Is Anti-Semitism Becoming Politically Correct?

[Laura]

Israel will have only its own Fascist and Genocidal character to blame for the ultimate Global turnaround in attitude. That they can't see this is astonishing.

In Spain, anti-Semitism is new leftist trend
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3278919,00.html

Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead. Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them
Ignacio Russell Cano

Madrid: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain and Secretary General of the Socialist Party, arrived to power at a time nobody expected, not even inside the Party.

Keen on populist tirades against the United States "Dickhead Bush" and "Ketchup Queen Kerry", his whole campaign did not bring much attention until the moment Al-Qaeda decided to blow up Madrid trains, killing almost 200 people and bringing to an end Spain's membership of the West.

From that moment on, everybody knew nothing would be the same, and Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead. Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them.

'Understand Nazis'

Although many experts had foretold of the imminent disappearing of European Jews, nobody expected such a virulent explosion of anti-Semitism in Spain, not even under a Leftist government.

The first signal came on Monday, 5 December, when during a dinner with the Benarroch family, Zapatero and wife began claiming what Vidal Quadras, member of the European Parliament, described on the radio as "a tirade of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism".

By the moment the Benarroch couple had left the table to express their regrets, Zapatero was explaining his lack of surprise about the Holocaust: according to the people present, Zapatero claimed to understand the Nazis.

What about Hizbullah?

Closing Hizbullah TV was another mission impossible for the man who understands the Nazis. It took more than a year to definitely close the channel connection to the Hispasat satellite, siphoning Latin America with more than a year of hate and Islamist propaganda.

In a country with the most anti-Catholic government in its whole history but with a multicultural obsession for Islam, A-Manar TV was part of the 'freedom of press.'

The recent clashes with Hizbullah, however, have promoted the longest and hardest diatribes against Israel, forcing Zapatero to loose a cover for what it was long known in Spanish politics: His hate towards Israel, Jews and Zionism.

In the third day of such rants, before a gathering of the Socialist Youth Movement and a day before a demonstration against Israel, Zapatero showed at last his true colours: At the closing of the meeting he let the teenagers take pictures of him wearing a Palestinian kaffiyah.

Although according to Zapatero, Hizbullah and Israel are the same thing, he offers no words of condemnation for the Party of Allah, spending 100 percent of the time explaining, in a rather twisted way, that Israel should let Hizbullah kill Israelis.

Much of the theory belongs to controversial Spanish FM Miguel Angel Moratinos. EU envoy to the Middle East before and sinking in rumours of links to Hamas long before he left, Moratinos arrived to the foreign ministry cleaning the Elcano Institute up, firing the most prestigious experts and bringing in a group of friends of the oppression theory.

Since then, amid support for Castro and Chavez and mysterious support to Bolivia in order to bring Evo Morales to power, the Spanish FM has proved he has nothing to envy in terms of anti-Americanism, but nobody ever expected an explosion of anti-Semitism in Spain this big. It seems once more that the Jews are the canary in the mine, and the United States should take note.

Jews pay the price

The commotion caused in the Spanish Jewish community seems to be huge, especially taking in count that after some months of anxiety after his election, some Jews were feeling somewhat safe in Spain. Not anymore.

Some people were trying to alert the international community about what was boiling in Spain, but neither the OSCE nor the EUMC ever listened, preferring contacts with anti-Israeli NGOs based on the idea that anti-Semitism has to do with Arabs. Now the Spanish Jews are to pay the price for the international community's inaction, once more.

If the United States does not want to see the American embassy in Madrid full of Jews fleeing Spain, President Bush will do well in isolating Spain in the international arena while pressing, and asking European members to press, the new Socialist government of Spain. The American Rep's belonging to Moratino's Caucus of Friends of Spain should be reminded its elections time too.

The Sepharad story is clearly over, but nobody expected it would be by accident. If you are thinking about visiting Spain, think it twice. You may not leave easily.

Spanish PM in scarf scandal
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1970868,00.html
20/07/2006 13:08 - (SA)

Madrid - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has come under criticism for posing with a Palestinian scarf on his shoulders after accusing Israel of using force "abusively" to defend itself, press reports said on Thursday.

Zapatero commented on the Middle East conflict at an international Socialist youth festival in Alicante, which was attended by more than 3 000 people including Palestinians and Israelis on Wednesday.

The premier condemned both the kidnappings of Israeli soldiers and the use of "abusive force which does not allow innocent human beings to defend themselves".

Scarf placed on shoulders

A Palestinian participant placed the traditional Palestinian scarf, or kaffiyeh, on Zapatero's shoulders to be photographed with him.

Gustavo de Aristegui, spokesperson for the opposition conservative Popular Party (PP), called the photo "unfortunate" in the present Middle East situation. Sources of Zapatero's Socialist Party said he had not sought to be photographed in that way.

Aristegui accused the government of anti-Semitism and of applying a "double standard" in the Middle East.

Attacks condemned

Foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos rejected such charges, stressing that Spain had clearly condemned the attacks of Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel as well as the latter's "disproportionate" use of force.

"It is one thing to say the Israeli response has been disproportionate - a criterion that we share - and a very different thing to adopt Manichean positions in a conflict which is very complex and not a story of good and bad guys," the conservative daily El Mundo said in an editorial.

Spain has evacuated more than 600 people from Lebanon within five days.

Israel: Relations with Spain hurt by PM's accusation of 'abusive force'
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/740965.html

By Reuters

Israel's envoy to Spain said on Thursday the two countries' relations had been damaged after the Spanish prime minister accused Israel of using "abusive force" during an event at which he also wore a Palestinian scarf.

Spain's ability to use its influence to help defuse the growing Middle East conflict could suffer following the speech by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to a meeting of young Socialists on Wednesday, Ambassador Victor Harel said.

His comments came as European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, himself a Spaniard, was involved in talks aimed at ending fighting between Israel, Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militants.

"Each declaration which is not balanced has consequences for parties who want to use their influence," Harel told reporters at Madrid's Ritz Hotel where he listened to Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos at a conference.

Relations with Spain "are not in their best moment", he said.

Zapatero, who took power in a surprise election victory following Islamist train bombings in Madrid in 2004 and immediately pulled Spanish troops out of Iraq, had told the young Socialists: "No one should defend themselves with abusive force which does not protect innocent human beings."

Spain wants the United Nations Security Council to agree to deploy international troops to stop fighting which has claimed hundreds of lives since Israel launched bombardments nine days ago to stop Hizbollah attacking it with rockets.

Moratinos, who was once the EU's Middle East peace envoy, angrily denied an accusation at the conference by a former Spanish Jewish community leader that Zapatero's remarks were anti-Semitic.

During the question-and-answer session at the breakfast, Mauricio Hatchwell, a member of Spain's small Jewish community, accused Zapatero of being antisemitic.

Moratinos reacted sternly, saying one could be a loyal ally of Israel and still criticize it without being antisemitic. He addressed Hatchwell personally and told him not to repeat such criticism of the government.

"Let this be the last time you publicly denounce and condemn and express yourself saying a Spanish government is antisemitic," Moratinos said.

He said he was not worried by the diplomatic effect of photographs in Spanish newspapers on Thursday of a grinning Zapatero wearing a black-and-white Palestinian scarf passed to him by a student at Wednesday's meeting.

"I imagine that when Prime Minister Zapatero goes to the Wailing Wall, he'll put on a kippah," said Moratinos, referring to a traditional Jewish skull cap and Jerusalem's Western Wall.

 

[Joe]

Israel will have only its own Fascist and Genocidal character to blame for the ultimate Global turnaround in attitude. That they can't see this is astonishing.

This is the question: CAN they see it? Or can at least a few of the back room boys, either in the US or Israel or both, see it and is that their plan? Whatever about who knows what, it seems clear that Israel's massively disproportionate actions run the risk of ultimately embroiling Israel in a major war that would lead to its destruction. But how much weight does Israel give to such a risk?

At least on paper, there is no obvious reason why Israel could not achieve its agenda of destroying or sublimating all its arab neighbors without any serious blowback. After all, Israel does have a much superior military to any Arab state not to mention its 200 nukes. The success of this plan could only be jepordised by other non-arab nations who DO have the capacity to destroy Israel, like the US, Russia and several countries of the EU. If their long term co-operation with Israel's goals were to cease, Israel would be in hot water.

There will undoubtedly however be many twists and turns, public and private, along the way.

Joe

 

[FranzJoseph]

Here in the States John Kaminski's readers seem headed that way too. He lost quite a few, true, but he has a large following that were always hoping he'd go... well, where he seems to have gotten.

As consciousness goes I'm very split-minded on this subject. Rage is better than apathy. But it might blind people too. It was stupid of America's largely Jewish-owned press and television networks to spike the reality (and magnitude) of the problem Zionism was causing in the Mideast and elsewhere. It was stupid that Americans who knew better let them get away with it for a generation. It was stupid of the entire political class to go AWOL on the whole issue except for allowing a few goalies (Rep MacKinny, for instance) to take all the heat.

At the same time this discredits Yahweh, which is always a Good Thing. The god of the Hebrews is the monster of history and as this fact becomes more better-known, life can only get better.

And to be blunt, the days of pogroms and expulsions are over. We are not returning to the days of Commandant Hoess and/or Torquemanda. The guilty will be punished. The world has advanced beyond collective punishment in the places where anti-semitism seems to be taking root. There's irony there for anyone who wants to see it.

 

[Laura]

"Never ascribe to malice those things which may be explained by stupidity." That is an important phrase, and a necessary one; it keeps people from being paranoid. However, it has a corollary most people don't know: "One MAY ascribe to malice those things which stupidity cannot explain."

Robert Canup

 

[Anders]

When I read the article above from Ynet about anti-semitism as a supposedly leftist trend in Spain it reminded me of the 'manufactured' anti-semitism that was supposed to be spreading like wildfire in France. As I rember it from the SOTT, it turned out to be blown out of proportion and a deliberate attempt by Israel at scaring the jews lliving in France into returning to the 'safe haven' of Israel.

As Spain would have predominantly sephardic jews ( I guess) it would be of importance for the PTB to scare them back to the apocalypse in Israel, so as to eliminate the semitic gene pool as has been discussed extensively elsewhere on SOTT. Therefore I have my doubts to whether anti-semitism really is becoming rife in Spain, though I have little knowledge of Spain at present. Being photographed with a Palestinian scarf is not enough to convince me, especially since palestinians are not more anti-semitic (themselves being semites) than other nationalities.

And to be blunt, the days of pogroms and expulsions are over.

http://www.answers.com/topic/pogrom

An organized, often officially encouraged massacre or persecution of a minority group, especially one conducted against Jews.

Pogrom is not a word only relating to jews, but also to minority groups, as a look in most dictionaries will reveal.
Therefore pogroms are staring us in the face everyday, whether that minority group is called palestinians, or lebanese or Iraqies etc.
Another thing is that a pogrom against jews could happen, if the tide turns and the fundamentalist bible thumping groups in the US see it to their benefit to blame Israel for all the ills of the world. See SOTT for indications that there might be a few cracks appearing, that could be signs of a turning tide.

We are not returning to the days of Commandant Hoess and/or Torquemanda. The guilty will be punished. The world has advanced beyond collective punishment in the places where anti-semitism seems to be taking root.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom

 

[FranzJoseph]

Pogrom is not a word only relating to jews, but also to minority groups, as a look in most dictionaries will reveal.

Therefore pogroms are staring us in the face everyday, whether that minority group is called palestinians, or lebanese or Iraqies etc.

I restricted my comment to places where anti-Semitism was allegedly on the rise. Palestinians and Lebenese and Iraqis are not in any danger of this sort of thing when they enter the nations most likely to be described as racist. (Spain, France, Ireland, Canada, the US, and so on.) Maybe it's just me, but I do think there's some irony in that.

Another thing is that a pogrom against jews could happen, if the tide turns and the fundamentalist bible thumping groups in the US see it to their benefit to blame Israel for all the ills of the world. See SOTT for indications that there might be a few cracks appearing, that could be signs of a turning tide.

This is not impossible, it just isn't very likely. I know too many fundies here. The current crop would have to be replaced for this to happen. The current batch have developed a serious hate for agnostics, atheists, "New Agers" and all the rest. These groups are a possible target for future hositilities because they're being set up for it now.

Christian reconstructionists, dominionists and rapture crazies will continue slobbering over Israel but will blame non-devout Americans for any disasters to come. When the WTC and Pentagon attacks took place, Revs. Falwell and Robertson quickly blamed what they think is "paganism" in the beginning. God abandoned us because we've gone the way of Babylon and Sodom, etc. Neither blamed the Israeli lobby and I cannot imagine either of them ever doing so.

In 1998 the novelist Richard Grant wrote a wonderfully eccentric novel (not for everyone) called In The Land Of Winter about a pagan single-mother getting her daughter taken away from her by a combination of hysteria-baiters and government busy bodies. Despite Grant's fantasy treatement, the book is grounded in reality. There's a good chance that "alternative religions" (the euphemism here) are being set up to be the bad guys in the coming years.

But if the system holds and can correct itself, as it did after Watergate for example, I can very easily see the guilty being brought to justice. Billy Kristol and even George Dubya being hailed up on charges in an American (perhaps global) Nuremberg Trial? Possible. Everyone dismisses this as hopeless fantasy right now but it might actually take place. In what way and under what circumstances I hesitiate to predict. But I can't rule it out. Bush & Company are much more hated here than seems to be showing up anywhere, even on the net.

A generation ago things turned on Dick Nixon really fast. Can it happen again? Might. The frustration here in the Rust Belt is getting amazing. Too bad there's no free press in America to let the world in on it.

 

[Ruth]

This is the question: CAN they see it? Or can at least a few of the back room boys, either in the US or Israel or both, see it and is that their plan? Whatever about who knows what, it seems clear that Israel's massively disproportionate actions run the risk of ultimately embroiling Israel in a major war that would lead to its destruction. But how much weight does Israel give to such a risk?

I don't think they can see it, but I do think the US does see it and in true 'psychopathic' form are going to take advantage. The truth is, Israel is ultimately expendible to the US - and doesn't even know it ...yet.

Israel's arrogance, perceived superiority and 'right to do anything it pleases' with impunity is going to backfire on it big time. But, first they have to dig their own hole and then fall into it. Should they accidentaly fall into a problem of their own making and be unable to extracate themselves from it, I don't think the US will care less. The US may even just shrug its shoulders and walk away, but first, Israel has to be in a difficulty of its own making and be unable to get out of it. The US is already going bankrupt and besides they've wasted enough money in Iraq so far.

Perhaps the 'best of friends' are about to part company as the smaller and less powerful of the two becomes too 'costly'....

It will be interesting to watch how the US is going to try and extracate itself from supporting Israel. It is probably going to have to wait until Israel is at the point of no return (and has no power over it) to walk away...

 

[Anders]

Pogrom is not a word only relating to jews, but also to minority groups, as a look in most dictionaries will reveal.

Therefore pogroms are staring us in the face everyday, whether that minority group is called palestinians, or lebanese or Iraqies etc.

I restricted my comment to places where anti-Semitism was allegedly on the rise. Palestinians and Lebenese and Iraqis are not in any danger of this sort of thing when they enter the nations most likely to be described as racist. (Spain, France, Ireland, Canada, the US, and so on.) Maybe it's just me, but I do think there's some irony in that.

It appears to me that there is quite a lot of vilifications of Palestinians, Lebanese and Iraqis in some of the countries above. Maybe if I had used the word muslim arabs it might have been easier to see. To be a muslim and from an arab country has in just a short number of years become a vilified identity. An example are cartoons in newspapers depicting Arabs as half-human. Another example are the extra rendition of arabs from western countries by the CIA and with virtual impunity. There have been cases of German, Italian, English, Canadian, Australian and American citizens who have been arrested and in some cases moved to Middle-Eastern clients by the CIA for torture simply because of being of Arab ancestry. This is what I was referring to when I said that pogrom is not something of the past.

Another thing is that a pogrom against jews could happen, if the tide turns and the fundamentalist bible thumping groups in the US see it to their benefit to blame Israel for all the ills of the world. See SOTT for indications that there might be a few cracks appearing, that could be signs of a turning tide.

This is not impossible, it just isn't very likely. I know too many fundies here. The current crop would have to be replaced for this to happen. The current batch have developed a serious hate for agnostics, atheists, "New Agers" and all the rest.

Christian reconstructionists, dominionists and rapture crazies will continue slobbering over Israel but will blame non-devout Americans for any disasters to come. When the WTC and Pentagon attacks took place, Revs. Falwell and Robertson quickly blamed what they think is "paganism" in the beginning. God abandoned us because we've gone the way of Babylon and Sodom, etc. Neither blamed the Israeli lobby and I cannot imagine either of them ever doing so.

Love can turn to hate with a flip of a coin in my experience. It is just a question of vectoring the attention and a manufactured event by the PTB blamed on the Israelis could provide the justification that turns the love into hate.

But if the system holds and can correct itself, as it did after Watergate for example, I can very easily see the guilty being brought to justice. Billy Kristol and even George Dubya being hailed up on charges in an American (perhaps global) Nuremberg Trial? Possible. Everyone dismisses this as hopeless fantasy right now but it might actually take place. In what way and under what circumstances I hesitiate to predict. But I can't rule it out. Bush & Company are much more hated here than seems to be showing up anywhere, even on the net.

The problem is not a few rotten apples. Yes, Nixon got thown out of office, but he was only a strawman. The system DID correct itself. What I am saying is that nothing really changed. The pathocracy continued to thrive and all the people behind Nixon were left unharmed and continued their business as usual. I suggest reading 'Timeline' which can be found on cassiopaea and you will see that the watergate scandal changed nothing ( I would have given you the link, but it appears that the search function is down at the moment). Putting Bush and Kristol on trial is not going to do it. The democrats and the republicans are standing united. There is only one party in America. Their are no real opposition to what Bush and Co are doing. No one stands up and says enough is enough. The voting in the congress and the senate is in agreement on all the important issues. Their might be some opposition to gay rights and abortion, but not on the essential issues. The foreign policy of the democrats and the republicans are identical.

I can highly recommend reading "911 The ultimate Truth" by Laura. It looks into the rapture movement, anti-semitism, Zionism and much much more. Well worth a read. :)

Anders

 

[paulnotbilly]

Doesn't matter who gets impeached/jailed, the outgoing el presidente would just use his 'presidential pardon'. Of course that's IF they get impeached/jailed.

 

[FranzJoseph]

Putting Bush and Kristol on trial is not going to do it. The democrats and the republicans are standing united. There is only one party in America. Their are no real opposition to what Bush and Co are doing.

Putting them on trial might do what Watergate didn't. There's a subsurface SOMETHING going on in this country that tells me if the Bush camp gets frog-marched out to their richly deserved interrogation, there will be general uprisings of all sorts over other things.

Bad of me to bring up Watergate in a way. America was mostly solid, communities mostly functional, when Nixon went through the NBC sweat machine. The same can't be said now. As a focal point of a possible people's rebellion, a Bush Regime nullication might do the trick.

Vis-a-vis the folks I know I'm an optimist. Then I listen to the news on the radio or read a paper and discover there's another world, not my own. But then I think again. How many people do I pass everyday who think I'm one of the pod people who believe USA Today? Can't be that many anymore. The rot's too deep. We notice.

A galvanizing event might snap Americans into fight position. It may be a dream, but look at it this way: They got their New Pearl Harbor. We might get our New Lexington and Concord. Cross fingers this once.

 

[Anders]

There's a subsurface SOMETHING going on in this country that tells me if the Bush camp gets frog-marched out to their richly deserved interrogation, there will be general uprisings of all sorts over other things.

Bad of me to bring up Watergate in a way. America was mostly solid, communities mostly functional, when Nixon went through the NBC sweat machine. The same can't be said now. As a focal point of a possible people's rebellion, a Bush Regime nullication might do the trick.

If one looks at the French revolution that started on the 14th of July 1789, the conditions just before could be described not unlike what you wrote above. In the midst of all the chaos that followed the revolution, the demand/wish for a strong military man arose and Napoleon became the popular strong man and emperor of France already in 1799 (for more info see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon ). So not that much really changed in France, apart from a few heads.

It has been described here on SOTT how the conditions might come to a boil in the USA, as you also describe, for which the police and army in latter years have gathered a whole arsenal of weapons for "crowd control", which they have had the opportunity of testing in Iraq. If such a climate of uprising would happen in the USA, then we could well see the wish/demand for another military strong man to "put things in order". So a rebellion might not change much and is unlikely to unseat the pathocracy OSIT.

A galvanizing event might snap Americans into fight position. It may be a dream, but look at it this way: They got their New Pearl Harbor. We might get our New Lexington and Concord. Cross fingers this once.

People who are angry and calling for justice are easily manipulated towards a scapegoat for that anger, unless they have learned to think for themselves and apply critical Thinking. Inner work is needed.

The C's are advising not to engage in wishful thinking. This is not a pessimistic view, it is just an objective view that makes one more attentive to what is, rather than falling in to the trap of assumptions and false hopes. This is at least how it appears to me. :)

Anders

 

[FranzJoseph]

It has been described here on SOTT how the conditions might come to a boil in the USA, as you also describe, for which the police and army in latter years have gathered a whole arsenal of weapons for "crowd control", which they have had the opportunity of testing in Iraq. If such a climate of uprising would happen in the USA, then we could well see the wish/demand for another military strong man to "put things in order". So a rebellion might not change much and is unlikely to unseat the pathocracy OSIT.

True, all I've noticed is a curious thread running in American discontent. To portray it briefly with two examples:

Around 10 years ago the Brit reporter Peter Hitchens was watching Clinton with Tony Blair, and noted that people like this used to make plans to rule the world in smelly little coffee shops, now they're running nations.

Just this week I saw Alex Jones' new video Terrorstorm. There's an interview on it with the former CIA analyst McGovern who says precisely the same thing: When he was in they joked about the neocon "crazies" and the incredibly stupid ideas they had. Now they're running the country.

This is starting to become a common perception. It could get interesting, it could get as bad as possible, quite true. But America still contains a lot of bright people and a rebellious mood coupled with extreme distrust of anyone in power has happened before. Not pie-in-the-sky, just not impossible either.

The C's are advising not to engage in wishful thinking.

Always good advice. My own is a variation of what Laura notes on page 684 of Secret History of the World when people's experience is totally outside their programming and they go into a kind of shock. They either "take a drug" to numb the pain or fully dive into the experience to change their programming (this is a real brief summary I know).

What's happened over the last five years is Americans have been drugged on phony news, outrage and false patriotism. But their drugs are weakening. They can't keep it up at the same time they can't allow the system to collapse. It's mischievous fun to watch their discomfort right now, but then I'm not a saint. They know they've been lied to but so far they've been accomplices. That's what's changing.

 

[paulnotbilly]

If one looks at the French revolution that started on the 14th of July 1789, the conditions just before could be described not unlike what you wrote above. In the midst of all the chaos that followed the revolution, the demand/wish for a strong military man arose and Napoleon became the popular strong man and emperor of France

Much the same happened in Germany post 1919, can we expect another dictator to step out of the shadows and suddenly come up with solutions to the chaos?

 

[Laura]

More Signs of the Times:

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/07/31/D8J6OSR80.html

Vandals Deface Berlin's Holocaust Memorial

31 July 06

BERLIN

Vandals scratched a swastika into one of the slabs of Berlin's Holocaust memorial, police said Sunday.

Security officers found the swastika Saturday morning, police said. The damage was swiftly repaired.

The memorial _ a vast field of more than 2,700 gray slabs situated close to the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin _ opened to the public in May 2005. Open around the clock, it drew some 3.5 million visitors in its first year, authorities said.

In a separate incident, a 42-year-old man was detained after he was seen painting a swastika on the facade of the Swiss Embassy in Berlin, police said.

Sydney synagogue attacked

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
SYDNEY, Australia
Jul. 31, 2006

An attack on a Sydney synagogue may have been fueled by anger over the Middle East conflict and the spiraling civilian death toll in Lebanon, a rabbi said Monday.

Rabbi Wernick, who cited religious reasons in declining to give his first name, and his young family were inside a house attached to a synagogue in suburban Parramatta when it was attacked Sunday evening.

Concrete blocks smashed the windows of two cars, and other projectiles were hurled at the synagogue roof. Shortly after the incident, witnesses told police they saw a group of about 10 Middle Eastern men laughing and running down a nearby street.

Werner said the conflict between Israel and Lebanon might have been a trigger for the attack.

"I don't see how people could link something that is going on the other side of the world to a small family synagogue," the 32-year-old Werner told reporters. "I feel a little sorry for them, that they think that is an appropriate action."

Police Acting Inspector Col. Green said police had stepped up their patrols of Jewish and Islamic sites following Israel's attacks on Lebanon.

 

[Laura]

This will only make things worse. Geeze, what happened to all the smart people on the planet? Are all the idiots at the top?

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/744684.html

Jewish groups demand Mel Gibson be ostracized for anti-Semitic rant

By The Associated Press

Jewish groups have called for Oscar-winning American actor Mel Gibson to be ostracised from Hollywood and investigated for breach of race hate laws after his drunken anti-Semitic outburst to a Los Angeles police officer.

Gibson issued a lengthy statement Saturday apologizing for saying "despicable" things to sheriff's deputies when he was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The U.S. Anti-Defamation League said that the apology was not enough and that Gibson should be ostracised by his peers.

Abraham H. Foxman, the group's national director, said, "It appears that the combination of liquor and arrest has revealed his true character.

"We believe there should be consequences to bigots and bigotry. One way to
combat bigots is to put a price on bigotry.

"I would hope that if this is in fact true, that his colleagues condemn him and distance themselves from him."

"I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable," the actor-director said without elaborating.

The entertainment Web site TMZ posted what it said were four pages from the original arrest report, which quoted Gibson as launching an expletive-laden "barrage of anti-Semitic remarks" after he was stopped early Friday on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu while allegedly driving at almost twice the speed limit.

According to the report, in addition to threatening the arresting deputy and trying to escape, Gibson said, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," and asked the officer, James Mee, "Are you a Jew?"

Gibson publicist Alan Nierob would not comment on the incident beyond the written statement.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Hocking said he could not confirm the TMZ report, adding that detectives would begin investigating today.

The Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site late Saturday that the sheriff's department's civilian oversight office will investigate whether authorities gave Gibson preferential treatment and tried to cover up his alleged behavior.

Sheriff Lee Baca defended his department's handling of the case. "There is no cover-up," Baca told the Times. "Our job is not to (focus) on what he said. It's to establish his blood-alcohol level when he was driving and proceed with the case. Trying someone on rumor and innuendo is no way to run an investigation, at least one with integrity."

In his statement, Gibson apologized for what he called "my belligerent behavior" when he was taken into custody.

"The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person," he said. "I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse."

He said he was taking "necessary steps to ensure my return to health."

Gibson, 50, was arrested after deputies stopped his 2006 Lexus LS 430 for speeding at 2:36 A.M. Friday. A breath test indicated Gibson's blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, Whitmore said. The legal limit in California is 0.08 percent. He was released after posting $5,000 bail.