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April 18, 2002
To: Officers, Rabbis, Key Contacts
From: Richard B. Stone, Chairman
Betty Ehrenberg, Director, International and Communal Affairs
Re:
Anti-Semitism in Europe
Urgent Action Necessary
As
human homicide bombers carry out their deadly slaughters of innocent
civilians in Israel, Arabs are exhorted to kill Jews by radical Islamic
religious leaders around the world. The
government-controlled media outlets of Arab countries engage in a
systematic, vicious, anti-Jewish campaign, complete with ugly cartoons
that picture Jews in Nazi-like caricatures.
Simultaneously, the current level of anti-Semitism is the worst in
Europe since the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Many Jews have become walking targets in cities in Germany, France,
and Belgium. Synagogues and
Jewish schools in France were firebombed, a kosher butcher shop was
sprayed with bullets and a school bus carrying Jewish students in Paris
was attacked with stones. French
Jewish leaders are calling this “the beginning of a new Kristallnacht.”
In Belgium, as moves were made by a court to indict Prime Minister
Sharon for so-called war crimes, anti-Jewish arsonists hurled firebombs
into a synagogue. Two
21-year-old American Jews were recently physically attacked in Berlin. In Marseilles, a synagogue was completely burned to the
ground and the Torahs were buried.
A
resolution introduced by Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY) concerning this
rise of anti-Semitism in Europe is being circulated in the House of
Representatives. The
resolution expresses the sense of the House and calls upon the governments
of Europe to take all the necessary steps to protect the safety and
well-being of their respective Jewish communities as well as make a
considerate effort to calm the situation.
We call on all our members to contact their Representatives and
urge them to add their names to the list of co-sponsors of this
resolution. Call your
Representatives at (202) 225-3121 (ask for the office of your
Representative) and ask them to contact Tony Silberfeld in Congressman
Crowley’s office at (202) 225-3965 to add their names to the list of
co-sponsors.
For
more than fifty years, Europe has been haunted by its contemptible record
of behavior against Jews during the Holocaust.
Now, as Israel tries to defend itself against the terrorist attacks
being perpetrated by the Palestinians, Europeans feel free to attack
Israel in the UN, to threaten to impose sanctions, and to physically
assault Jews, synagogues, and Jewish schools.
The insidious legacy of the UN Conference on Racism that took place
in Durban, South Africa, where Israel was labeled by the entire
international community as racist and apartheid, has helped to open the
floodgates to expressions of anti-Semitism that is tragically reminiscent
of Jewish history in Europe.
Immediate
Action Necessary
It
is crucial that you immediately call your Representatives at (202)
225-3121 (ask for your Representative’s office) and make sure that they
add their names to the list of co-sponsors of the Crowley resolution
concerning the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe.
Urge your Representatives to help pass this important resolution
and to raise their voices against anti-Semitism.
For
further information, please call the IPA at (212) 613-8123.
RBS
BE
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