USA: Trump strikes again with antisemitic trope

Trump stands by antisemitic trope that sparked anger among Jewish Americans

Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/21/trump-american-jewish-democrats-response-antisemitic-trope?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

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USA: President Trump and his Republican party should brush-up on the definition of "anti-semitism"

Republicans in the US misusing the word Anti-Semitism

US's Republican politicians don't seem to understand  that if someone, be it a politician, or whoever, reacts against the Israeli Netanyahu Government's acts of violence, it does not automatically mean that this person  can be labeled an "anti-semitic".

Just like the other nonsense, which seems to be prevalent in the Republican Party, that anyone who wants the huge economic gap in the US, between the "have and have nots" reduced, gun control legislated, or universal healthcare for all established,  can be called  a Socialists.

In other countries this is just called "Good Governance", which unfortunately does not seem to be part of the present Trump Republican Administration's "modus operandi".
 
EU-Digest

France: Ex -aid of Marie Le Pen says her Presidential victory would be ‘disaster’ for France and EU

Marie Le Pen Party riddled with incompetent Staff

Aymeric Chauprade, a political scientist who was once foreign affairs adviser to Le Pen but left the National Front in November, told POLITICO that the party was riddled with incompetent staff and unfit for government, despite its leader’s ambition of running for the French presidency in 2017.

Chauprade, 46, blamed National Front Vice President Florian Philippot, rather than Le Pen, for the problem, claiming that he had created a “Stalinist” environment that discouraged debate.

He also said that Le Pen lacked self-confidence and, though not prejudiced herself, was surrounded by old university friends steeped in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. “I think that these people are not ready to govern,” said Chauprade, who announced he was leaving the party on November 9.

“Marine surrounds herself with people who are incompetent, who have proved nothing, who have no specialty, whom she controls 100 percent, because they are malleable people who owe her everything.”

EU-Digest

The Netherlands - Soccer: Nazi chants at Dutch soccer game expose an ugly blot on ‘the beautiful game’ and on the Netherlands - by Michael E. Miller

It was a beautiful day for soccer in the Dutch town of Utrecht. Spring sunshine filled the stadium as the local team, FC Utrecht, kicked off against perennial powerhouse Ajax Amsterdam.

As the beautiful game slowly played out on the field, however, things in the stands quickly got ugly.
“Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas,” sang a section of the home supporters towards the fans visiting from Amsterdam, a city historic in part for its Jewish community. “My father was in the commandos, my mother was in the SS, together they burned Jews, because Jews burn the best!”

The anti-Semitism was caught on video and quickly circulated among Dutch media. FC Utrecht issued an apology as Jewish organizations demanded action by soccer authorities.

The shocking chants weren’t an isolated incident, however. Instead, they were the latest in a string of anti-Semitic episodes that threaten to mar European soccer.

Discrimination isn’t new to European football, or soccer. The sport has long struggled with racism, a problem which resurfaced recently when Chelsea fans pushed a black man off the Paris metro, chanting: “We’re racist, we’re racist, and that’s the way we like it.”

Note EU-Digest  This incident is not only an ugly blot on Dutch soccer fans, but also on Holland as a nation, and the rest of the world in general. Maybe, "We the People" should be reminded from time to time, that no one is better than another in this world of ours - we are also all equal when it comes to the bad things we do in life - it is only a question of our own perception, as to how we divine what is good, bad or worse. If you have the time, or want to take the time, please listen to the Easter Sermon of Tullian Tchividjian - http://www.crpc.org/mediaPlayer/#sermonvideo/688 - a Pastor in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which reminds us, pretty clearly, of this human flaw, know to some of us as hypocrisy.

Read more: Nazi chants at Dutch soccer game expose an ugly blot on ‘the beautiful game’ - The Washington Post

Far Right Dangers in Europe: "In parts of Europe, the far right rises again" - by Sonni Efron

As Europe marks the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I, the war that destroyed Old Europe, far-right parties are gaining ground across New Europe.

Most of the far-right parties are pro-Russia, opposing U.S. and European Union efforts to isolate President Vladimir Putin for his intervention in Ukraine. They are expected to do well in the May 25 European Parliament elections.

Last month, I traveled to Hungary and Greece, where the neo-fascist movements are strongest. In Hungary, the extreme-right Jobbik party won 1 in 5 votes in last month's parliamentary election. In Greece, even as the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party is being prosecuted by the government as a criminal organization, it remains the fourth-largest political party in the country. Golden Dawn lawmaker Ilias Kasidiaris, who sports a swastika tattoo and once read from "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" on the floor of Parliament, is running for mayor of Athens.

Both parties deny being inherently anti-Semitic or anti-Roma, but their symbols and rhetoric suggest otherwise. Party leaders are unapologetically hostile to LGBT rights, and Golden Dawn is vehemently anti-immigrant. And in both Greece and Hungary, many voters appear to be either overlooking the neo-fascist message or embracing it.

Despite international condemnation of Jobbik's anti-Semitic, anti-Roma vitriol, support for the party rose from 18% in the 2010 elections to 21% last month. Among those reelected to office was a Jobbik member of parliament who demanded that the government draw up a list of Jews in official positions because they posed a "national security risk." Another winning candidate claimed that "the Gypsy people are a biological weapon" of the Israelis who have "occupied" Hungary. These are not idle words in a country where Roma have been terrorized or killed in organized attacks.

Read more: In parts of Europe, the far right rises again - Los Angeles Times

Reverse Nazi salute, all the rage in Europe, is now coming to America

A “reverse Nazi” fascist salute that’s become all the rage in Europe, has now come to America.

The salute was created by French comedian Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala, who has been fined for inciting
 racial hatred and hate speech on several occasions.

Dieudonne, who has run for office on an “anti-Zionist” platform, claims the salute is simply “anti the system.”  The claim is suspect at best, but when you look at Dieudonne’s history, it’s even less credible.

Among other things, Dieudonne has invited Holocaust deniers on stage during his shows (and asked the audience to applaud them), is close to France’s far-right quasi-fascist National Front party, and has described the Holocaust as “memorial pornography.”

It’s become a “thing” among some circles in Europe to take a selfie doing Dieudonne’s gesture. The selfie is especially popular at locations deemed “Jewish,” such as Auschwitz or memorials in Paris to French Jews who were murdered by the Nazis during World War II.

Yeah, nothing anti-Semitic about that.  Keep in mind that France has a long history of anti-Semitism, and a resurgence of violence against Jews in the past few years.  So this isn’t happening in a vacuum.  Not to mention, every European is familiar with what this kind of salute signifies.  It’s fascist, period.

Read more: Reverse Nazi salute, all the rage in Europe, is now coming to America

Germany: Attack on Berlin rabbi sparks outrage and debate

An anti-Semitic attack has caused consternation in Berlin. Politicians have called for more moral courage. Jews in the German capital have expressed fear, while Jewish organizations worldwide demanded more security. 

The attack was completely unexpected for Rabbi Daniel Alter, who was walking down the road with his 6-year-old daughter. Four young men jumped the 53-year-old, beat him viciously and threatened to kill his child. Before attacking Alter, who was wearing a kippa, the men asked him if he was Jewish.

Alter, who later underwent surgery for a cheekbone fracture, described his attackers as Arab-looking. The beating did not take place in one of Berlin's districts with a large number of Arab immigrants - it happened in affluent suburb Friedenau, southwest of the city.

There were also clear signals from members of Germany's Muslim community. Aiman Mazyek, chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, said such acts caused "deep revulsion" among Muslims. He then professed solidarity and empathy with all Jews in Germany. Other Muslim associations joined Mazyek in condemning all religious hate and violence.

In the coming week, 80 leading Jews and Muslims from 18 European countries will meet in Paris. The conference, which has long been planned, has now gained extra significance because of the violence in Berlin. The European Jewish Congress has already said it intends to make the attack on Alter a main talking point.

Read more: Attack on Berlin rabbi sparks outrage and debate | Germany | DW.DE | 01.09.2012

Jewish cemetery in Poland attacked by vandals

Vandals have desecrated a Jewish cemetery in Poland, spraying swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans on tombstones and memorial plaques, an official said Monday.

The vandals also wrote “This is Poland, not Israel’’ on one sign at the Jewish cemetery in Wysokie Mazowieckie, a town in eastern Poland, according to the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland.

Police are investigating the attack, which occurred Sunday night in a town that has tried to preserve the memory of the Jews who once lived there. The cemetery, which was restored six years ago, is not fully fenced in and it was the first time vandals attacked it, said Michael Traison, an American lawyer who has raised funds to restore the cemetery.

Jewish cemetery in Poland attacked by vandals - Boston.com

The Jerusalem Post: Norway - a paradigm for anti-Semitism - by Manfried Gerstenfeld

For the complete report from the Jerusalem Post click on this link

Norway - a paradigm for anti-Semitism - by Manfried Gerstenfeld

Last week, on four consecutive days, there were anti-Israeli articles in Norway's second-largest daily Aftenposten. The first called for a general boycott of Israel. The second promoted an academic boycott, falsely accusing Israeli physicians of participating in torture and the Israeli Medical Association of remaining silent about it. Any honest debater would have reported that Israeli hospitals routinely treat Palestinian children, some of whom express joy when suicide bombers kill Israelis. One wonders whether any other country would allow this. The third article stressed the right to criticize Israel. This is a typical attack on a "straw man," as nobody denies this right. The fourth claimed that Israel is not a democracy. Only thereafter a pro-Israeli voice was heard. Two years ago the conservative Aftenposten got international attention when it published an op-ed by Jostein Gaarder which until this day remains the vilest anti-Semitic article published in a European mainstream paper since the Second World War.

Note EU-Digest: It is all a question of perception - Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, should be the first to understand that freedom of the press includes being able to accept critique about anything the press can come up with, including acts of arrogance. Unfortunately arrogance and calling anyone who does not agree with Israeli policies anti-Semitic seems to have become a trademark of successive Israeli Governments and some of their supporters.