'Jews may be next target'

Switzerland's ban on building minarets will fuel xenophobia and risks making Jews the next target of religious intolerance, according to European rabbis meeting in Moscow.

The Conference of European Rabbis condemned the outcome of last Sunday's Swiss referendum in a resolution passed during their two-day meeting, international relations director Philip Carmel told Reuters on Thursday.

"We don't have a situation of the extreme right in Europe attacking Jews because they are content to attack Muslims," he said. "But the Swiss example is classic: it's not just Muslims who are going to be targeted by the extreme right."

Swiss voters approved a ban on building new minarets in a referendum, defying the government and parliament which had rejected the right-wing initiative as violating the Swiss constitution, freedom of religion and a cherished tradition of tolerance.

Speaking after the conference ended, Carmel said any movement towards xenophobia or extreme nationalist sentiment was "bad for Jews", adding: "The growth of the far right legitimizes xenophobic opinion."

The Conference, which represents over 800 rabbis in more than 40 countries, was concerned that Jews might be the next targets of a rise in right-wing sentiment aroused by the minaret ban, he said.

Rabbis said they were delighted by the revival of Jewish life in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, where their faith was relentlessly persecuted, leading to an exodus of tens of thousands.

They said the growth of Muslim extremism in Western Europe's capitals was making life difficult for Jewish communities there.

Jonasan Abraham, a London rabbi, said it was "tragic to think that it's safer now to walk the streets of Moscow as a Jew than in many Western European capitals where you feel hostility".

In some European cities, Jews were living under tight security at schools and synagogues because of the threat from Islamic fundamentalists, the rabbis said.

"You can't talk about the Holocaust in certain classrooms because the Muslim children will stand and complain about why it is being discussed," Carmel said.

The rabbis called for European governments to combat Muslim extremism by making a commitment not to engage in dialogue with fundamentalist organizations and their representatives.

"Because of the lack of structure of umbrella Muslim groups, politicians have a tendency to prefer dialogue with those who seem to be the loudest but they are not necessarily representative," Carmel said.

YNet

BNP on Question Time: Nick Griffin uses BBC appearance to attack Muslims and gays

Mr Griffin said Islam was not compatible with life in Britain, while describing homosexuals as "creepy".

However, he admitted sharing a platform with the Ku Klux Klan, which has carried out racist attacks across America’s Deep South, and defended leaders in the organisation as "non-violent".

The remarks provoked indignation from other members of the BBC panel and hostile parts of the audience, some of whom booed, calling him "a disgrace".

The BNP leader could not explain why he had previously sought to play down the Holocaust and defended his use of Sir Winston Churchill on BNP literature on the basis that his father had fought in the Second World War.

He claimed that Churchill would have been a member of the BNP and was "Islamophobic" by "today’s standard".

Asked whether he denied that millions of Jews and other minorities had been killed by the Nazis, Mr Griffin would only reply: "I do not have a conviction for Holocaust denial."

He was then chastised by David Dimbleby, the host of the programme, for smiling.

The controversial statements were made in response to intense questioning by members of the audience from ethnic minorities.

BBC Television Centre in west London came under siege as filming took place, with MPs joining hundreds of protesters behind lines of police. There were six arrests as dozens of protesters attempted to storm the studio.

BBC studios in Hull, Scotland and Wales were also targeted by demonstrators. The cost of the police operation was estimated to be more than £100,000.

The BBC was certain to be questioned over why it allowed Mr Griffin to air such controversial views but executives were hoping that the intensive questioning that he faced would justify their decision to invite him on the Question Time panel for the first time.

The BBC, which Mr Griffin denounced on the programme as "ultra-Leftist", had claimed that impartiality rules meant that it had little choice but to invite him on to the programme after the BNP won seats in the European Parliament in elections earlier this year.

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Source: Telegraph

PM to UN: World must rally against Iran

During General Assembly address, Netanyahu slams Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial; 'Is this a lie?' he says while brandishing Auschwitz death camp plans. PM also criticizes UN for failing to condemn Hamas fire on Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he wants to make peace with the Palestinians and hopes the world will rally against the Iranian nuclear threat.

Speaking before the UN General Assembly in New York, Netanyahu said that "the most urgent challenge facing this body today is to prevent the tyrant of Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons."

The Iranian regime, he said, "Is motivated by fanaticism… They want to see us go back to medieval times. Perhaps some of you think that this man and his odious regime, perhaps they threaten only the Jews. Well, if you think that, you're wrong. You're dead wrong," he said.

"The struggle against Iran pits civilization against barbarism," Netanyahu told the UN. "This Iranian regime is fueled by extreme fundamentalism."

Netanyahu also addressed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust. During the speech, he waved the minutes of the Wansee Conference, in which Nazi officials planned the Final Solution. "Is this a lie? he said.

The PM also held up the architectural blueprints of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps that bear the signature of Hitler's deputy, Heinrich Himmler, which he received during a recent trip to Germany.

Source: INN

Germany Will Walk Out of U.N. if Ahmadinejad Denies Holocaust

Germany's foreign ministry is sending a clear message to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ahead of his Wednesday speech to the United Nations — don't deny the Holocaust.

If the rogue Iranian leaders does in fact make such a statement before the General Assembly, German diplomats will walk out. And Germany wants other European Union countries to follow, the foreign ministry was quoted by Reuters.

"We will leave the hall if President Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust or makes anti-Semitic statements ... we are making efforts towards a unified European position," a spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday.

As recently as last week, Ahmadinejad has called the Holocaust a lie, repeating the inflammatory statement as world powers weigh how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Stating that the Holocaust did not occur during World War Two is a crime in Germany. Last week Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned Ahmadinejad's most recent denial and called him a disgrace to his country, Reuters reported.

Source: FoxNews

Russia: Ahmadinejad Holocaust jibe totally unacceptable

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statement that the Holocaust was "a myth" is "totally unacceptable," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday.

"Such statements, wherever they come from, contradict the truth and are totally unacceptable," ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said in the statement.

"Attempts to rewrite history, especially as the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II is being marked this year, are an offence to the memory of all victims and all those who fought fascism," he added.

Nesterenko said Ahmadinejad's comment "does not contribute to creating an international atmosphere that would foster a fruitful dialogue on issues concerning Iran."

Ahmadinejad made the statement as he addressed the annual Quds Day rally in Tehran on Friday, reiterating earlier comments that had sparked outrage around the world.

The United States, Britain, France and Germany all issued statements slamming his latest outburst dismissing the killing of some six million Jews of occupied Europe by the Nazis during World War II.

"The very existence of this regime is an insult to the dignity of the people Ahmadinejad said of Israel.

"They (the Western powers) launched the myth of the Holocaust. They lied, they put on a show and then they support the Jews.

"If as you claim the Holocaust is true, why can a study not be allowed?" he said to chants of "Death to Israel" from the crowd gathered for the annual display of solidarity with the Palestinians.

Washington condemned Ahmadinejad's comments as ignorant and hateful.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband branded the comments "abhorrent as well as ignorant," and said they were "not worthy of the leader of Iran."

"The coincidence of today's comments with the start of Jewish New Year only adds to the insult," he added.

French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero called the remarks "unacceptable and shocking. We resolutely condemn them."

In Berlin German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said they shamed Iran.

Source: Ynet