PRESS RELEASE
Rising trend – extreme Islam adopts Nazi ideology
JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL-MINISTRY OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
23RD JANUARY, 2011
23RD JANUARY, 2011
In 2010 there was a slight decrease in the number of anti-Semitic incidents
from 2009 which had been a record year in light of Operation Cast Lead
The campaign of delegitimization and demonization of Israel is the major
threat against Jewish communities as well
Rising trend – extreme Islam adopts Nazi ideology
The year 2010 saw a slight decrease in the number of anti-Semitic incidents
around the world and in their seriousness, in comparison to the year 2009,
which had been a record year, in light of operation Cast Lead. At the same
time, the number of incidents is still higher by tens of percentage points
compared to the level during the 1990’s, and anti-Semitism can be seen to be
getting stronger. This emerges from the Annual Report of the Coordination
Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism presented on January 27th 2011, at a
press conference at the Jewish Agency headquarters in Jerusalem with the
participation of Israeli Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs
Yuli Edelstein, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky, and Amos
Hermon, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Task Force on Anti-Semitism
Also emerging from the report is that the year 2010 saw an increase in
organized activity aimed at the delegitimization of Israel as a Jewish
state. The blurring of lines between legitimate criticism of Israel and
demonizing the State of Israel has turned into the major strategic threat
not only to the State of Israel but also to the Jewish communities around
the world. The report was presented during the week of January 27th, the
day marking around the world the commemoration of the Holocaust and the
struggle against anti-Semitism, since it is the day the Auschwitz death camp
was liberated.
The report shows that in 2010 there was a slight decrease in the number of
anti-Semitic incidents around the world as opposed to 2009, which had been a
record year in terms of the intensity of anti-Semitic incidents in light of
Operation Cast Lead. Even so, anti-Semitism as a phenomenon is getting
stronger, expressed in propaganda and anti-Semitic incitement, spray
painting of swastikas and hate slogans, physical violence against Jews,
attacks against Jewish institutions and facilities, damaging tombstones,
inflammatory political statements and attempts at terror attacks. Surveys
carried out in Europe show that a third of the continent’s population holds
negative opinions towards Jews and that people allow themselves, more than
in the past, to express themselves publically against Jews. Even though in
many countries there is awareness of anti-Semitism and there is ongoing
activity to combat it, it seems that this awareness does not have an
influence on the level of anti-Semitism among the public. The violent
anti-Semitism in the field is carried out by a very small segment of the
population, but is supported by ever-growing segments of the population both
in the Muslim world and the West.
The report also shows that the danger to Jewish communities posed by Muslim
communities around the world continues to be seen. Physical attacks against
Jews and Jewish facilities are carried out on a daily basis, mainly in
Western Europe. A few of the incidents in 2010 which stand out: attacks
thwarted in U.S., India and Turkey, bomb attacks against Jewish institutions
in Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, France, Germany and Belgium. Anti-Semitic incidents
were also seen in Sweden, the synagogue in Malmo becoming a target for
attack.
The major strategic threat against the State of Israel and Jewish
communities in 2010 is the campaign of delegitimization, denying Israel’s
right to exist as a Jewish state. This year also saw a continued escalation
of delegitimization activity led by anti-Semitic, Palestinian and extreme
left organizations. The most obvious incident is the Turkish flotilla in
May 2010. In most countries, the demonstrations organized against Israel on
this matter did not become violent against the Jewish communities. The
exception on this were in France and Austria: in France there were 15
violent attacks recorded against Jews, including an attack against a young
Jew in the Paris subway, stones thrown at the Habad emissary and Molotov
cocktails hurled at a Jewish old age home. In Austria were 17 attacks
following the flotilla, 5 of them violent.
A trend which can be seen to be on the rise in 2010 is the use of Nazi
ideology by extreme Islamic elements. Beside Holocaust denial known in the
past, this year saw the propagation of the idea of the Holocaust being a
phenomenon to be imitated; the Holocaust as part of a series of incidents in
which European Jews are murdered for their crimes becomes legitimate
parlance in Arab circles.
Another phenomenon that can be seen is the “modern blood libel” that began
in 2009 in Sweden, when Israel was accused of harvesting organs from
Palestinians. This year, the blood libel found expression in Ukraine,
Algeria, Haiti, Kosovo and the Maldives. A delegation of ophthalmologists
that recently went to help the local population in the Maldives were met
with demonstrations, flag burning and calls for the expulsion of doctors who
were seen as having come to harvest organs.
Iran continues to be an additional center for the propagation of
anti-Semitism: the Iranian regime continues to see anti-Semitism as a
strategic weapon against Israel, guiding various groups towards anti-Israel
and anti-Semitic activity, mainly in Europe and Latin America. Besides
activity with the leftist and Islamic organizations, this year there was a
marked increase in Iran’s links with organizations of the extreme right,
including neo-Nazis in Hungary, Greece, France and Chile. In Chile, for
instance, a neo-Nazi group caught trying to carry out a violent act against
Jews was found to be working under Iran’s direction.
Also seen this year was a rise in strength of the extreme right in Germany,
Austria, Greece, Sweden and Hungary, where the extreme rightist party JOBBIK
won 47 parliamentary seats out of 386. In Slavic countries of the CIS this
year, there was the same low number of anti-Semitic incidents. The
situation of Jewish communities in the Muslim countries of the CIS continues
to be a sensitive one, dependent on the stability of the secular regimes.
So, for instance, in response to the political turnaround in Kyrgyzstan,
anti-Semitic feelings were aroused and a bomb was launched at the synagogue
building in Bishkek during the High Holy Days and anti-Jewish slogans were
painted on the walls.
For further information please contact:
Michael Jankelowitz, Spokesman to the Foreign Press +972.52.6130220 mobile
www.jewishagency.org
www.antisemitism.org.il
mjankelowitz@gmail.com
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