Akshav (Peace Now), claims to have mentioned the comment to Gerstenfeld while interviewing him. Ilya Meyer quotes Gerstenfeld as saying:

"I obviously only take responsibility for what I say in English and not for what is attributed to me in the Norwegian text of the interviewer. I guess he said it in Norwegian because he didn’t have a direct quote from me in the interview which is much longer than the few English sentences he puts in.

What we discussed was the level of the public discourse in Norway which is undoubtedly low as it expressed itself in almost the entire discussion on my book. We also discussed the issue of the secularization of Norway which brings back pagan elements, but I would never make a general and racist statement that all Norwegians are barbarians and unintelligent."

Now if Ilya Meyer is correct, and Ilya Meyer does appear to be a truthful source (check his blog), then what do we have? An Israeli writing a book about anti-semitism in Norway, being quoted for saying something he never said."

Related:
God’s chosen people…

Belgium: Israeli Ambassador talk cancelled because of threats by Hamas

Unusual news: Hamas threatening violence in Belgium

The talk Ms. Tamar Samash, the Israeli Ambassador to Belgium and who is a French-speaker, was scheduled to give at Thuin on Tuesday has been cancelled because of terrorist threats by Hamas and a far left group, the PTB.

The authorities (Socialist Party) declared that they had decided to call off the event for security reasons because public order could not be guaranteed. As a token of good faith and open-mindedness, the mayor indicated that a Palestinian week had been organised in the city ... which one can only assume went off peacefully.

It seems that the authors of the threats have been identified, and that they had already caused trouble in Charleroi during a pro-Hamas demonstration last month.

Carine Beghain, one of the conference organisers, deplored the Mayor's decision to cave in to terrorist threats : "Poor Belgium, where are you heading to !", she exclaimed. And she added "Because threats have been proffered, people cannot express themselves in this country. It's shocking that some people import the conflict here. We invited the Ambassador to find out what her country's position is and, as we always do, there would have been a debate with the audience. This debate has been confiscated !"

Source: article in Sud Presse (in French)

- Hamas headquarters in Verviers, Belgium
- Belgium: Brussels parliament boycotts Israel, but not Lybia ...
- Israelis compared to Nazi SS on Belgian radio blog
- Zionism, a "Tumour in the midst of Judaism", Belgian radio forum

Photo taken during a pro-Hamas rally in Brussels on 11 January.

Durban II: EU still negotiating before decision on participation

"Maxime Verhagen, Foreign Minister of Holland, told the Dutch parliament earlier this week that the "document is unacceptable." "I am aiming for a joint withdrawal of all EU ministers, unless the document is not changed. If this does not succeed, then I am not afraid to unilaterally withdraw from Durban," he said."

"EU Foreign Ministers are likely to discuss Monday in Brussels the question of whether the EU should withdraw from the upcoming UN conference on racism scheduled to take place in Geneva April 20-24.

But according to a spokeswoman for the EU Czech presidency in Prague, the parties in Geneva are still negotiating about the conference draft final conclusions.

"After that, the EU will take a decision," Zuzana Opletalova, told EJP, without giving a precise deadline.

Italy became last week the first EU country to announce its withdrawal from the Geneva conference. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that his country would no longer participate due to "aggressive and anti-Semitic statements" in the conference's draft final document.

Maxime Verhagen, Foreign Minister of Holland, told the Dutch parliament earlier this week that the "document is unacceptable."

"I am aiming for a joint withdrawal of all EU ministers, unless the document is not changed. If this does not succeed, then I am not afraid to unilaterally withdraw from Durban," he said.

Mark Malloch-Brown, Britain’s Minister for Africa, Asia and the United Nations, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that "A change in…direction will be required for any outcome document to gain our support."

"The UK will find unacceptable any attempt to use the Durban process to trivialize or deny the Holocaust, or to renegotiate agreements on the fight against anti-Semitism," he said.

A German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said last week that Germany intended to continue its participation in negotiations over the text of the resolution, while France appeared to be pressing for a common European decision about whether to attend.

Israel has called on all European Union countries to follow the exemple of Canada and the U.S. and boycott the conference, a follow-up to the first conference held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001.

The U.S. and Israel at the time walked out of the parley because of harsh anti-Israel resolutions that compared Zionism with racism."

Source: article by Yossi Lempkowicz in EJP

- Dutch Foreign Minister deplores revived antisemitism in Europe
- European Jewish group: EU parliament fails to denounce anti-Semitic attacks in Europe

Norway NGO funding: boycotts and apartheid rhetoric instead of peace and coexistence

"Norway provides tens of millions of kroner annually to NGOs that are involved in anti-Israel boycott campaigns and the Stop the Wall Campaign in Norway. Norway also funds extreme Israeli and Palestinian groups. Norwegian People’s Aid accuses Israel of "war crimes" and "collective punishment," and uses "apartheid" rhetoric. A NORWAC member, Dr. Mads Gilbert has engaged in radical propaganda, including justifying the 9/11 attacks and false claims on the Gaza conflict. Norwegian Church Aid is an "important affiliate" of the Stop the Wall Campaign in Norway."

"- The Norwegian government provides tens of millions of Norwegian kroner (NOK) annually to politicized NGOs that operate in the Palestinian Authority and Gaza. Some of these NGOs are involved in anti-Israel boycott campaigns and the Stop the Wall Campaign in Norway.

- Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which received NOK 49 million from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) in 2007 for its work in with the Palestinians, accused Israel of "war crimes" and "collective punishment," is active in the Stop the Wall Campaign, uses "apartheid" rhetoric, and supported the so-called Free Gaza Movement. NPA also funds other anti-Israel NGOs and partners with them.

- The Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC) receives MFA humanitarian funds for emergency medical assistance. A NORWAC representative, Dr. Mads Gilbert has engaged in radical propaganda, including justifying the 9/11 attacks and false claims on the Gaza conflict.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) partnered with Palestinian "right of return" NGO Badil on a report on the security barrier. The report labels the barrier a "crime against humanity," and does not call for a halt to the terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians that led to the barrier’s construction.

- Norwegian Church Aid supports many NGOs with anti-Israel agendas, including Bat Shalom and EAPPI, and is an "important affiliate" of the Stop the Wall Campaign in Norway. NCA attacked the Norwegian government for refusing to transfer money to the "Hamas government" in Gaza.

- The MFA funds Israeli NGOs B'Tselem, PCATI, HaMoked, and Gisha. The Norwegian Representative Office to the Palestinian Authority supports extreme groups Al Haq, Al Mezan, PCHR, and Miftah. During the Gaza conflict, these NGOs condemned Israel, misrepresenting international humanitarian law to delegitimize Israeli self-defense measures.

- NORAD supports a number of NGOs active in "anti-wall" campaigns, including the Norwegian Association of NGOs for Palestine, the "coordinator for the Norwegian Tear-Down the Wall Campaign and the Norwegian Boycott Israel Campaign.""

Read the whole NGO Monitor report here

A very helpful blog on Norway : Norway, Israel and the Jews

- Norway's pro-Israel opposition leader under 24-hour guard

- Norwegian envoy equates Israel with Nazis

- For Norwegian F.M. Europe much too lenient with Israel

- Norway Funding PA Hate Media

- Norway says it has severed Hamas ties

- Jostein Gaarder - a better friend to the Jewish people than Israel

- Jew-hatred in contemporary Norwegian caricatures

- The Norwegian Organization With Israel for Peace

Durban II: "Germany must boycott this anti-Semitic and anti-Western spectacle" says MP

"Germany must boycott this anti-Semitic and anti-Western spectacle. Either together with its EU partners, or if necessary alone. We are not the fig leaf for Iran's Islamist and anti-Semitic activities" (Kristina Köhler, Christian Democratic Union MP)

Source: article by Benjamin Weinthal in TJP

Pressure is rising on Germany's Social Democrat-controlled Foreign Ministry to walk away from the so-called Durban II meeting - the UN's World Conference Against Racism - which opens in Geneva on April 20.

When asked about Rome's decision to pull out of Durban II because, as Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said, the preparatory document and negotiations are filled with "aggressive and anti-Semitic statements," a German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told The Jerusalem Post on Friday that Germany had not changed its position and would participate in "the text negotiations."

Germany remained undecided on whether it would take part in Durban II itself, the spokeswoman said.

"Germany must boycott this anti-Semitic and anti-Western spectacle. Either together with its EU partners, or if necessary alone. We are not the fig leaf for Iran's Islamist and anti-Semitic activities," Christian Democratic Union MP Kristina Köhler said in a statement on Wednesday.

Köhler's statement represents an unusually sharp break with a unified German position to stick with Durban II. According to the spokeswoman, the Foreign Ministry "took notice" of Köhler's statement but did not want to "assess" the MP's remarks.

Responding to the draft Durban II final document, Köhler said, "These passages exude the spirit of Teheran, not the spirit of freedom and human rights. Anti-racism is to be misused in the fight against Israel, the fight against the West, and not least the fight against freedom of opinion and the press.

"The United Nations is to be misused to give universal validity to the Islamic anti-blasphemy concepts in countries like Iran. That is unacceptable."

The German Foreign Ministry is run by the Social Democratic Party, considered more amenable toward the Iranian regime than its coalition partners, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union.

Dr. Johannes Gerster, a former CDU MP who heads the German-Israeli Friendship Society in Germany, said in a statement on Thursday, "Anyone who permits states - like the Islamic Republic of Iran - in which violations of human rights are an everyday occurrence to set themselves up as judges of democratic states - like Israel - on the international stage mocks the religious minorities and oppressed women in Iran and encourages those for whom human rights violations are routine to continue practicing their ugly craft."

Observers in Israel, Germany, and the US view Germany's position to not pull the plug on its Durban II involvement as politically embarrassing in light of the German-Israeli "special-relationship."

"The German government is even more obliged than the governments of Canada, the US and Israel that are boycotting so far, for historical, political, and moral reasons, to boycott the nasty looming spectacle of Durban II," said Gerster, who was director of the CDU's Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Jerusalem between 1997 and 2006.

"If Israel's right to exist is part of Germany's national interest, the period of testing, thinking and deciding should have been enough," he said, in a clear reference to Chancellor Angela Merkel's speech in the Knesset last March, in which she declared Israel's security to be an overriding priority of her administration.

The head of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald S. Lauder, praised Italy's decision to boycott Durban II on Friday and urged Germany, France and Britain to follow Italy's example.
"The EU countries have promised to give an unambiguous and united response on this issue. We hope that it will soon be forthcoming," he said.

"We will continue to try and convince governments that a lackluster response to the looming repeat of the 2001 Durban anti-Israel forum would seriously undermine their impartiality and credibility in fighting human rights abuses in the world.

"The World Jewish Congress will continue to urge world leaders not to send delegations to the Durban Review Conference, because they would lend credibility to the efforts by some states to single out Israel for criticism, restrict freedom of expression and distract from the very real problems of state-sponsored racism in their own countries," Lauder said, mirroring the concerns of many German critics of Durban II.

German gov't slammed for not following US lead to stay away

Italy pulls out of "Durban 2" conference, Fiamma Nirenstein, Italian Chamber of Deputies

"Italy has kept its promise: it will not take part in an initiative spreading anti-Semitic hatred; and moreover, one that is promoted by the United Nations, which is unable to manage and monitor such hatred adequately."

Statement by Fiamma Nirenstein, Vice-president, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Italian Chamber of Deputies

"Italy’s decision to pull out of the forthcoming UN conference against racism, which is set to be held in Geneva on April 20-24, fills me with pride and satisfaction. This is in fact a courageous decision. It is the first coming from a European country, after those of Canada, Israel and the USA. We hope this decision will lead the way to a joint European position, against a conference that seeks to elevate anti-democratic and anti-Semitic hatred.

The decision taken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini not only completes, but also puts into effect the resolution which, under our initiative, was voted on unanimously by the Italian Parliament on December 4, 2008 - the first time a country in Europe has taken such action. The resolution bound the Government to monitor "Durban 2" preparatory process. The documents formulated during this process have confirmed the worst expectations: as for the first Durban conference in 2001, Israel is being again slandered and defined as a racist state of apartheid, while every other effective case of racism and discrimination is being completely ignored.

Italy has kept its promise: it will not take part in an initiative spreading anti-Semitic hatred; and moreover, one that is promoted by the United Nations, which is unable to manage and monitor such hatred adequately. This gesture by the Italian Government is an important contribution in that it attempts to rescue the UN from the hands of those countries that - like in this case Iran, Libya and Cuba, who are among the States involved in the preparatory process of Durban 2 – are holding this institution hostage with their partisan and discriminatory positions.

On March 12, we will hold a conference in the Italian Parliament, promoted by the Italy-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association, that will host lectures by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini, Prof. Gerald Steinberg (Bar-Ilan University, Director of Ngo-Monitor), Pierluigi Battista (Deputy Director, Corriere della Sera), Piero Ostellino (columnist, Corriere della Sera) and the board of the Italy-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association (Enrico Pianetta, President, Rossana Boldi and Gianni Vernetti, Vice-presidents and me)."

Source: Fiamma Nirenstein blog

Italy: Fiamma Nirenstein will be in the next Parliament