5th anniversary of murder of young French Jew Ilan Halimi

"... they tortured Ilan with particular cruelty simply because he was Jewish" (Nidra Poller)

Ilan Halimi (11 October 1982 - 13 February 2006)

"This young Parisian Jew was kidnapped by a gang of thugs on January 21st and held captive for three weeks. On February 13th, early in the morning, he was found on the edge of a railway station, naked and handcuffed, his body covered with burn marks from acid and cigarettes. He had been savagely tortured and stabbed in the neck. He was not dead yet when discovered, but he died a few minutes later.

Little by little, information emerged about the crime. There were at least fifteen thugs, maybe more. They had used a girl to seduce Halimi into the trap where he was captured. They knew he was a Jew and they had chosen him for that reason. In his pocket they found the phone number of a rabbi and he was the first person they called, telling him: "We have a Jew. The family has to pay. If the family cannot pay, it will be the synagogue." In succeeding days, they called the rabbi again, howling sentences full of hatred. Later, they called the family, asking for $600,000, before lowering the price to $5,000. They spoke to the mother, to Halimi’s sisters, uncle, and father. When they were not asking for money, they were reciting suras from the Quran. In some of the conversations it was possible to hear Halimi screaming in the background. The thugs sent a videotape showing the young man naked, humiliated, handcuffed, just like on a Zarqawi videos from Iraq. [...]" The Murder of Ilan Halimi, by Guy Millière

Ilan Halimi rests in peace in Israel.

The cry of my conscience about my family's Nazi collaboration, Alexandre Jardin

"To burn down a synagogue and liquidate a few Jews, all you need is a handful of violent sadists. But to perpetrate this on a large scale, a moral discourse must be used of a sort that mobilises a great many decent people, who will be even more efficient. My grandfather, a man steeped in Christianity, was one of those people. [...] And all of a sudden, a large section of the press – accustomed to the notion that crimes are the deeds of bastards – were up in arms."

I have read Alexandre Jardin's book.  It is an important book.  It goes a long way to help us, Europeans, understand Europe's deep-seated hostility towards the Jews and especially against Israel today.  As he says : "Vive la France! The one to come, that is."  I agree.

Source: The Guardian

France is a curious country. You can talk about anything here: about paedophilia, about the most shameful passions, but not about our families' dishonour during the second world war – because that particular past just won't pass. Especially if you argue that to have taken part in the worst atrocities of the Nazi occupation one didn't necessarily have to be a monster.

My novels have been read by hundreds of thousands of people in France over the past quarter of a century. I'm reputed to be a lightweight author, drunk on smiley sentimental literature. And then, at nearly 46 years of age – the age at which my father died – I confessed what my immoderate mirth was hiding all along and published a difficult, irrevocable book: Des gens très bien (Very Nice People). This 300-page crime novel, all of a sudden, sparked a crisis.

Why? Because it speaks of the blindness of my family and of our whole nation. Because it evokes the guilt of the upright, morally endowed people who collaborated with nazism and who, definitively, allowed the extermination of the Jews. Because it says that my grandfather was both a fundamentally decent chap and an accessory to utter evil – something our modern brains have a hard time grasping. Because it cries my shame at possessing the genes of a man who collaborated at the highest level.

At 17 I understood that on the day of the Vél d'Hiv roundup, when around 13,000 Jews were arrested in Paris (almost all of whom were exterminated), my grandfather Jean Jardin was the chief collaborator to the most collaborationist of French statesman (Pierre Laval, head of government under Marshal Pétain). At the time, he was the chief of staff in Vichy for the man who wished for "German victory". He was Laval's eyes, his right hand, his mouthpiece – if not his conscience.

EU fumbles as Egypt and the Middle East erupt in violence and unrest

Source: Newsletter of the European Coalition for Israel (a Christian initiative promoting European-Israeli cooperation)

The European Union has found no clear line of policy as Egypt and the rest of the Middle East seem to be sliding deeper into chaos and unrest. The same EU leaders who for years have hailed the Egyptian leader Mubarak as a strong ally and friend have switched allegiance overnight and are now pressing for an immediate toppling of the president without having any clear idea of what may follow if Islamic fundamentalists take over the country.

The hypocrisy and naivety of the EU and the Western world is nothing new. The Iranian revolution had support from Europe. Also the developments in Turkey, where Islamic forces have taken over the government, have been supported by EU pressure for more democracy. Only a few years ago EU support for the Fatah-ruled Palestinian territories was steadfast and any accusation of corruption or mismanagement of funds was clearly rejected by the European Commission. Everything changed overnight when Hamas came to power. Then the EU suddenly blamed it all on ’the corruption of the previous government’. EU policy in the Middle East has sadly proved to be a complete failure.

(The commissioner responsible at the time, Chris Patten, who fervently opposed any transparency in the EU funding of the Palestinian territories, is today an active campaigner against Israel and one of the initiators of the letter written to the EU mentioned in the last issue.)

Today the same EU leaders who criticise Mubarak for non-democratic rule are apparently happy to support the Muslim Brotherhood which openly promotes a world caliphate.

When European leaders criticise Islam Israel-bashing comes next

After British P.M. David Cameron speech about multiculturalism (i.e. Islam), British Foreign Minister William Hague has harsh words against Israel.  This pattern is repeated time after time.

"The British and other European governments would be well-advised to put more real effort into improving the situation on the ground instead of just taking the backseat and leaving Israel, the only democracy in the region, alone. Talk is cheap, but action is what we need." (Ronald Lauder)

(EJP) --- The World Jewish Congress expressed disappointment about comments made this week by British Foreign Minister William Hague on the Middle East and Israel, calling them "one-sided".

In an interview with The Times in London, Hague said Israel should tone down what he tered its "belligerent" language amid the revolutionary tide sweeping the Arab world, when he was asked to comment recent statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the situation in Egypt.

In a meeting earlier this week with a visting delegation of European parliamentarians, Netanyahu spoke of the possibility that the Islamists in Egypt would exploit the situation in order to gain governance over the country and lead it backwards, in fact warning that Egypt could become a new Iran. He said Israel had to be prepared for "any outcome" in Egypt and "to reinforce its might".

William Hague was quoted by the British newspaper as saying that "this should not be a time for belligerent language".

"It's a time to inject greater urgency into the Middle East peace process," he added.  He also demanded that the Obama administration give a timetable for bringing "greater urgency into the peace process" and for a peace settlement to be based on the borders prior to 1967.

On Wednesday World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder issued a strong statement on Hague’s comments. "Putting undue political pressure on Israel alone, completely neglecting its vital security interests, is counterproductive and unhelpful,” he said, criticizing Europe's political leaders "who on an almost daily basis go around the Middle East lecturing the Israelis about what they should do, and that they should do it now."

In Auschwitz, Turkey minister accuses EU of 'racism'

Of course, the proper place to say this for a "moderate" Turkish minister was at a Holocaust commemoration at Auschwitz, and then to provide a clarification ... no offence intended.

The EU risks being besieged by a racist mentality "that emulates the fascist methods of the 1930s," said Turkish EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis, speaking at a Holocaust commemoration event in Auschwitz.


A claim by a Turkish minister that the EU risks falling victim to "the facist methods of the 1930s" has drawn a request for clarification, the European Union said Thursday.


Ankara's minister for European Union affairs and its chief negotiator in enlargement talks with the bloc, Egemen Bagis, said at a Holocaust commemoration at Auschwitz this week that the union was at risk from racism.

"The EU, founded in order to eliminate the threats of that period to peace, is today at risk of being overtaken by a racist mentality that... emulates the fascist methods of 1930s," he said.
Read more HERE

Belgian employer's gift to aliyah employees

Four diamond industry workers' decision to make aliyah from Belgium prompts their employer to make surprise call – open Israeli branch. 'Great opportunity for all of us to make aliyah and continue working in field we love and know,' says one employee

Four Jewish diamond industry workers from Belgium decided to make aliyah in spite of their employer's efforts to convince them to stay. When he realized that he was about to lose them, he decided to open an Israeli branch so that they would continue to work for him in Israel.

The four worked at an international company, a Belgian and South African partnership – working in Antwerp for over 30 years. The company deals with producing diamonds in South Africa and Botswana. The foursome were considered dedicated employees who contributed a lot to the company. They decided to make aliyah together, and last weekend they arrived on special Jewish Agency flights with 200 other olim from France and Belgium.

One of these olim is Ilan Engel (32) who decided to follow his Israeli-born wife to Israel. She returned to Israel with their daughter a year ago, and they will be living in Bat Yam.

Two other employees decided to make aliyah to be with their children and grandchildren in Givat Shmuel and Raanana. The fourth, Julie Aharon (23), single, will be living in Tel Aviv. The company's owner tried to convince the four of them to stay with the company and even promised to give them a raise if they were to reconsider their aliyah decision. When he understood that they were enthusiastic Zionists he surprised them with an announcement: "I'll open an Israeli branch for you."

Belgian students call for boycott of Israel at Brussels tourism fair

BRUSSELS (EJP)---Some 60 pro-Palestinian activists wearing a T-shirt calling for a boycott of Israel circled a Belgian stand promoting Israel at the annual tourism fair in Brussels on Saturday.
___________
The very anti-Israel Belgian Francophone TV channel even covered the event and reported that many of the protesters were students from the Free University of Brussels.  Belgian Jewish leaders, as usual, keep a low profile ... and say nothing.

T-shirt with Carlos Latuff's drawing. See Brussels : IDF child killer Christmas demonstration