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Canadian Senator David Ahenakew made statements justifying the Holocaust.
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| By Debbie Berman December 18, 2002 |
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The Slovakian government recently defined Zionism as a "racist movement." A Canadian senator and Indian Nations leader made remarks justifying Hitler's actions. A recent poll in Germany showed that most Germans think Jews are exploiting the Holocaust. In response to what they see as a growing wave, Jewish leaders have called on lawmakers to take a firmer stance against anti-Semitism.
The Slovakian government generally enjoys good diplomatic relations with Israel. Israel's embassy in Austria, which is also responsible for relations with the Slovak Republic, recently discovered that the Slovakian government decided in June to fund a television campaign against all forms of racism, including Zionism, along with Fascism, Xenophobia, Nazism, Apartheid, and Homophobia.
The Slovakian Ambassador to Israel quickly apologized, claiming that the incident was a misunderstanding based on ignorance.
Canadian senator justifies Hitler
Canadian Senator David Ahenakew, former chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the Assembly of First Nations, made statements justifying the Holocaust as a means to protect Germany from the Jewish takeover of the world. "The Jews [expletive] near owned all of Germany prior to the war. That's how Hitler came in. He was going to make [expletive] sure that the Jews didn't take over Germany or Europe. That's why he fried six million of those guys, you know. Jews would have owned the [expletive] world. And look what they're doing. They're killing people in Arab countries," Ahenakew said in an interview with a local publication.
Ahenakew's comments sparked angry protests and calls for a police investigation into hate crime charges against him. "I want to extend my most sincere apologies to members of the Jewish community, to the Holocaust survivors and your families. Such comments have no excuse," he said in an official apology.
At a recent Zionist Federation conference in Canada, speakers noted that Jew hatred is being promoted under the guise of criticism of Israel. Foreign Ministry representatives met with Canadian ambassador to Israel Michael Bell yesterday and expressed their outrage, saying that Israel is considering adding Ahenakew to a list of people barred from entrance into Israel.
An American Jewish Committee poll in Germany revealed that 52 percent of Germans think that Jews are exploiting the memory of the Holocaust. The poll, which surveyed some 1,250 Germans, also indicated that 40 percent of Germans thought Jews had too much influence on world events. In addition the poll said that 59 percent agreed with the statement, "Many people in Germany are afraid to express their true feelings about Jews," while 17 percent of Germans "prefer not" to have Jews as neighbors.
Jewish leaders convene to combat anti-Semitism
Jewish leaders from forty countries convened in Prague last month to discuss rising anti-Semitism, the negative portrayal of Israel in the international media and Holocaust denial. Conference participants reported that the biggest challenges currently facing international Jewry are Muslim extremism, the Israeli-Arab conflict and the Iraqi crisis.
The EU's European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia warned last week from Brussels "that racism and xenophobia are becoming acceptable in Europe." The conclusions drawn were that since September 11th, anti-Muslim sentiment and anti-Semitism have become interconnected and legitimized in European public opinion. The violent Israeli-Palestinian conflict and internal social and economic problems led to a wave of attacks on Jewish targets throughout Europe last year. The center called on EU leaders to fight against anti-Semitism re-implanting itself on European soil.
At a conference in Washington last week, Jewish leaders expressed their concerns at the rise in European anti-Semitism. Participants called on Congress and German lawmakers to take a firmer stance against anti-Semitism.
"Many European Jews today feel more vulnerable, disillusioned and frightened than at any time since the Holocaust," said Alfred Moses, former U.S. ambassador to Romania. "I know from my personal experience that anti-Semitism is never far below the surface in Central and Eastern Europe."
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