July 11, 2004

• ISSUES

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  “F” Is For France AND Faint of Heart…Or Is It?

  
  

   

  
  

  Fox News says there have now been 135 violent crimes of anti-Semitism in France so far this year, according to a report on Fox News Sunday today. And the trend looks to only continue as Synagogues burn, graves are desecrated and French Jewish men are beaten on the streets and forced to dress incognito in their own country.

  
  

   

  
  

  And now, even more shocking to those yet civilized, mothers and infants are assaulted, robbed and humiliated simply because they were from a typically Jewish part of town.

  
  

   

  
  

  The first quarter of 2004 alone saw a 60% increase in acts of anti-Semitism throughout France, according to France’s own Interior Ministry. At the time of the report, the total for the year was 67 such crimes. This in just the first three months of 2004 while French apathy and complicity seem to be equally on the rise. One must look back nearly ten years to see any massive French outrage- and arguably even further to find them visibly proactive in really about anything outside of being anti-Semitic.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  Flag of France, more than a joke: Ensigns of the King’s vessels “ White ensign”, flew in the French Navy c. 1700 and  labeled ‘Franse Witte Vlag‘

  
  

   

  
  

  But if you think a good idea might be to immigrate to Canada and make the moose your snugglebunny, think again. The Daily (of Canada) reports that according to a “pilot survey” of hate crime conducted by “twelve major Canadian police forces” between 2001 and 2002, 928 hate crimes occurred during that period, of which a resounding 25% of which were anti-Semitic in nature. This also represented the largest single block of hate crimes committed, beating the next minority group by 8% during that time. Particularly troubling considering Canada’s relatively smaller population than many Western countries.

  
  

   

  
  

  Meanwhile the French Jewish community in a sarcastically macabre tone recently stated, “the French only have pity on dead Jews” according to a report cited below. One amusingly might suppose this is how the French have made themselves feel better than the Germans of yore.

  
  

   

  
  

  In comparison, FBI statistics of anti-Semitic crimes in the US indicate that, although the actual FBI number is high (some 928 incidents in 2002), culturally this is not as provocative as elsewhere since it translates into roughly only .003 per cent of the total US population. Additionally, American sentiment against anti-Semitism and in support of Israel is poll after poll shown to be higher than in France. While the FBI report does show Americans do have some work to do too and that anti-Semitism is an international problem it remains clear that the US is still far from France or Canada– nor is it the Middle East by any stretch.

  
  

   

  
  

  (Also just a side note of something I ran across while looking this up that people of all faiths should find interesting: of curious note from these statistics was that hate crimes against Americans of all faiths combined totaled about 1,432 in 2002. Hate crimes against Atheists: 3. Not that I am saying France’s obsession with intolerance in the guise of  “secularism” is in any way related here. I’m sure that statistic is far different in France…or is it?

  
  

   

  
  

  Certainly we cannot discount the Islamic religious zealotry among many, but neither can we ignore the strange bedfellows it seems to have found historically in militant agnosticism, paganism– as we see in NAZIsm, or Stalinism– also powerful and dangerous anti-Semitic forces and all forms of militant secularism.)

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  France Admits Anti-Semitism on The Rise After Graves Desecrated

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  Haaretz, an Israeli publication in an article about the recent desecration of a Jewish graveyard in France (cited below) says, “Dalil Bubakr, president of the French Muslim organization described the act as ‘barbaric and stupid,’ and noted that several mosques in the area were also recently desecrated.”

  
  

   

  
  

  “’Acts such as these suggest complete ignorance, blindness and fanaticism,’ he said in a statement expressing his support and solidarity with the Jewish community.”

  
  

   

  
  

  “Ramadan, 39, is not only an outstanding Muslim intellectual but also the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hassan Al-Bana, who was murdered in his own country in 1949. He firmly condemns the anti-Semitic incidents that took place during the past year in France, Belgium and other European countries, such as attacks on synagogues and Jewish institutions. ’Too few Muslims have spoken out against these anti-Semitic and Judeophobic phenomena,’ he says.”

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  Jihad Against Anti-Semitism?

  
  

   

  
  

  “My Fellow Muslims, We Must Fight Anti-Semitism”

  
  

  Some courageous Muslim intellectuals are taking a stand against anti-Semitism. While an honest person must assess they do have their work cut out for them in their world, it still gives one pause to think of a better day perhaps. And maybe one day even the French will have their intellectuals to do the same…

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  Gang Attacks Mother on Paris Train

  
  

  AFP gives further detail of this shocking attack

  
  

   

  
  

  FRENCH MOTHER, BABY ATTACKED IN PARIS COMMUTER TRAIN
  
  

  
  

  VERSAILLES, France, July 10 (AFP) – A young woman and her baby were attacked in a (crowded and placid) suburban train near Paris Saturday by unidentified men who drew swastikas on her stomach with a pen in what police said was an anti-Semitic assault.

  
  

  
      The six attackers who were armed with knives clipped the 23-year-old woman’s hair (reportedly to keep as a prize of their sick conquest), and cut her tee-shirt and pants before drawing three swastikas on her body.

  
  

  
      The men of North African origin also overturned the pram (baby carriage) with her baby of 13 months.

  
  

  
      In the attack they robbed her backpack which contained her identity papers, a bank card and 200 euros (250 dollars).

  
  

  
      Police said the attackers erroneously assumed the woman was Jewish because she was living in Paris‘ posh 16th district.

  
  

  
      ”Only Jews live in the 16th district,” one of the men was quoted as having said.

  
  

  
      French President Jacques Chirac expressed his horror and condemned what he called “a shameful attack” (Jacques, of course would have done it differently, we suppose).

  
  

  
      The perpetrators must be found, held accountable and condemned with the full severity of the law, a statement issued by his office said (with all the severity we’ve seen thus far from the French government, that is).

  
  

  
      Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin asked police to find the attackers within the shortest possible time, (say two or three months, a few years, it is all the same to us so long as we say pretty words, which we the French, are known for. In fact the only time we keep it short is when we surrender) his ministry said in a statement.

  
  

  
      The attack was “all the more serious because it was marked by racism and anti-Semitism,” he said (and our French UN ambassador thinks it is, how do you say,  seriously gnarly, dudes).

  
  

   

  
  

  (Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, Sieg Heil-ité…)

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  (Denotes Blogbat editorializations, quips and other remarks generated for the benefit of accuracy on behalf of the reader)

  
  

  Original report can be found here

  
  

  
  

   
  

  
  

  
  

   

  
  

  Worldwide Anti-Semitism

  
  

   

  
  

  And what does France (and the UN) think about the Jewish people defending themselves? Well, just take a look at their attitudes on the Israeli security fence that has reduced the number of terrorists blowing themselves and Jewish women and babies to pieces to but a tiny fraction of what it once was. France seems to prefer an unfair fight, doesn’t it?

  
  

   

  
  

  In a recent worldcourt ruling (if you think it has any value) Israel was told that her right to build a security fence to protect herself from invasion much the same way the French built the Maginot Line, built to defend against the Germans, was illegitimate. Though the French Line was arguably ineffective, it was still recognized within their right to build it. I don’t think the UN is in the business of advising countries on strategy. Besides that, when has a military strategy employed by the French worked (to their advantage) in the past two centuries?

  
  

   

  
  

  But one need only look at who makes up two thirds of the worldcourt to see exactly how any such case is going to turn out ahead of time: Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Russia, Sierra Leone, and Venezuela. As you can plainly see, it’s just another roundup of the usual suspects.

  
  

   

  
  

  This is a worldwide problem, not only one that is French, which must be addressed. Whether it be religious intolerance and the burning down of religious buildings, kidnappings, rapes, tortures, beatings and murdering of members of other ethnic and religious groups in China, or similar atrocities in her close ally France or the ones wantonly commited by puppet radicals in the Middle East, we need to seriously deal with it before we have stories to tell like those of our grandparents.

  
  

   

  
  

  I can scarcely think of things more troubling than a story right out of the 1930’s as a woman with a baby is assaulted on a crowded subway because she is thought to be Jewish, while not a soul comes to her aid. The worst part is that such things are now being permitted or committed by combined acts of aggression and attrition in, by and through such countries. The real tragedy is that after all those lost lives of men who fought valiantly in war, and especially in the shadow of the glories of Normandy, such a thing as this can happen as recently as yesterday– and in a place like France.

  
  

   

  
  

  If a government thinks it has a friend in France, I must say it is likely either Palestinian or Chinese, even though we cannot forget the role that many other nations around the world have played.

  
  

   

  
  

  Because of this and all the more as we hear stories such as the one above, it becomes a problem in the world body which needs to be faced and dealt with sternly and decisively, as well as without tarry, lest the brutality think it has a right to spread.

  
  

   

  
  

  - Note that the shoulder patch worn by Arafat (LEFT) and on the official Palestinian Authority letterhead is a map which includes the ENTIRE piece of land which is the nation of Israel.

  
  

   

  
  

  To see more click this link to go to the PA’s officialwebsite. This start page will give you a startle…

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  -Blogbat

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  ISSUES

  
  

   

  • 9:28 pm
  • 3 Comments