Don?t let the Arabist/anti-Semitic taint and news blackouts in the media fool you, there is heartening news coming out of Europe and the United States. Recent actions and polls done in both places show a definite reversal in the indifference to recent anti-Semitic trends. So here are a few kudos.
A Big Tres Bon to France!
Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala, a well-known French comedian, is being prosecuted for his anti-Semitic rantings on network television. During a prime time TV show, On Ne Peut Pas Plaire a Tout le Monde, (You Can't Please Everybody) on December 1, 2003, Mr. M?Bala included in his skit a raised arm and the shout "Isra-Heil!" - a reference to the Nazi slogan, "Heil Hitler." Further, he dressed up as an Orthodox Jew and decried the "American-Zionist" axis.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has said he was "shocked" by the performance. The show's host, Marc-Olivier Fogiel, apologized for the episode, and prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation December 24 into whether the comic's skit and "incriminating comments" constituted racial defamation. Apparently they did. Now the comedian must stand trial and Justice Minister Dominique Perben said that "justice would be inflexible" if racism is proven. "Racism is an evil that I don't want to see develop in this country," he said.
Bravo!
Go Americans!
According to a poll commissioned by the firm McLaughlin & Associates, which was conducted in mid-January, 67.4% of 1,000 Americans surveyed say the Palestinians have not met the conditions outlined by President George W. Bush for statehood, including fighting terrorism and ending incitement, and 66.6% are against expelling all Jews from their homes in the territories.
Also, nearly three quarters of Americans (73.6%) support halting $200 million in annual aid to the Palestinians, and just 15% support continuing the aid. Additionally, 55.7% of respondents said they agreed that the Palestinians' goal is "the eventual destruction of Israel" compared to 21.3% who say their goal is statehood alongside Israel. Meanwhile, 65.2% said the Palestinian Authority "couldn't be trusted to fulfill peace agreements that it signs with Israel," as opposed to 18.6% who said they trust the PA.
Apparently, Mr. and Ms. Average American know the real deal. And since this is an election year, look for President Bush to, at least temporarily, halt his unreasonable demands upon Israel, while letting the Palestinian-Arab entity slide.
Right on, American public!
Cheers to the Brits!
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy fired British Legislator Jenny Tonge as party spokesperson on Children's Affairs after she expressed sympathy for suicide bombers and suggested she would consider becoming one herself if she were a Palestinian.
Kennedy characterized Tonge's remarks as "completely unacceptable; they are not compatible with Liberal Democrat party policies and principles," he stated. "There can be no justification, under any circumstances, for taking innocent lives through terrorism."
Ms. Tonge made the remarks about suicide bombers during an address to a meeting of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. She had visited Palestinian areas last June and compared their life with the Nazis' treatment of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. She said suicide bombing "is truly born out of desperation," and while the phenomenon was widely criticized, she said, "I can understand. I am a fairly emotional person and I am a mother and a grandmother," she continued. "I think if I had to live in that situation.... I might just consider becoming one myself."
Ms. Tonge, a physician besides being a legislator, tried to 'clarify' her remarks the following day, but to no avail. Both sides of the British political scene came out against her. A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats sought to distance the party from Tonge, saying she was "expressing her personal views," and insisted that the "Liberal Democrats do not condone terrorism in any circumstances whether by suicide bombers or anybody else." Meanwhile, Michael Ancram, foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Labor Party, said the comments would "sicken those across the world who have lost loved ones to suicide bombers."
Bravo Britain!
Cheers Again For Britain!
A new poll out shows that an overwhelming 78% of Britons are not prejudiced against Jews. Although the poll also revealed that one in seven Britons believes the Holocaust has been exaggerated, Lord Greville Janner, chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said he was surprised that the numbers who believed the Jewish suffering had been exaggerated were "so low, given the anti-Semitic, racist element present in this country."
And although the number of people revealed to be anti-Semitic is a relatively small minority, Home Secretary David Blunkett articulated his "deep concern" at the numbers who believe the Holocaust is exaggerated. He found the result "worrying and disappointing," stating "it means people are prepared to set aside not only the evidence, but the overwhelming emotion that goes with it."
It appears that Britain?s leaders are willing to tackle the anti-Semitism that has been so rife of late.
Again, Bravo!
Israel and its fate is the core of Judaism, in the same way Mecca is core to Islam and the Vatican is central to Catholicism. These recent events are proof that the anti-Semitic ploy of trying to separate Israel from Judaism is no longer working. An anti-Semite is an anti-Semite and has no place in the civilized world. And there are countries with the guts to fight them.
A Big Tres Bon to France!
Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala, a well-known French comedian, is being prosecuted for his anti-Semitic rantings on network television. During a prime time TV show, On Ne Peut Pas Plaire a Tout le Monde, (You Can't Please Everybody) on December 1, 2003, Mr. M?Bala included in his skit a raised arm and the shout "Isra-Heil!" - a reference to the Nazi slogan, "Heil Hitler." Further, he dressed up as an Orthodox Jew and decried the "American-Zionist" axis.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has said he was "shocked" by the performance. The show's host, Marc-Olivier Fogiel, apologized for the episode, and prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation December 24 into whether the comic's skit and "incriminating comments" constituted racial defamation. Apparently they did. Now the comedian must stand trial and Justice Minister Dominique Perben said that "justice would be inflexible" if racism is proven. "Racism is an evil that I don't want to see develop in this country," he said.
Bravo!
Go Americans!
According to a poll commissioned by the firm McLaughlin & Associates, which was conducted in mid-January, 67.4% of 1,000 Americans surveyed say the Palestinians have not met the conditions outlined by President George W. Bush for statehood, including fighting terrorism and ending incitement, and 66.6% are against expelling all Jews from their homes in the territories.
Also, nearly three quarters of Americans (73.6%) support halting $200 million in annual aid to the Palestinians, and just 15% support continuing the aid. Additionally, 55.7% of respondents said they agreed that the Palestinians' goal is "the eventual destruction of Israel" compared to 21.3% who say their goal is statehood alongside Israel. Meanwhile, 65.2% said the Palestinian Authority "couldn't be trusted to fulfill peace agreements that it signs with Israel," as opposed to 18.6% who said they trust the PA.
Apparently, Mr. and Ms. Average American know the real deal. And since this is an election year, look for President Bush to, at least temporarily, halt his unreasonable demands upon Israel, while letting the Palestinian-Arab entity slide.
Right on, American public!
Cheers to the Brits!
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy fired British Legislator Jenny Tonge as party spokesperson on Children's Affairs after she expressed sympathy for suicide bombers and suggested she would consider becoming one herself if she were a Palestinian.
Kennedy characterized Tonge's remarks as "completely unacceptable; they are not compatible with Liberal Democrat party policies and principles," he stated. "There can be no justification, under any circumstances, for taking innocent lives through terrorism."
Ms. Tonge made the remarks about suicide bombers during an address to a meeting of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. She had visited Palestinian areas last June and compared their life with the Nazis' treatment of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. She said suicide bombing "is truly born out of desperation," and while the phenomenon was widely criticized, she said, "I can understand. I am a fairly emotional person and I am a mother and a grandmother," she continued. "I think if I had to live in that situation.... I might just consider becoming one myself."
Ms. Tonge, a physician besides being a legislator, tried to 'clarify' her remarks the following day, but to no avail. Both sides of the British political scene came out against her. A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats sought to distance the party from Tonge, saying she was "expressing her personal views," and insisted that the "Liberal Democrats do not condone terrorism in any circumstances whether by suicide bombers or anybody else." Meanwhile, Michael Ancram, foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Labor Party, said the comments would "sicken those across the world who have lost loved ones to suicide bombers."
Bravo Britain!
Cheers Again For Britain!
A new poll out shows that an overwhelming 78% of Britons are not prejudiced against Jews. Although the poll also revealed that one in seven Britons believes the Holocaust has been exaggerated, Lord Greville Janner, chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said he was surprised that the numbers who believed the Jewish suffering had been exaggerated were "so low, given the anti-Semitic, racist element present in this country."
And although the number of people revealed to be anti-Semitic is a relatively small minority, Home Secretary David Blunkett articulated his "deep concern" at the numbers who believe the Holocaust is exaggerated. He found the result "worrying and disappointing," stating "it means people are prepared to set aside not only the evidence, but the overwhelming emotion that goes with it."
It appears that Britain?s leaders are willing to tackle the anti-Semitism that has been so rife of late.
Again, Bravo!
Israel and its fate is the core of Judaism, in the same way Mecca is core to Islam and the Vatican is central to Catholicism. These recent events are proof that the anti-Semitic ploy of trying to separate Israel from Judaism is no longer working. An anti-Semite is an anti-Semite and has no place in the civilized world. And there are countries with the guts to fight them.