Jewish groups in Australia are protesting a publicly-funded "work of art" in Melbourne that harshly and inaccurately criticizes Israel. The display consists of a large Star of David hanging in a department store window, behind a list of false inflammatory "facts" about Israel. The text reads, "Since the creation of Israel in 1948, 200,000 Palestinians have been killed, 5,000,000 refugees have been created, 21,000 square kilometers of land has been annexed, 385 towns and villages have been destroyed, 200,000 settlements have been built, 300 billion military dollars have been spent, 100+ weapons of mass destruction have been manufactured, 65 U.N. resolutions have been ignored." Jewish and other critics of the display say that the list, on the whole, is downright wrong, and that the stated numbers of people killed, refugees created, and settlements built have nothing to do with reality. The number of Israelis killed in battle with Arabs, however, which is over 20,000, is not mentioned at all.
The window display was clearly marked with the City of Melbourne logo - until the complaints were filed. Shortly afterwards, the entire display was removed.
In France, a rabbi was attacked as he was walking to Sabbath prayer services in a Paris suburb. JTA reports that the rabbi was hit in the face and stomach by two men. In another incident in northern France, a swastika and Nazi slogans were scrawled on a synagogue.
Israel's Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger, who returned yesterday from a conference in Europe, related that a pregnant Moslem woman brazenly walked into a crowded post office in Paris and cut in front of a long line. When accosted by a French, non-Jewish woman, the Moslem lady pointed to her own swollen belly and yelled out, "Don't you realize who is soon going to be in charge of France? -What we have right here!"
The window display was clearly marked with the City of Melbourne logo - until the complaints were filed. Shortly afterwards, the entire display was removed.
In France, a rabbi was attacked as he was walking to Sabbath prayer services in a Paris suburb. JTA reports that the rabbi was hit in the face and stomach by two men. In another incident in northern France, a swastika and Nazi slogans were scrawled on a synagogue.
Israel's Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger, who returned yesterday from a conference in Europe, related that a pregnant Moslem woman brazenly walked into a crowded post office in Paris and cut in front of a long line. When accosted by a French, non-Jewish woman, the Moslem lady pointed to her own swollen belly and yelled out, "Don't you realize who is soon going to be in charge of France? -What we have right here!"