The Labour party approves a draft action plan against antisemitism to be submitted to the government’s anti-racist body

December 9, 2020

The Labour party’s ruling national executive committee (NEC) has approved a draft action plan against antisemitism it is required to submit to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the government anti-racist body,  ahead of a deadline later this week, The Jewish Chronicle reported.
The plan comes in response to  recommendations  of the EHRC report into antisemitism in the party.
The Labour’s action plan comprises the 18 key recommendations of the EHRC report, including the setting up of an independent complaints process to handle  allegations of antisemitism, other forms of discrimination and bullying.
The party had receive a 10 December deadline to produce a draft action plan in response to the findings and recommendations of the report released by the government anti-racist and equality body.
A Labour spokesperson said: ”Labour’s national executive committee has given its approval to the draft action plan it is required to submit to the EHRC this week.
“It covers all the EHRC’s recommendations and is an important step towards Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner’s commitment to rebuilding trust and confidence with our Jewish members and the Jewish community.”
The action plan is believed to contain details on how  Labour intends to live up to Keir Starmer’s zero tolerance commitment to reports of antisemitism in the party in the future, how it will introduce training sessions on anti-Jewish racism to be conducted by the Jewish Labour Movement, and how it will effectively monitor improvements to ensure lasting change within the party.
Asked to comment the process in the Labour party by its new leader Keir Starmer, Gideon Falter, Chairman of the UK-based Campaign Against Antisemitism, who has been in the forefront of the battle to refer the party  to EHRC because it was not taking its complaints against former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn seriously, said: ‘’‘’The point is that this is a man, Jeremy Corbyn, who put 47% of British Jews in fear of their future in this country.He surely cannot be allowed by his political party, which claims to be anti-racist, to go without answer for that. He must be held to account in a fair, independent disciplinary process.’’
Falter added during a webinar hosted by the European Jewish Association: ‘’If this is going to be polluted by Keir Starmer’s  political considerations about who has the power in Labour, then I don’t think the party has learned his lesson. The Labour party has to secure justice against anti-Semites.’’
Last month, Starmer decided not to readmit Corbyn in its parliamentary ranks despite the fact that a Labour disciplinary panel lifted the suspension of Corbyn’s party membership.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission investigation identified serious failings in leadership and an inadequate process of handling anti-Semitism complaints.
Its report said the party was responsible for three breaches of the Equality Act: political interference in anti-Semitism complaints, failure to provide adequate training to those handling anti-Semitism complaints and harassment.
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Antisemitic attack in Maastricht, Netherlands

We condemn the vile antisemitic attack suffered by a young activist and dear friend of the European Jewish Association in Maastricht, the Netherlands earlier today. Attacks such as this highlight the important work done by the targeted activist and Jewish organizations throughout the continent. Regrettably we are reminded once again that antisemitism is alive and growing in Europe

Report: Swedish cities use public money to find anti-Semitism

Research published by Gatestone Institute concludes various municipalities use money to endorse anti-Semitic groups such as Group 194, arrange school lectures by pro-Palestinian movements.
Sweden’s municipalities and government are directly and indirectly funding anti-Semitic organizations, according to a research conducted by Gatestone Institute for International Relations.
The research was published by Nima Gholam Ali Pour, a member of the board of education in the Swedish city of Malmö, as well as a participant of several Swedish Middle East teams.
In addition, he is the editor for the social conservative website “Situation Malmö,” and has published books.
The research report also concluded that Malmö’s municipality is using tax payers’ money to endorse Group 194—an organization that posts anti-Semitic content on its Facebook page, such as a caricature of a Jew drinking blood and feeding on a child.
The research argued that anti-Semitism originating in the Middle East is also funded by Swedish public money.
Therefore, when anti-Semitic scandals occur in the Scandinavian country, those tasked with addressing them are often the same officials responsible for distributing the offensive material that led to them.
Moreover, no effective action is currently being taken against the spread of anti-Semitism in Sweden.
Ali Pour concluded that the direct and indirect governmental funding of anti-Semitic organization should be scrutinized and immediately halted.
He adds that as long as the funding continues, Sweden’s Jews will continue living in a perpetual state of fear and insecurity.
Big Swedish cities such as Malmö have become known as places in which Jews feel threatened, and the country’s increasingly prevalent anti-Semitism has drawn international attention.
In December of 2017, Muslims demonstrated in front of a synagogue in Malmö and a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a prayer room in a Jewish cemetery following US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“We want our freedom back and we’ll shoot the Jews,” the anti-Semitic demonstrators shouted in front of the synagogue.
Molotov cocktails were also hurled at a synagogue in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.
Furthermore, representatives of the Youth Against Settlements (YAS) organization based in Hebron are visiting and lecturing in Swedish high schools against Hebron’s Jewish residents.
One of the high school students who attended YAS’s lectures in February 2018 said that the anti-Semitic organization had argued that there are checkpoints all across Israel and that Arabs are routinely beaten and killed.
It was also said the Palestinians are living in concentration camps similar to those set up by the Nazis in in WWII.
“They talked a lot of nonsense and made us to take pictures with their flag,” one of the high school student said.
“The most controversial thing they said was that the Jews control the United States and the media,” another student added.
Zelika El Motsev and Anas Amro, YAS’s representatives across Sweden, were described in the media as “peace activists,” while they praised stabbing attacks, Shahids (martyrs) and Arab uprising on their Facebook pages.
Yes’s spokespersons were invited to speak before public institutions in Sweden and country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Margot Wallstrom met with them during her visit to Ramallah in December 2016.

The article was published on Ynet

Covid: vingt interpellations après la manifestation à Bruxelles et six blessés (photos)

Huit mille personnes ont participé à cette manifestation, selon une estimation de la police. Elle s’est globalement déroulée sans incident mais un petit groupe de perturbateurs a affronté la police lorsque le cortège est arrivé à son point d’arrivée, près de la place Schuman.
Les agents de police ont répondu avec un canon à eau et du gaz lacrymogène. Quatre manifestants et deux policiers ont été blessés. Plusieurs véhicules de police ont été endommagés.
Les protestataires s’étaient rassemblés vers midi à la gare de Bruxelles-Nord et le cortège s’était élancé vers 13h25. À sa tête se trouvait une délégation de pompiers (en uniforme) et du personnel soignant.
Les organisateurs ont éprouvé beaucoup de difficultés à contenir les participants sur le parcours prévu et à éviter les confrontations avec la police. Quelques projectiles avaient été jetés à hauteur de la rue de la Loi sur la police mais les manifestants ont rapidement réussi à ramener le calme.
La manifestation s’est ensuite dirigée vers le parc du Cinquantenaire. Une fois atteint, les premiers intervenants ont déclamé leur discours. Mais un groupe de perturbateurs a commencé à bombarder la police, qui bloquait l’entrée de la place Schuman, avec toutes sortes de projectiles, ainsi qu’avec des feux d’artifices. Le canon à eau et des gaz lacrymogènes ont été utilisés à plusieurs reprises par la police.
La majeure partie des manifestants a quitté les lieux mais un autre groupe est resté sur l’avenue d’Auderghem et est entré dans une nouvelle confrontation avec les forces de police. Des déchets ont été incendiés. Le canon à eau et les gaz lacrymogènes ont à nouveau été utilisés pour repousser les protestataires. Le noyau dur s’est finalement disloqué et le calme est revenu.
La précédente manifestation contre le Covid Safe Ticket, il y a deux semaines, avait rassemblé 35.000 personnes, selon la police.

Une association juive outrée par la représentation de l’étoile jaune à la manifestation

La European Jewish Association a réagi outrée dimanche à l’étoile jaune représentée sur l’une des bannières de manifestants participant à la marche organisée dimanche à Bruxelles contre les mesures sanitaires prises par le gouvernement pour endiguer la propagation du coronavirus. “Il est difficile de dire à quel point c’est une erreur”, a déclaré le rabbin Menachem Margolin, président de l’association.
“J’ai du mal à voir la similitude entre le fait qu’on vous demande de vous faire vacciner pendant une pandémie, -ou d’en assumer les conséquences si vous ne le faites pas- et l’extermination systématique de six millions de Juifs dans des camps de la mort, des chambres à gaz ou dans des fosses communes à ciel ouvert”, a déclaré M. Margolin.
“Cela me rend malade de penser que si peu de gens comprennent la douleur que de telles bannières provoquent, et que si peu de gens réalisent vraiment l’énormité et l’ampleur de l’Holocauste. À ceux qui ont défilé aujourd’hui avec une grande étoile jaune, je dis: ne faites pas ça. Peu importe ce que vous pensez des restrictions sanitaires, personne ne vous tatoue les bras, personne ne vous case dans des camions à bétail et personne ne veut que vous, votre famille et vos proches meurent. Tout d’abord, assurez-vous d’avoir les connaissances et de savoir ce que cette étoile jaune représente réellement”, a encore souligné le président de l’association européenne.
https://m.lavenir.net/cnt/dmf20211205_01642831/covid-des-milliers-de-personnes-a-bruxelles-pour-manifester-contre-les-mesures-sanitaires

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Auktion mit Hitlers Golduhr – scharfe Kritik jüdischer Vertreter

Toilettenpapier, ein Halsband, eine Uhr – eine Auktion will Hinterlassenschaften aus dem Umfeld Adolf Hitlers versteigern. Der jüdische Verband EJA ist empört.

In den USA hat am Donnerstagmorgen eine umstrittene Versteigerung von Hinterlassenschaften führender NS-Figuren begonnen. Der jüdische Dachverband European Jewish Association (EJA) kritisierte die Auktion im Vorfeld scharf und forderte ihre Absage. “Der Verkauf dieser Gegenstände ist abscheulich”, erklärte der EJA-Vorsitzende Rabbi Menachem Margolin am Donnerstag in einem offenen Brief an die Veranstalter der Auktion im US-Bundesstaat Maryland.

Unter anderem wird eine Golduhr versteigert, die NS-Diktator Adolf Hitler gehört haben soll. Laut Schätzung des Auktionshauses Alexander Historical Auctions rechnet man mit einem Verkaufspreis zwischen zwei und vier Millionen US-Dollar. Kurz nach Start der Auktion am Donnerstagmorgen ging bereits das erste Gebot über eine Million Euro ein.

Weitere Nazi-Hinterlassenschaften der Auktion sind laut EJA eine Bonbonschale des Diktators, ein Terrier-Halsband seiner Partnerin Eva Braun und Toilettenpapier der Wehrmacht.

EJA übt scharfe Kritik

Nazi-Hinterlassenschaften gehörten gegebenenfalls in Museen, aber sicher nicht unter den Hammer, betonte EJA-Vorsitzender Margolin. Die nun zur Versteigerung stehenden Gegenstände aus dem Besitz des “Völkermörders” Hitler trügen in keiner Weise dazu bei, aus den Gräueln der Nazizeit zu lernen, unterstrich er unter Verweis auf die geschätzten sechs Millionen jüdischen Todesopfer der Nazi-Zeit.

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