The victim of a Thanksgiving hate crime testified Friday his attackers screamed "Jew, Jew!" as they beat him unconscious on a Brooklyn street.
"They ripped off my clothes, my hat and my yarmulke. They were punching my face," said Joel Weinberger, 26, a Hasidic rabbi and father of four.
Weinberger ended up with numerous fractures and a broken eye socket. He had three steel implants in his cheek, he told the Daily News outside the courtroom.
"I was hit from the back; I lost consciousness," Weinberger testified at an evidence hearing.
He came to, tried to run away, but was hit repeatedly until he blacked out again, he said.
Two 15-year-old boys were charged with assault as a hate crime for the attack on Harrison St. in Williamsburg.
Two NYPD detectives testified that the teens said they attacked "the Jew" because "it was something fun to do."
Detective Nicole Carter said the boys claimed they "were bored," went to a park, bought a "$5 bag of weed, got high" and then decided to go to what they called "Jew town."
One of the teens is accused of later beating two other Orthodox Jews - one last Saturday and another on Monday as he left a Chanukah party.
Because the suspects were charged as juveniles, The News is not publishing their names.
Both are chronic truants and drug users who cannot be controlled by their parents, probation reports say.
One of the teens was laughing during the proceedings, prompting a warning from the judge to "treat the process with dignity."
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 17.
NY Daily News
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Swedish teacher keeps job after racist remarks
Political leaders in Landskrona in southern Sweden have condemned racist remarks made by a local teacher at one of the city's schools two years ago. However, the teacher continues to teach in the municipality.
Among other statements, the teacher questioned the rights of immigrants to have children, according to a recording made by a student.
"The statement is shocking. I am glad that the principal and human resources manager acted forcefully," said Landskrona children and youth committee chairwoman Lisa Flinth of the Liberal Party (Folkpartiet) to the TT news agency.
Educational broadcaster UR's Skolfront programme reported that the teacher's comment was not an isolated incident. According to a number of students, parents and former employees, several of the school's staff members had made xenophobic remarks to their students.
The municipality has condemned the utterances, but has not commented on how the teacher managed to escape any disciplinary action by transferring to another school.
Flinth views the incident as strictly a staffing-related matter that she would not get involved in.
At a Friday press conference called by Landskrona municipality following the UR report, Thomas Johansson, director of administration for the children and education committee in Landskrona, said that he only arrived in Landskrona in September of last year.
In addition, he claimed that none of the principals who now work at the school in question in Landskrona had anything to do with the incident.
As a result, he declined to comment on the particular case exposed by Skolfront, but said that if any teacher would express such an opinion now, he could not see how it would be possible for the teacher to continue teaching in Landskrona.
When asked if he would notify the police if he learned of these types of opinions being expressed, Johansson said, "We always notify [the police] if staff or students commit crimes. Here in Landskrona, we have absolutely zero tolerance for any insults against the students."
Regarding the news that the teacher in this case is still working in the municipality, Johansson said that it is impossible to take action against the teacher now for what may have happened two years ago.
The transfer was the result of a central bargaining agreement, he added.
The Local Sweden
Among other statements, the teacher questioned the rights of immigrants to have children, according to a recording made by a student.
"The statement is shocking. I am glad that the principal and human resources manager acted forcefully," said Landskrona children and youth committee chairwoman Lisa Flinth of the Liberal Party (Folkpartiet) to the TT news agency.
Educational broadcaster UR's Skolfront programme reported that the teacher's comment was not an isolated incident. According to a number of students, parents and former employees, several of the school's staff members had made xenophobic remarks to their students.
The municipality has condemned the utterances, but has not commented on how the teacher managed to escape any disciplinary action by transferring to another school.
Flinth views the incident as strictly a staffing-related matter that she would not get involved in.
At a Friday press conference called by Landskrona municipality following the UR report, Thomas Johansson, director of administration for the children and education committee in Landskrona, said that he only arrived in Landskrona in September of last year.
In addition, he claimed that none of the principals who now work at the school in question in Landskrona had anything to do with the incident.
As a result, he declined to comment on the particular case exposed by Skolfront, but said that if any teacher would express such an opinion now, he could not see how it would be possible for the teacher to continue teaching in Landskrona.
When asked if he would notify the police if he learned of these types of opinions being expressed, Johansson said, "We always notify [the police] if staff or students commit crimes. Here in Landskrona, we have absolutely zero tolerance for any insults against the students."
Regarding the news that the teacher in this case is still working in the municipality, Johansson said that it is impossible to take action against the teacher now for what may have happened two years ago.
The transfer was the result of a central bargaining agreement, he added.
The Local Sweden
Brighouse Facebook racist Kalum Dyson avoids prison term (UK)
Kalum Dyson, of Frances Street in Brighouse, created a group called ‘Pakis Die’ on the social networking website.
The 21-year-old also posted messages including one which said: “Help me shoot all the Pakis.”
One of his listed friends, who is believed to have had an Asian boyfriend, complained to police after he sent her an invitation to join the group.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of sending an offensive or indecent, obscene or menacing electronic communication at Calderdale Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
Dyson, who has children aged two years and just five-weeks-old and works as a floor layer, was given a community order.
But chairman of the bench Tim Cole told him the offence was so serious it could have merited a jail term.
“We find this a very serious offence to which a custodial sentence could have been given,” he said.
The court heard Dyson was arrested in July – two months after setting up the group.
Jane Farrar, prosecuting, told the court one of his Facebook friends had reported the matter to the police after he sent her an invite to join.
She said: “She was utterly disgusted by the comments and was deeply offended by it.”
Dyson admitted setting up the site, which Facebook immediately removed, and told officers Muslims “should understand what the British Army was fighting for’’.
But he also said he was not racist, claiming he had “black” friends.
Michelle Flaga, mitigating, said her client was sorry.
She added: “It started out as a joke. People have different perceptions of what jokes may be.”
She added: “In hindsight, he appreciates people could have been offended by the nature of the comments.”
Dyson, who lives with his parents, was given a 12-month community order, to include 150 hours of unpaid community work, and a 30-day curfew. He must stay at home between the hours of 9pm and 5am.
He was also ordered to pay £85 court costs.
A West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said hate crime was a serious offence.
She said: “West Yorkshire Police treat any reports of hate crime extremely seriously and will thoroughly investigate them and take firm action against those responsible.
“On top of the impact such incidents have on the victims themselves, hate crimes can have a corrosive effect on our communities and cannot be tolerated.
“We want victims of hate crime to feel confident that if they come forward they will be taken seriously and helped and supported by ourselves and our partner agencies.”
A spokeswoman for the charity Stop Hate UK added: “Stop Hate UK is extremely concerned that perpetrators believe they can get away with committing hate crime, especially when it’s done in such a public way.
“We hope that this case reminds people that racism and other types of hate crime, in whatever form it takes, is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Hudersfield Examiner
CZECH POLL SHOWS ULTRA-RIGHT WINGERS MOSTLY FRUSTRATED, UNEMPLOYED MEN
A poll conducted by the STEM agency for the Czech Interior Ministry reports that roughly 6 % of Czechs agree with most of the ideology of the ultra-right and would be willing to actively support extreme right-wing efforts by participating in demonstrations or other events. Another 2 % of people would not go as far as to provide active support, but would at least be willing to vote for an ultra-right party. The poll shows that 20 % of Czechs expressed repugnance for extreme right-wing ideology, while 70 % of respondents identified with at least some ultra-right attitudes. Roughly 10 % of respondents agreed with most aspects of ultra-right ideology. The agency identified the attitudes of anti-Gypsyism, anti-Semitism, authoritarianism, homophobia, nationalism, racism and xenophobia as ultra-right wing. The poll shows that the 8 % of respondents who might actively support a particular ultra-right group, or who would at least vote for an ultra-right party, are less educated than those who would not and hold radical opinions, calling for "governing with a firm hand." Most of the 6 % of the population that the poll referred to as "significantly high-risk" with respect to right-wing extremism are male and unemployed.
"People falling into that group often say there is not enough law and order in society. They display signs of anomie, meaning that they feel the norms around them are falling apart, that society is out of control, and that they have been personally uprooted," the STEM agency reports. "Respondents falling into this category evidence strong frustrations in their assessment of how society operates, in their family lives, in the material resources available to them, and in their professional lives." Such people are said to often feel they are unable to apply their abilities in society. They are dissatisfied with their surroundings and believe others do not understand them. "That particular high-risk population group also frequently shows signs of personality disorders which often lead to unpremeditated emotional behavior," the agency says. As far as political attitudes go, such persons are most often conservatives who exalt the significance of nationality and demand the imposition of harsher punishments for crimes. A large number of them - more than one-third - stated they felt they had long been oppressed by minorities, primarily the Roma. According to the poll, the parts of the Czech Republic which are most at risk for a population espousing the ultra-right ideology are the Moravian-Silesian, Plzeò and Ústí regions. The poll was conducted between 17 September and 15 October 2010, among 2 056 respondents.
Romea
"People falling into that group often say there is not enough law and order in society. They display signs of anomie, meaning that they feel the norms around them are falling apart, that society is out of control, and that they have been personally uprooted," the STEM agency reports. "Respondents falling into this category evidence strong frustrations in their assessment of how society operates, in their family lives, in the material resources available to them, and in their professional lives." Such people are said to often feel they are unable to apply their abilities in society. They are dissatisfied with their surroundings and believe others do not understand them. "That particular high-risk population group also frequently shows signs of personality disorders which often lead to unpremeditated emotional behavior," the agency says. As far as political attitudes go, such persons are most often conservatives who exalt the significance of nationality and demand the imposition of harsher punishments for crimes. A large number of them - more than one-third - stated they felt they had long been oppressed by minorities, primarily the Roma. According to the poll, the parts of the Czech Republic which are most at risk for a population espousing the ultra-right ideology are the Moravian-Silesian, Plzeò and Ústí regions. The poll was conducted between 17 September and 15 October 2010, among 2 056 respondents.
Romea
CZECHS CRITICISED FOR HOMOSEXUAL 'SEXUAL AROUSAL' TESTS
In a report on homosexual equality, the Agency for Fundamental Rights said that phallometric testing, when men are shown both homosexual and heterosexual pornography while censors monitor the blood flow to the penis, "was questionable, since it is dubious whether it reaches sufficiently clear conclusions". The Czech Republic is the only country in the EU that uses phallometric testing in order to distinguish true asylum seekers from those that might use claims of homosexuality and subsequent persecution back home as ruse to get into the country. The EU agency also said that the test could fall foul of the European Charter of Human Rights, which prohibits degrading and humiliating treatment, adding that "this exam is particularly inappropriate for asylum seekers, given the fact that many of them might have suffered abuse due to their sexual orientation". The Czech Republic's human rights commission described the test as "undignified".
But the Czech interior ministry defended the method, saying that it was part of a "comprehensive" system to check the veracity of claims, that it was voluntary and had only been used in about ten cases. Vladimir Repka, a ministry spokesman, explained that the test was applied mainly to asylum seekers from countries "that severely punish homosexuality". "These are people from areas where Islamic Sharia law is applied, or from countries which have a strong Islamic influence," he explained, citing Iran, Syria, Azerbaijan and Nigeria as examples. But the Fundamental Rights Agency questioned the interior ministry's claims that the test was "voluntary", arguing that asylum seekers, fearing authorities might interpret their refusal to take the test as suspicious, may feel obliged to take it. The agency argued that other, less intrusive, ways of determining somebody's sexual orientation such as psychological testing should be used instead. Petr Khollovou, from Czech organisation People in Need, which provides support for asylum seekers, said that people who had undergone the examination had been "shocked" by the procedure.
The Telegraph
But the Czech interior ministry defended the method, saying that it was part of a "comprehensive" system to check the veracity of claims, that it was voluntary and had only been used in about ten cases. Vladimir Repka, a ministry spokesman, explained that the test was applied mainly to asylum seekers from countries "that severely punish homosexuality". "These are people from areas where Islamic Sharia law is applied, or from countries which have a strong Islamic influence," he explained, citing Iran, Syria, Azerbaijan and Nigeria as examples. But the Fundamental Rights Agency questioned the interior ministry's claims that the test was "voluntary", arguing that asylum seekers, fearing authorities might interpret their refusal to take the test as suspicious, may feel obliged to take it. The agency argued that other, less intrusive, ways of determining somebody's sexual orientation such as psychological testing should be used instead. Petr Khollovou, from Czech organisation People in Need, which provides support for asylum seekers, said that people who had undergone the examination had been "shocked" by the procedure.
The Telegraph
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