The BNP has for the first time registered as a political party in Northern Ireland.
This means it can now field candidates in the Assembly or council elections.
The move was confirmed on Wednesday by the Electoral Commission.
The right-wing party has in the past expressed an interest in contesting elections in Northern Ireland but has so far failed to do so.
BBC News
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Anti-Semitism in the UK remains high in 2010
The figure, from the Community Security Trust, is the second highest since it began its work in 1984.
The peak of 926 incidents came in 2009, and was attributed to a backlash against Israel's invasion of Gaza.
Most of last year's incidents happened near Jewish communities in London, Manchester, Hertfordshire and Leeds.
In its annual report, the charity said anti-Semitism had increased since the 1990s and, although said the total number of incidents for 2010 was almost a third less than the 926 recorded in 2009, that was still worse than 2008.
It said it recorded 114 acts of violence, but none of them could be classed as grievous bodily harm or life-threatening.
Some 59 of the incidents targeted synagogues and a further 52 were attacks on people coming or going from prayers.
Some 28 Jewish children suffered anti-Semitic incidents during their journey to or from school.
In one incident, a rabbi and his two sons were pelted with bottles. He was pushed over and needed eight stitches for a head wound.
Most incidents appeared to be random or opportunistic, said the charity, and a quarter referred to the Nazis or the Holocaust. Others related to the Middle East conflict.
In another incident, a builder who learned he was working on a Jewish family's home, told the householder: "Oh, I hate Jews, I'd like to kill the lot of you. If I had been in World War II, I would have gladly put you all in the gas ovens."
Among the acts of vandalism, homes or Jewish community property were daubed with swastikas. In Worcester, someone daubed the word "Jew" on a pavement, accompanied by an arrow pointing towards a drain.
The CST said that where it had established something of the perpetrator's identity, 47% were white, 29% were Asian, 10% were Arab, 7% were black and 6% were Eastern European.
Mark Gardner, of the CST, said: "Anti-Semitism is not the most important thing in British Jewish life, but there is clearly a significant problem.
"The CST, police, politicians and Government will keep working in close partnership to tackle anti-Semitism and its wider causes of bigotry and extremism."
The charity said there had been two spikes during the year - the first coming following the controversial Israeli Navy raid of a Gaza aid flotilla. Nine activists who were on board the vessel died in the May 2010 operation.
The second "trigger" had been prominent Jewish festivals later in the year, said the charity.
BBC News
National Socialist Movement to host April rally in city (USA)
A neo-Nazi organization whose events have attracted sometimes violent counterprotests will have a rally in front of the Statehouse on April 16, said the group's New Jersey representative Jason Hiecke.
The National Socialist Movement (NSM) will host a two-day conference in the area, including a rally of 75 to 150 people on the second day, Hiecke said. The State Police said the group has been issued an event permit.
Organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League describe the Detroit-based NSM as the nation's largest neo-Nazi group and say it promotes an anti-Semitic and racist ideology through rallies, a website and other online activities.
Etzion Neuer, director of the Anti-Defamation League's office in Teaneck, said the NSM group seems to be trying to raise its local profile.
"The group has had a presence in New Jersey for some time," Neuer said. "I'd be hard-pressed to find the last time we've seen a gathering of this sort in New Jersey. It's been several years. And it's disturbing."
Hiecke said Brian Holland, a presidential candidate in 2008 and NSM member from Virginia, may attend the gathering in Trenton. Hiecke described the event as a political rally. He disputed the characterization of his group as racist.
"We're basically speaking about the corruption here in New Jersey politics, the immigration problem that faces our nation and the revolving-door criminal system," he said. Other issues he cited were the state's high property taxes, child molesters who he said are allowed to go out in the public wearing ankle bracelets, an alleged "double standard" in which only crimes by whites against minorities are described as "hate crimes," overspending on foreign aid, and the shipping of jobs overseas.
"We're all considered racists or white supremacists, but that's not what most of our members are about," he said. At the same time, he noted that the organization's symbol is a swastika, the symbol used by Adolf Hitler and Nazis during World War II and the Holocaust.
While the NSM discusses issues that are part of mainstream political discourse, they clearly set themselves apart, Neuer said.
"The National Socialist Movement is distinctive in that they will wear Nazi-style uniforms," he said. "One will typically see them dressed in swastikas, even more than most white supremacists. The visual that we might see of neo-Nazis clad in uniforms on the steps of the capitol will revolt most New Jerseyans."
NJ.com
The National Socialist Movement (NSM) will host a two-day conference in the area, including a rally of 75 to 150 people on the second day, Hiecke said. The State Police said the group has been issued an event permit.
Organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League describe the Detroit-based NSM as the nation's largest neo-Nazi group and say it promotes an anti-Semitic and racist ideology through rallies, a website and other online activities.
Etzion Neuer, director of the Anti-Defamation League's office in Teaneck, said the NSM group seems to be trying to raise its local profile.
"The group has had a presence in New Jersey for some time," Neuer said. "I'd be hard-pressed to find the last time we've seen a gathering of this sort in New Jersey. It's been several years. And it's disturbing."
Hiecke said Brian Holland, a presidential candidate in 2008 and NSM member from Virginia, may attend the gathering in Trenton. Hiecke described the event as a political rally. He disputed the characterization of his group as racist.
"We're basically speaking about the corruption here in New Jersey politics, the immigration problem that faces our nation and the revolving-door criminal system," he said. Other issues he cited were the state's high property taxes, child molesters who he said are allowed to go out in the public wearing ankle bracelets, an alleged "double standard" in which only crimes by whites against minorities are described as "hate crimes," overspending on foreign aid, and the shipping of jobs overseas.
"We're all considered racists or white supremacists, but that's not what most of our members are about," he said. At the same time, he noted that the organization's symbol is a swastika, the symbol used by Adolf Hitler and Nazis during World War II and the Holocaust.
While the NSM discusses issues that are part of mainstream political discourse, they clearly set themselves apart, Neuer said.
"The National Socialist Movement is distinctive in that they will wear Nazi-style uniforms," he said. "One will typically see them dressed in swastikas, even more than most white supremacists. The visual that we might see of neo-Nazis clad in uniforms on the steps of the capitol will revolt most New Jerseyans."
NJ.com
DUTCH JEWS WANT FAST PUNISHMENT FOR ANTI-SEMITISM
Jewish groups in the Netherlands called Wednesday for swifter punishment for Holocaust deniers as parliament debated how to combat rising anti-Semitism. Among other measures, a Jewish umbrella organization said it wants Holocaust deniers punished under rules usually reserved for drunk drivers, shoplifters, and football hooligans. Under the "snelrecht," or "fast justice" policy, police and prosecutors offer offenders a choice immediately after their arrest between a fine or a court appearance within two months. "I don't understand why it should be difficult for policeman to give a fine directly to perpetrators of these remarks," said Ronny Naftaniel of The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI, in a telephone interview. He added that he would support the same measure for anti-Moroccan discrimination, which is also on the rise in the Netherlands. Anti-Semitism has become a hot-button issue as many native Dutch blame anti-Semitism on the country's Muslim minority, while Muslims say there is a double standard and discrimination against those of Moroccan and Turkish ancestry goes unpunished.
A national police report in September found a 48 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents to 209 in 2009. The same report found that anti-Moroccan incidents rose 17 percent to 103. After a wave of immigration in the 1990s Muslims make up around 1 million of the country's 16 million population. After being decimated during World War II, the Dutch Jewish population is estimated at 40,000-50,000. Rising anti-Semitism "can be attributed to the rise of influence of Islam in the Netherlands," said Freedom party member of parliament Joram van Klaveren during the debate. "The more Islam, the more anti-Semitism." Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, whose VVD party leads the country's ruling conservative coalition, was among several MPs who rejected those remarks. "It's not your belief that counts, but your behavior," she said.
The exchange reflects the state of politics in the Netherlands. A popular backlash against Muslim immigrants intensified in 2004 when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by an Islamic radical of Moroccan descent, over perceived religious insults. The 2008 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance found that there has been a "dramatic increase in 'Islamophobia' in the Netherlands" since 2001. In national elections last year, the explicitly anti-Islam Freedom Party finished in third place. It is not part of the country's minority government, but props up the administration by supporting it on key votes in parliament. Naftaniel of CIDI said his research showed Moroccan youth are disproportionately involved in anti-Semitic incidents targeting "visible" Orthodox Jews. However, he said anti-Jewish remarks on the Internet or in the workplace were usually made by Dutch Christians.
"We have the idea the taboo on anti-Semitism is diminishing," he said. In one recent high-profile case a Moroccan minor was interviewed by a shock news website saying he thought Jews should be "exterminated." The Utrecht District Court sentenced him to 40 hours of community service, including 16 at the Anne Frank House. Last April the same court acquitted Abdoulmouthalib Bouzerda, chairman of the Arab European League, of hate speech charges for publishing a cartoon on its website questioning the reality of the Holocaust. The group had intended to spur a public discussion about a perceived double standard: that European media are willing to publish cartoons mocking Islam's prophet Muhammad, while cartoons about the Holocaust are taboo.
Van Klaveren of the Freedom party was skeptical about the proposal of "fast justice" for anti-Semitic remarks: His party's leader Geert Wilders is on trial for alleged discriminatory remarks — including some equating Islam with fasciism and calling for a ban on the Quran. His trial resumes Monday after a two-month pause. Holocaust deniers "should be directed to psychiatrists, not judges," Van Klaveren said. Wednesday's debate frequently referenced remarks by one of the country's most prominent conservative thinkers, Frits Bolkestein, who was quoted in December as having said that "visible" Jews should consider emigrating to Israel or the United States because they have no future in the Netherlands. He later clarified that those remarks were intended as a warning about the failures of Dutch integration policies to date, not literal advice to Jews. After the debate, Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner promised to return to parliament later this year with concrete policy proposals.
AP.org
A national police report in September found a 48 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents to 209 in 2009. The same report found that anti-Moroccan incidents rose 17 percent to 103. After a wave of immigration in the 1990s Muslims make up around 1 million of the country's 16 million population. After being decimated during World War II, the Dutch Jewish population is estimated at 40,000-50,000. Rising anti-Semitism "can be attributed to the rise of influence of Islam in the Netherlands," said Freedom party member of parliament Joram van Klaveren during the debate. "The more Islam, the more anti-Semitism." Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, whose VVD party leads the country's ruling conservative coalition, was among several MPs who rejected those remarks. "It's not your belief that counts, but your behavior," she said.
The exchange reflects the state of politics in the Netherlands. A popular backlash against Muslim immigrants intensified in 2004 when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered by an Islamic radical of Moroccan descent, over perceived religious insults. The 2008 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance found that there has been a "dramatic increase in 'Islamophobia' in the Netherlands" since 2001. In national elections last year, the explicitly anti-Islam Freedom Party finished in third place. It is not part of the country's minority government, but props up the administration by supporting it on key votes in parliament. Naftaniel of CIDI said his research showed Moroccan youth are disproportionately involved in anti-Semitic incidents targeting "visible" Orthodox Jews. However, he said anti-Jewish remarks on the Internet or in the workplace were usually made by Dutch Christians.
"We have the idea the taboo on anti-Semitism is diminishing," he said. In one recent high-profile case a Moroccan minor was interviewed by a shock news website saying he thought Jews should be "exterminated." The Utrecht District Court sentenced him to 40 hours of community service, including 16 at the Anne Frank House. Last April the same court acquitted Abdoulmouthalib Bouzerda, chairman of the Arab European League, of hate speech charges for publishing a cartoon on its website questioning the reality of the Holocaust. The group had intended to spur a public discussion about a perceived double standard: that European media are willing to publish cartoons mocking Islam's prophet Muhammad, while cartoons about the Holocaust are taboo.
Van Klaveren of the Freedom party was skeptical about the proposal of "fast justice" for anti-Semitic remarks: His party's leader Geert Wilders is on trial for alleged discriminatory remarks — including some equating Islam with fasciism and calling for a ban on the Quran. His trial resumes Monday after a two-month pause. Holocaust deniers "should be directed to psychiatrists, not judges," Van Klaveren said. Wednesday's debate frequently referenced remarks by one of the country's most prominent conservative thinkers, Frits Bolkestein, who was quoted in December as having said that "visible" Jews should consider emigrating to Israel or the United States because they have no future in the Netherlands. He later clarified that those remarks were intended as a warning about the failures of Dutch integration policies to date, not literal advice to Jews. After the debate, Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner promised to return to parliament later this year with concrete policy proposals.
AP.org
SAYS NO TO TROMSØ NAZI FASHION (Norway/Germany)
Neo-Nazi related clothing shop in Berlin provokes anger in Northern Norway.
The shop is called “Tromsø”, and Mayor of the town of Tromsø, Arild Hausberg will now ask Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to help having the name removed. - This is a desecration of the name of Tromsø and I demand that they remove the name from the shop, Hausberg says to iTromsø. The shop is part of a chain that flirts with Nazism and Nazi symbols, he says. Hausberg has sent a letter to the German shop chain Mediatex Gmbh, demanding that they stop using the name Tromsø. He has also contacted the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin and is now going to take up the issue in a meeting with Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The shop opened in 2009, and is part of a chain of shops that all have names after Norwegian towns like Narvik, Trondheim, Oseberg, Tønsberg, Haugesund and Larvik. The shop chain sells the clothing brand Thor Steinar, which was banned in Germany in 2004 because of the logo's similarity to symbols worn by SS officers. The company later rebranded, and its new look is legal. The brand uses the Norwegian flag and other Norwegian symbols as central parts of its collection.
Barent Observer
The shop is called “Tromsø”, and Mayor of the town of Tromsø, Arild Hausberg will now ask Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to help having the name removed. - This is a desecration of the name of Tromsø and I demand that they remove the name from the shop, Hausberg says to iTromsø. The shop is part of a chain that flirts with Nazism and Nazi symbols, he says. Hausberg has sent a letter to the German shop chain Mediatex Gmbh, demanding that they stop using the name Tromsø. He has also contacted the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin and is now going to take up the issue in a meeting with Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The shop opened in 2009, and is part of a chain of shops that all have names after Norwegian towns like Narvik, Trondheim, Oseberg, Tønsberg, Haugesund and Larvik. The shop chain sells the clothing brand Thor Steinar, which was banned in Germany in 2004 because of the logo's similarity to symbols worn by SS officers. The company later rebranded, and its new look is legal. The brand uses the Norwegian flag and other Norwegian symbols as central parts of its collection.
Barent Observer
Race hate thugs target Mosque and homes (UK)
Race hate thugs are behind a series of inflammatory attacks with pork on a Mosque and Muslim homes.
The thugs have been throwing bacon and pork at several houses in South Shields town centre since the turn of the year.
Community leaders today told how they fear the attacks are an attempt to intimidate the town’s Muslim community.
Pork is banned in Muslim households as the pig is considered “a dirty animal” under Islamic law.
In one attack, a slab of bacon was left outside one of the community’s most popular mosques - The South Tyneside Jam-E-Masjid Bangladeshi Muslim Culture and Welfare Association in Baring Street.
Police, who have stepped up patrols in the area and confirmed they have received five reports of pork products being thrown or left outside of properties in the town centre.
But today a town centre politician said he believes it could be more widespread as many of the community may feel too scared to report the crimes.
Independent Coun Ahmed Khan, of the Beacon and Bents ward, said: “The first thing I’ve got to say is that it is extremely disappointing that this is happening.
“The second is that I hope these are just pranks and nothing more serious.
“If these racist attacks are driven by hate then something needs to be done before this gets out of hand.
“However, at the moment I would urge the community to keep calm and put this into perspective.
“Yes, these attacks are upsetting for the town’s Muslim community but as yet no one has been hurt and I hope it stays that way.”
Chief Supt Ian Dawes today said officers from South Tyneside Area Command are working closely with the town’s Muslim community in an attempt to trace the racist gang.
He said: “We’re pursuing a number of lines of enquiry in relation to these offences.
“We have a strong and productive relationship with the diverse communities in South Tyneside and we are all working hard to identify those responsible.
“We urge anyone who suffers harassment, intimidation or any other racist crime to report it to police as soon as possible so that it can be thoroughly investigated. We take any allegations of racist crimes very seriously.”
Anyone who has any information about the recent incidents is asked to call police on 03456 043 043 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Chronicle Live
The thugs have been throwing bacon and pork at several houses in South Shields town centre since the turn of the year.
Community leaders today told how they fear the attacks are an attempt to intimidate the town’s Muslim community.
Pork is banned in Muslim households as the pig is considered “a dirty animal” under Islamic law.
In one attack, a slab of bacon was left outside one of the community’s most popular mosques - The South Tyneside Jam-E-Masjid Bangladeshi Muslim Culture and Welfare Association in Baring Street.
Police, who have stepped up patrols in the area and confirmed they have received five reports of pork products being thrown or left outside of properties in the town centre.
But today a town centre politician said he believes it could be more widespread as many of the community may feel too scared to report the crimes.
Independent Coun Ahmed Khan, of the Beacon and Bents ward, said: “The first thing I’ve got to say is that it is extremely disappointing that this is happening.
“The second is that I hope these are just pranks and nothing more serious.
“If these racist attacks are driven by hate then something needs to be done before this gets out of hand.
“However, at the moment I would urge the community to keep calm and put this into perspective.
“Yes, these attacks are upsetting for the town’s Muslim community but as yet no one has been hurt and I hope it stays that way.”
Chief Supt Ian Dawes today said officers from South Tyneside Area Command are working closely with the town’s Muslim community in an attempt to trace the racist gang.
He said: “We’re pursuing a number of lines of enquiry in relation to these offences.
“We have a strong and productive relationship with the diverse communities in South Tyneside and we are all working hard to identify those responsible.
“We urge anyone who suffers harassment, intimidation or any other racist crime to report it to police as soon as possible so that it can be thoroughly investigated. We take any allegations of racist crimes very seriously.”
Anyone who has any information about the recent incidents is asked to call police on 03456 043 043 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Chronicle Live
Police launch new hate crime website (UK)
True Vision gives information on what hate crime is and how to report it.
The website, at report-it.org.uk, also has an online reporting facility and gives links to organisations that can offer support and advice.
It also allows people to report hate crimes anonymously.
Police believe that many hate crimes – crimes motivated by hatred of LGBT people, difference races or disability – are not reported.
The website was set up by the Association of Chief Police Officers and is supported by all police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris, who leads on hate crime at ACPO, said: “Hate crimes cause a great deal of fear amongst victims and damages[sic] communities.
“Whilst we are committed to reducing the incidence of hate crime, it is vital that we close the gap of under-reporting.
“Only by increasing reporting can we gain a better understanding of the extent of hate crime and it is for this reason that I urge victims and witnesses to use the True Vision website and to continue to come forward so we can bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Professor John Grieve CBE, independent chair of the government’s Hate Crime Advisory Group, said:“The UK is amongst world leaders in the way that it responds to hate crime, but there is still much work to do. One of the greatest challenges is to reduce the under-reporting of hate crime.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to increase reporting and we will be examining this data in the forthcoming months and years to better understand the extent of hate crime and to challenge where performance does not meet the high standards that the public rightly demands of the criminal justice agencies.”
In November, figures released by ACPO showed that there were 50,000 reported hate crimes across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2009.
The vast majority concerned racism but almost 5,000 were motivated by homophobia and more than 300 related to transphobia.
Police said that the figures showed an increase in incidents but urged more people to report crimes.
Pink News
Top Gear faces racism test case following Mexico comments (IUK)
Lawyers for Iris de la Torre, a 30 year-old jewellery design student, said the BBC had used racism to boost ratings and could cost the Corporation up to £1million in damages.
In the episode, which was viewed by more than 6 million people, Richard Hammond claimed that cars imitate national characteristics.
"Mexican cars are just going to be a lazy, feckless, flatulent, oaf with a moustache leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat," he said.
Jeremy Clarkson went on to joke that being Mexican would be "brilliant" because then he could sleep all day.
The Mexican ambassador to Britain has already made an official complaint to the BBC for the programme's "xenophobic" and "offensive" content and demanded an apology.
De la Torres' lawyers, from the firm Equal Justice, also brought legal action against Channel 4 following remarks made about Shilpa Shetty during Celebrity Big Brother.
In a legal complaint to the BBC they claim that the remarks are unlawful and a breach of rules banning discrimination by public bodies, according to a report by The Guardian.
De la Torre said: "I was shocked at what the BBC allowed to be broadcast...I do not understand how such ignorant people hold such high-profile jobs."
If taken to court it could become the first case to be brought under the Equality Act which came into effect in September last year.
Lawrence Davies, from Equal Justice, said: "These remarks were probably calculated and deliberate to fuel anger and hence boost ratings - the presenters apparently feel that they are fighting a battle against political correctness."
The BBC said it had not yet received the legal letter but said that it would be dealt with through appropriate channels.
The Telegraph
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