Labour councillor under investigation over pictures of him in an Adolf Hitler costume for children’s hospice fancy dress fundraiser

April 18, 2019

Labour has launched an inquiry into a councillor pictured at a fundraiser dressed as Adolf Hitler.

Photographs of Seve Gomez-Aspron show him wearing a German Army uniform, complete with swastika, and a fake moustache.

They were taken at a fancy dress dinner in aid of Claire House Hospice, which supports seriously and terminally ill children, in 2009 – around three years before he was elected to St Helens Council in Merseyside.

Mr Gomez-Aspron, 33, who represents the Newton-le-Willows ward, said the outfit was inspired by Mel Brooks’ satirical comedy The Producers. He described the decision to wear it as ‘clumsy’.

The councillor told the Liverpool Echothe photos were taken in his early twenties, before he was a Labour Party member, adding: ‘I have matured and learnt a lot since then, and it goes without saying that I would not do this now.

‘I know how this could be seen as insensitive and how it could cause hurt and offence.

‘That was not at all my intention and I sincerely apologise.

‘I have part-Jewish ancestry and I recently visited Israel to commemorate those killed in the Holocaust and the war.’

Labour confirmed it had launched an inquiry but said it was unable to comment on individual cases due to data protection issues.

The scandal is not Mr Gomez-Aspron’s first.

Earlier this month, Merseyside Police confirmed they had received a complaint about a tweet he posted referring to the ‘Aryan race’.

Officers concluded no offence had been committed.

In December 2017, he was censured by the council’s standards committee after insinuating residents were ‘halfwits’ on Facebook.


The article was published on mail online

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President Rivlin hosted Abdallah Chatila, who purchased Hitler artifacts which will be held by Yad Vashem, at Beit HaNasi

President Reuven Ruvi Rivlin hosted Abdallah Chatila, who purchased Hitler artifacts which will be held by Yad Vashem, at Beit HaNasi
President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin today hosted Abdallah Chatila, the Lebanese-born Swiss businessman who bought artifacts associated with Adolf Hitler that auctioned two weeks ago, which will be held by Yad Vashem. World Chairman of Keren Hayesod Sam Grundwerg and Chairman of Yad Vashem Avner Shalev also participated in the event.
The president thanked Mr Chatila for his important act and for the significant thought that stood behind it, saying “your donation is of great importance at this time, when people are trying to deny historical truth. These artifacts, which you are generously making available to Yad Vashem, will help convey the legacy of the Holocaust to the next generation who will not meet survivors.”
The president added, “what you did was seemingly so simple, but this act of grace shows the whole world how to fight the glorification of hatred and incitement against other people. It was a truly human act. I know you have been thanked many times, but it was important for me to say it loud and clear here at Beit HaNasi in Jerusalem – we appreciate it and thank you for it very much.”
Abdallah Chatila told the president “Mr President, it is a great honor to be here. When I read about the artifacts being for sale, I immediately thought I have to buy them and destroy them. Then I thought I have no right to decide what to do with the items, and am so glad they are now at Yad Vashem. I feel a shiver when I understand how important this is for the Jewish people, but I think there is a wider message for the whole world, that ‘never again’ is not a meaningless slogan. Through acts such as this, we can ensure that these things never happen again.”
EJA chairman, Rabbi Menachem Margolin said during the meeting that “In a cynical world, such a noble act of kindness, generosity and solidarity bowled him over”. “it is the first time in years” He continued ” that someone is properly hearing our pain and is taking action because of it.”
“Rabbi Margolin thanked Keren Hayesod for taking the action of Mr. Chatila and making sure this noble thing will become an educational message for the generations to come and documented in and kept by Yad VaShem in Jerusalem.
Chair of Yad Vashem Avner Shalev thanked the president for the meeting and Mr Chatila for his act, saying. “What you did as a spontaneous act ensures that these artifacts do not end up in the wrong hands. You stopped that, and brought them to the place where history is told and where the next generation is educated. Thank you very much.”
Sam Grundwerg, World Chairman of Keren Hayesod: “What you have done by this action is take a very dark chapter from Jewish history and the history of humanity, and shed light on it by andvancing tolerance and hope. You reminded humanity that there are good and decent people in the world who seek tolerance and justice”.

EJA Chairman Extols Daniel Shvidler for Founding AMEPA, Strengthening US-Israel-Middle East Media Relations

EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin thanks Daniel Shvidler for his courageous partnership in establishing AMEPA – America Middle East Press Association, which is designed to strengthen ties and understanding between senior journalists in the United States and Israel and the wider Middle East.

In the photo from the left:

Rabbi Margolin, AMEPA representative on the West Coast, David Perry, the organization’s senior advisor Jeremy Pink, Daniel Shvidler, the organization’s representative in the southeast of the USA, Warren Cohn, AMEPA CEO Kim Kaman and Tal Rabina, the organization’s strategic director and head of Israel office

COVID Diary- Reflections from Our Advisory Board Member Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs

Every Day during the Corona crisis our Advisory Board Member Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs (NL) writes a diary, on request of the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam, which is published on the website of the NIW, the only Jewish Dutch Magazine. Rabbi Jacobs is the head of Inter Governmental Relationships at the Rabbinical Centre of Europe. We will be regularly publishing a selection of his informative, sometimes light hearted, but always wise pieces.
For our Dutch readers you can follow the diary every day at NIW home page: https://niw.nl
“Schoenmaker, houd je bij je leest”, is a Dutch expression, which means “cobbler stick to your trade” And so, as I’m not a medic, I don’t get involved with medical technology. But if someone is dead, then I could and should get involved. And if something takes place between life and death, the dying process, then it seems to me that both the doctor and the rabbi may operate together (in the figurative sense of the word of course). What am I referring to? Organ donations. Not organ donations from a healthy person who donates a kidney to a fellow human being and thereby saves a life. Nor am I talking about donating organs after death, whether that should or should not be done. No, I’m referring to the case of a donor who would normally have been dead, kept alive artificially and now being used as an organ supplier. He is declared brain dead. In the past, a person was dead, alive or dying. We expect respect for life, for death, but also respect for that intermediate phase. I remember nurses in the gerontopsychiatric ward of the Sinai Center. “Mrs Cohen, how are you today? Your children have arrived to visit you.” They spoke fondly to Mrs. Cohen, who was on a ventilator, although perhaps she would have been legal declared brain dead if she had been a donor. But was Mrs. Cohen already dead? Her body still had temperature, her heart was beating, all organ functions were still intact and she was given medication. The donor is considered brain dead, which is a legal terminology. Without this legal assistance the donor would be considered alive! And ‘the operation’ would have bee an illegal and punishable act. Is the public aware that the donor will receive medication during the organ donation procedure? Medication for a dead body? He is given sleeping pills to control blood pressure. To counteract resistance, the donor was initially tied up to the bed, but nowadays muscle relaxants are administered by the anaesthetist. The impression that the donor is actively resisting is dismissed as reflexes! Enough written about organ donations. Another (less morbid?) topic: There is quite a bit of
opposition to kosher slaughter. I will spare you the details. But the cow would still be alive after the kosher slaughter, because there are visible reflexes. I just don't get it: cattle reflexes are signs of life; human donor reflexes are signs of death!? And therefore is my conclusion: when in doubt do without!

Are the Abraham Accords stronger thant the war between Israel and Hamas?

”We want everyone to acknowledge and accept that Israel is there to exist and that the roots of Jews, Christian are not in New York or Paris but here in our region. They are part of our history and they should be part of our future,’’ said Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council.

‘’From the United Arab Emirates perspective, the Abraham Accords are there to stay,’’ said Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of the UAE Federal National Council, who played a leading role in the 2020 accords which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab countries.

”This the third war in Gaza. Whenever there is something happening in Gaza, people come to us and ask: ‘What do you think of the Abraham Accords. Are you going to change ? ‘’

‘’The Accords are our future. It is not an agreement between two governements but a platform that we believe should transform the region where everyone will enjoy security, stability and prosperity,” he said as reports say that Iran’s main interest was—and remains—to prevent the United States from brokering Saudi-Israel normalization.

‘’This is a  people to people engagement. This is what we need. We want everyone to acknowledge and accept that Israel is there to exist and that the roots of Jews, Christian are not in New York or  Paris but here in our region. They are part of our history and they should be part of our future,’’ added Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, during a special online briefing organized by the European Jewish Association (EJA) together with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel adocacy group in the U.S.

‘’We want to change the educational system and religious narrative. It is very important to understand that there are enemies for what we are doing. Those terrorist organisations don’t respect human life. Don’t let them achieve their goals. No person with a human feeling and common sense will agree with the barbarian terrorist attack that Hamas committed on October 7. No one,’’ he added.

He stressed the need to differenciate between Hamas and the Palestinian people. ‘’Our enemies took advantage of this. We need those who believe in peace in Europe, the US and everywhere to counter the hate narrative that we see in demonstrations in Paris and London.’’

Other speakers included Nicola Beer, Vice-President of the European Parliament who noted that the Abraham Accords ‘’are a good tool to support Israel and peace in the region.’’

‘’We need to make a difference between terrorists and the Palestinian people. The aggressor is Hamas and not Israel. We need to fight against terror everywhere,’’ she said.

‘’We stand strong with Israel and its right to defend itself against Hamas terror. We also understand that in the long run there must be peace for the people of Israel, Palestine and the whole Middle East.’’

On the EU’s position during a vote of a resolution on the war at the United Nations General Assembly last week, the German MEP from the Renew group, criticized those EU countries who voted in favor of a text that didn’t even mention the Hamas massacres committed in south of Israel.

‘’I would like all countries in the EU to vote like the Czech Republic and Austria who voted against,’’ she said.

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), who is co-chair and co-founder of the Abraham Accords Caucus and a member of the Hiouse of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said : ‘’ On October 7, Hamas committed a heinous terrorist attack, brutally, barbarically slaughtering 1400 people. They used murder, torture, rape as a strategy, as a goal. This is  clearly a war crime. There is no justification for this attack. Hamas is an norganisation dedicated to the genocidal vision of eliminating the state of Israel and killing Jews. What we see now is Israel taking action to secure its borders, protect its citizens and rescue the hostages, as well as elilminating Hamas from control of Gaza and from threatening Israel.’’

Former Israeli Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Idan Roll emphasized the need to have full backing from the moderate Arab states. ‘’We want not Israel but someone else than Hamas to be responsible for the Gaza Strip. When we left Gaza in 2005, Hamas choose not to build and develop it but made it a terrorist hub.We will not go back to the same scenario.’’

‘’When we see the demonstrations in Europe, it is not about the two-state solution but about ‘ Palestine from the river to the sea’ which means no more Israel. Young people are manipulated. Anyone who supports what is going in Europe, supports terror,’’ he said.

by Yossi Lempkowicz

https://ejpress.org/are-the-abraham-accords-stronger-thant-the-war-between-israel-and-hamas/

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