Opinion
A MIX OF IDEAS
Dry Bones
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00110CROM
"LIMOS ACT
Editorial
Europe's Hatred Of Jews
T
he jackhammer that is European
anti-Semitism is drilling deeper.
Decent people everywhere must
be vigilant. If European leaders, with the
encouragement of the civilized world,
don't intervene, small Jewish communi-
ties in Europe will fall victim to the anti-
Semitic scourge.
The head of the European Jewish
Congress has a finger on the pulse of
European Jewry, which Nazi Germany des-
perately tried to eliminate some 70 years
ago. Moshe Kantor said European Jewish
communities face a "grave" threat from
anti-Jewish fervor and anti-Semitism,
some of which is state sanctioned.
In an October statement, Kantor said
the European Union and other European
leaders should "launch a campaign against
intolerance and anti-Semitism to remind
European citizens that the new Europe
was established after the Second World
War on the concept of 'Never Again.'"
That's a concept seemingly lost on
the Europe of today. To just assume
anti-Semitic rancor could never recur
is not only naive, but also foolish — the
unconditional acceptance of Jews among
a segment of European non-Jews notwith-
standing.
Consider just two recent examples from
Belgium and Sweden:
• During Palestine Day at a Catholic
school in Antwerp, students were encour-
aged to throw replicas of Jewish and
Israeli soldiers into two large tanks. The
name of the game: "Throw the Soldiers
Into the See
• In Malmo, a gang shouting "Heil
Hitler" and "Jewish pigs" attacked a Jewish
children's event. Such incidents have
forced a troubling number of Jews to leave
Malmo this year.
A growing Muslim population coupled
with outrage toward Israeli policies among
Muslims as well as non-Muslims fuels
European Jewish hatred — latent or overt.
"Like many of their counterparts in other
European cities, the Jews of Malmo report
being subjected increasingly to threats,
intimidation and actual violence as stand-
ins for Israel:' reports the Forward.com .
A 2009 European study by the Institute
for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict
and Violence at the University of Bielefeld
in Germany found that almost half of
the Europeans surveyed agreed at least
somewhat with the statement, "Israel
is conducting a war of extermination
against the Palestinians?' One of the study's
lead researchers told the Forward.com,
"Criticism of Israel is a great way to express
your anti-Semitism in an indirect way?'
Kantor also identified anti-Semitic
statements
by European
public fig-
ures, includ-
ing German
banker and
politician Thilo
Sarrazin, who
came under
fire for tell-
ing the weekly
German news-
paper Welt am
Sonntag that
"all Jews share
the same gene
according to
the Huffington
Post.
In an assess-
ment that
should shake
the timbers of Jewish life, Kantor branded
the official response to such incidents as
barely detectable. "Anti-Semitism is at best
actively promoted and at worst ignored by
some officials in Europe Kantor wrote.
"Due to this intolerable situation:' he
added, "small Jewish communities, like
Malmo, are teetering on the brink of
extinction?'
Malmo, the largest city in Sweden, is
DryBonesBlogxern
home to 293,900 residents — but only 760
Jews. It does have a 107-year-old syna-
gogue.
If small Jewish communities can't
depend on protection or respite from
mainstream officials, we indeed — as
Kantor stresses — "are entering a very
dark period for the Jews in Europe."
"Never Again" isn't just a watchword. It's
also a call to action that Jews must heed. ❑
Hillel Shows Wisdom
W
hen we first learned Westboro
Baptist Church (WBC) of
Topeka, Kan., was planning to
protest Hillel of Metro Detroit, our reac-
tion was similar to that of many of you:
Seriously? Hillel of Metro Detroit? The
Hillel that serves students at Wayne State
University, Lawrence Technological U.,
Oakland University, Oakland Community
College, University of Detroit Mercy and
University of Michigan-Dearborn?
After all, WBC is the same group that
pickets funerals of U.S. soldiers and was
recently before the U.S. Supreme Court
on a related case. WBC's main goal is to
generate publicity by being extremely
offensive. If it was targeting a Hillel,
why wouldn't it choose the University of
Michigan or Michigan State University? If
it was targeting the Detroit Jewish com-
munity, shouldn't it have targeted the
Jewish Community Center or Federation?
Hillel of Metro Detroit (HMD) must be
doing something right.
WBC's biggest mistake was under-
estimating the
resources HMD
has cultivated —
resources that made
this occasion a
non-event. Between
the administration
at Wayne State and
the network of our
Jewish communal
agencies, we were
supported and pre-
pared for our unin-
vited visitors.
At 9 a.m. Nov. 1,
three protesters from Westboro Baptist
Church showed up carrying hateful signs
("God Hates Israel:' "God Hates Jews:'
"God Hates Fags"). One member was
standing on an American flag, while
another was wearing an Israeli flag
splashed with "blood."
The protesters were not on campus.
They stood on the public sidewalk along
Warren Avenue, playing their music and
trying to draw
attention. Police
officers surrounded
the area.
Next to the WBC
protesters, 10
Wayne State stu-
dents spontaneous-
ly formed a coun-
ter-protest, looking
Miriam
to diffuse the hate
Starkman
being spewed.
HMD Executive
When Hillel of
Director
Metro Detroit staff
approached the
counter-protesters, having no idea who
we were, the students told us about the
Hillel on campus in the Student Center
and how important it was to defend
HMD against these people.
At the end of 30 minutes, the WBC
people put away their signs and left for
their next protest. The only shouting that
took place was one passing driver, who
called out, "May God have mercy on your
souls." Later that same day, a group of
HMD students gathered in our office and
held an extended discussion about toler-
ance.
What lessons has HMD learned from
this experience?
First, we know we have a tremendous
support system. Thanks to our strong
relationships with the WSU administra-
tion, our students were kept safe and
secure at all times. HMD worked with
the dean of students, campus police and
university general counsel to coordinate
our efforts.
And thank you to our Jewish commu-
nity partners, who kept us informed and
helped us develop a strategy. In particu-
lar, our local Anti-Defamation League
professional came to campus to help us
prepare; and the Federation's community
security director gave us his full support.
Second, we need to give credit to our
Hillel students. While some counseled
Hillel on page50
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