Two young men were arrested last Tuesday by the police and charged with attempting an arson attack against the Synagogue of Athens. The two men were stopped for control by the police while riding a motorcycle without plates. They were carrying all components for the construction of Molotov explosive mechanisms, thus, a bottle of gasoline, empty bottles and rugs. After searching their houses, the police found and confiscated –inter alia- 20 litres of gasoline. During police questioning, the two men expressed their ultra-nationalist ideology and they confessed that they were planning an attack against the Synagogue of Athens. The police announced that the arrested have no prior criminal record and are not officially listed members of any extremist organization. State Security Agency has opened a preliminary investigation on the case, while the arrested were brought before the Prosecutor.
The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece issued a press release recognizing the promptness of the police in preventing the attack. “Such criminal attempts are the result of anti-Semitic feelings that are systematically cultivated and incited by various circles. Society has to be alert and mobilized to fight against the manifestations of racism and anti-Semitism, taking also into consideration the dangers deriving from the increase of these phenomena”, the press release concludes.
The European Jewish Confrence
Sunday, 28 November 2010
The Spectator apologises for falsely accusing Muslim of antisemitism (UK)
Apology follows settlement in which magazine and contributor Melanie Phillips agreed to pay Mohammad Sawalha compensation and his legal costs
The Spectator and contributor Melanie Phillips today published an online apology to a prominent British Muslim they falsely accused of antisemitism.
Today's apology, published on the Spectator website, follows an out of court settlement in which the magazine and Phillips agreed to pay Mohammad Sawalha "substantial" compensation and his legal costs.
Sawalha, president of the British Muslim Initiative, took legal action over a blog post by Phillips published in July 2008 in which she accused him of calling British Jews "evil/noxious".
The apology stated: "On 2 July 2008 we published an article entitled 'Just look what came crawling out' which alleged that at a protest at the celebration in London of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, Mohammad Sawalha had referred to Jews in Britian as 'evil/noxious'.
"We now accept that Mr Sawalha made no such antisemitic statement and that the article was based on a mistranslation elsewhere of an earlier report. We and Melanie Phillips apologise for the error."
Solicitors acting for Sawalha said he was "delighted" to be cleared of the false allegation.
Sawalha, a long-time campaigner for community cohesion in Britain, took the dispute to the high court after the Spectator initially refused to correct Phillips blog post, which alleged that he had referred to Jews in Britain as "evil/noxious" at a protest in London of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.
Instead, the Spectator published a second story by Phillips, titled "Taking the airbrush to evil", repeating the false allegation and casting doubt on the suggestion that the "evil/noxious" quote was the result of a mistranslation of the transcript of an interview.
They continued to defend the claim even after an independent expert commissioned by both sides had confirmed that the phrase in the original transcript could not be translated as referring to Jews as "evil/noxious", before finally settling shortly before the case was due in court.
In October, the Spectator paid substantial damages and legal costs to the campaign group IslamExpo, of which Sawalha is a director, for an article it also published in July 2008. Matthew d'Ancona was editor at the time, replaced by Fraser Nelson in August last year.
The article, written by Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard, called IslamExpo a racist, fascist and genocidal organisation.
The Guardian
The Spectator and contributor Melanie Phillips today published an online apology to a prominent British Muslim they falsely accused of antisemitism.
Today's apology, published on the Spectator website, follows an out of court settlement in which the magazine and Phillips agreed to pay Mohammad Sawalha "substantial" compensation and his legal costs.
Sawalha, president of the British Muslim Initiative, took legal action over a blog post by Phillips published in July 2008 in which she accused him of calling British Jews "evil/noxious".
The apology stated: "On 2 July 2008 we published an article entitled 'Just look what came crawling out' which alleged that at a protest at the celebration in London of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, Mohammad Sawalha had referred to Jews in Britian as 'evil/noxious'.
"We now accept that Mr Sawalha made no such antisemitic statement and that the article was based on a mistranslation elsewhere of an earlier report. We and Melanie Phillips apologise for the error."
Solicitors acting for Sawalha said he was "delighted" to be cleared of the false allegation.
Sawalha, a long-time campaigner for community cohesion in Britain, took the dispute to the high court after the Spectator initially refused to correct Phillips blog post, which alleged that he had referred to Jews in Britain as "evil/noxious" at a protest in London of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.
Instead, the Spectator published a second story by Phillips, titled "Taking the airbrush to evil", repeating the false allegation and casting doubt on the suggestion that the "evil/noxious" quote was the result of a mistranslation of the transcript of an interview.
They continued to defend the claim even after an independent expert commissioned by both sides had confirmed that the phrase in the original transcript could not be translated as referring to Jews as "evil/noxious", before finally settling shortly before the case was due in court.
In October, the Spectator paid substantial damages and legal costs to the campaign group IslamExpo, of which Sawalha is a director, for an article it also published in July 2008. Matthew d'Ancona was editor at the time, replaced by Fraser Nelson in August last year.
The article, written by Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard, called IslamExpo a racist, fascist and genocidal organisation.
The Guardian
Seven arrested in Enfield for hate crimes (UK)
A police operation to crack down on domestic violence and other hate crime offenders has led to seven arrests in Enfield.
Arrests were made over allegations of racial abuse and common assault and has led to four being charged with crimes.
Operation Athena, which took place on Thursday, is a Met-wide initiative targeting hate crimes which include domestic violence; homophobic, transphobic, race and faith related offences; and offences against disabled people.
Detective Sergeant Chris Kirk, of Enfield Police's community safety unit: "Thursday's arrests form one part of the ongoing commitment we have to tackling hate crime. We hope that when we carry out operations like these that we are encouraging more victims to come forward. We will continue to offer crime prevention advice and dedicated victim support to victims of these offences"
The Enfield Independant
Arrests were made over allegations of racial abuse and common assault and has led to four being charged with crimes.
Operation Athena, which took place on Thursday, is a Met-wide initiative targeting hate crimes which include domestic violence; homophobic, transphobic, race and faith related offences; and offences against disabled people.
Detective Sergeant Chris Kirk, of Enfield Police's community safety unit: "Thursday's arrests form one part of the ongoing commitment we have to tackling hate crime. We hope that when we carry out operations like these that we are encouraging more victims to come forward. We will continue to offer crime prevention advice and dedicated victim support to victims of these offences"
The Enfield Independant
UK study highlights anti-Muslim hate crimes
An alarming picture of the physical violence, intimidation and discrimination faced by many of Britain's two million Muslims on a daily basis, was portrayed yesterday in new academic research.
The 224-page report from the European Muslim Research Centre, based at the University of Exeter, said that the bulk of incidents went unreported by communities who had lost faith in the authorities to do anything about them.
Released at a conference yesterday at the London Muslim Centre, the report called for "urgent" government action to tackle the problem after years of neglect.
Part of a 10-year study into Islamophobia throughout Europe, the report represented "an insight into the grim reality of a lived experience that is insufficiently acknowledged and understood outside of the communities where it occurs".
Authors of the report, Jonathan Githens-Mazer and Robert Lambert, the co-directors of the research centre, said in their introduction: "We argue in this report that much anti-Muslim violence in the UK is predicated on the rhetoric and practice of the 'war on terror' that George Bush and Tony Blair launched against 'an evil ideology' in the aftermath of 9/11."
Mr Lambert added: "Because the war on terror is viewed as a security risk, Muslims do not have the support that is now widely accepted in other areas of hate crime. Muslims are not requesting special treatment, just equal rights with their fellow citizens."
The report, "Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: UK Case Studies", was based on teams of researchers interviewing members of the Muslim community throughout the UK.
Although the researchers found well-documented acts of violence perpetrated by followers of right-wing groups such as the British National Party and English Defence League, they said that the majority of attacks were carried out by "individuals who have become convinced and angry by negative portrayals of Muslims in the media".
Random acts of violence and intimidation - including what the report said was a "disturbing" number of incidents involving Muslim women wearing veils - were most likely to occur in poor, urban communities.
In one incident, a woman wearing a burqa was punched and called a "terrorist" by a stranger in front of her petrified daughter. The woman was too scared to inform the police.
The report said that, in this instance, the woman stopped going out as much to reduce the risk of further attacks. Other British Muslims reduced such risks by abandoning traditional clothing or becoming isolated within their own communities.
Many Muslims, the report found, do not report incidents because of a complex set of reasons including fear, alienation and suspicion of the authorities.
Mr Githens-Mazer said: "Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime are very real problems for British Muslims going about their everyday business.
"Through our research, we have found that in smaller and more isolated mosques in many suburbs and market towns, there is a feeling of being under siege.
"Some local councils who are made aware of the situation say to mosque officials: 'We can see this is bad - why don't you move the mosque?'"
The report said that, especially in smaller Muslim communities where attacks on mosques had "increased dramatically" since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, support from local police was often inadequate.
Responding to the report, the communities secretary, Eric Pickles, described Islamophobia and hate crimes as "deplorable" and called on victims to ensure that they reported all incidents to the police.
"We want to stop anyone who creates distrust and division in communities, wherever it is. Everyone has the right to go about their daily business without fear of harm or intimidation," he said. "We want Britain to become an integrated society, where everyone participates and people are not held back by discrimination and intolerance."
John Esposito, a professor of international affairs and Islamic studies at Georgetown University in Washington, who attended yesterday's conference, said the problem was that "a biased minority in the United Kingdom" refused to acknowledge the legitimate place of Islam in British society.
"Islam is now a European and American religion," he said. "Muslims are part of the mosaic of western nations; like people of all faiths and no faith, they are entitled to the same rights, duties, opportunities and civil liberties.
The report does hold out hope for the future. It concludes: "We have every reason to believe that the decency of the overwhelming majority of ordinary UK citizens will eventually undermine and reduce the bigotry of a vocal minority.
"If brave political leadership is forthcoming, then the task will be so much easier."
The National
The 224-page report from the European Muslim Research Centre, based at the University of Exeter, said that the bulk of incidents went unreported by communities who had lost faith in the authorities to do anything about them.
Released at a conference yesterday at the London Muslim Centre, the report called for "urgent" government action to tackle the problem after years of neglect.
Part of a 10-year study into Islamophobia throughout Europe, the report represented "an insight into the grim reality of a lived experience that is insufficiently acknowledged and understood outside of the communities where it occurs".
Authors of the report, Jonathan Githens-Mazer and Robert Lambert, the co-directors of the research centre, said in their introduction: "We argue in this report that much anti-Muslim violence in the UK is predicated on the rhetoric and practice of the 'war on terror' that George Bush and Tony Blair launched against 'an evil ideology' in the aftermath of 9/11."
Mr Lambert added: "Because the war on terror is viewed as a security risk, Muslims do not have the support that is now widely accepted in other areas of hate crime. Muslims are not requesting special treatment, just equal rights with their fellow citizens."
The report, "Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: UK Case Studies", was based on teams of researchers interviewing members of the Muslim community throughout the UK.
Although the researchers found well-documented acts of violence perpetrated by followers of right-wing groups such as the British National Party and English Defence League, they said that the majority of attacks were carried out by "individuals who have become convinced and angry by negative portrayals of Muslims in the media".
Random acts of violence and intimidation - including what the report said was a "disturbing" number of incidents involving Muslim women wearing veils - were most likely to occur in poor, urban communities.
In one incident, a woman wearing a burqa was punched and called a "terrorist" by a stranger in front of her petrified daughter. The woman was too scared to inform the police.
The report said that, in this instance, the woman stopped going out as much to reduce the risk of further attacks. Other British Muslims reduced such risks by abandoning traditional clothing or becoming isolated within their own communities.
Many Muslims, the report found, do not report incidents because of a complex set of reasons including fear, alienation and suspicion of the authorities.
Mr Githens-Mazer said: "Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime are very real problems for British Muslims going about their everyday business.
"Through our research, we have found that in smaller and more isolated mosques in many suburbs and market towns, there is a feeling of being under siege.
"Some local councils who are made aware of the situation say to mosque officials: 'We can see this is bad - why don't you move the mosque?'"
The report said that, especially in smaller Muslim communities where attacks on mosques had "increased dramatically" since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, support from local police was often inadequate.
Responding to the report, the communities secretary, Eric Pickles, described Islamophobia and hate crimes as "deplorable" and called on victims to ensure that they reported all incidents to the police.
"We want to stop anyone who creates distrust and division in communities, wherever it is. Everyone has the right to go about their daily business without fear of harm or intimidation," he said. "We want Britain to become an integrated society, where everyone participates and people are not held back by discrimination and intolerance."
John Esposito, a professor of international affairs and Islamic studies at Georgetown University in Washington, who attended yesterday's conference, said the problem was that "a biased minority in the United Kingdom" refused to acknowledge the legitimate place of Islam in British society.
"Islam is now a European and American religion," he said. "Muslims are part of the mosaic of western nations; like people of all faiths and no faith, they are entitled to the same rights, duties, opportunities and civil liberties.
The report does hold out hope for the future. It concludes: "We have every reason to believe that the decency of the overwhelming majority of ordinary UK citizens will eventually undermine and reduce the bigotry of a vocal minority.
"If brave political leadership is forthcoming, then the task will be so much easier."
The National
English Defence League identify school where girl 'set fire to Koran' (UK)
A school where a 15-year-old girl allegedly burnt a copy of the Koran could become the target of extremists.
English Defence League supporters identified the school, alongside demands for the mass burning of Islam’s holiest book in protest at the pupil’s arrest. The youngster allegedly posted a video of her setting fire to the Koran on Facebook.
The footage was reported to education chiefs and subsequently removed. She was arrested on suspcion of inciting racial hatred on November 19. A 14-year-old boy was also arrested on suspicion of making threats.
Both have since been released on police bail. Sandwell Council and West Midlands Police had asked the media not to name the school in an attempt to prevent extremists provoking trouble.
But EDL supporters ignored the request and, as well as naming the school on the internet, called for demonstrations that could lead to violence. But a senior teacher at the school said the girl did not realise what she was doing.
He said: “If she stopped to consider the fallout, and the offence it would cause to people within her own community, I honestly don’t believe she would have done it.”
Sunday Mercury
English Defence League supporters identified the school, alongside demands for the mass burning of Islam’s holiest book in protest at the pupil’s arrest. The youngster allegedly posted a video of her setting fire to the Koran on Facebook.
The footage was reported to education chiefs and subsequently removed. She was arrested on suspcion of inciting racial hatred on November 19. A 14-year-old boy was also arrested on suspicion of making threats.
Both have since been released on police bail. Sandwell Council and West Midlands Police had asked the media not to name the school in an attempt to prevent extremists provoking trouble.
But EDL supporters ignored the request and, as well as naming the school on the internet, called for demonstrations that could lead to violence. But a senior teacher at the school said the girl did not realise what she was doing.
He said: “If she stopped to consider the fallout, and the offence it would cause to people within her own community, I honestly don’t believe she would have done it.”
Sunday Mercury
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