In Jewish law there's a phrase that describes when two similar things find each other. The phrase - which comes from the laws prohibiting the mixing of milk and meat is מצא מין את מינו (the type found its own type). Europe's BDS movement and their Israeli supporters have found their own type: The neo-Nazi movement. Benjamin Weinthal reports.
If labeling Jewish goods sounds darkly reminiscent, it does as well
to Germany’s neo-Nazi groups, who have recently co-opted the country’s
BDS movement.
But the neo-Nazis shouldn’t get all the attention — labeling goods
from East Jerusalem is a brazen act of economic warfare from Europe, and
one that violates the principles of the very peace process Europe
claims to promote.
The 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians said merely
that Jerusalem is a subject for final-status negotiations, not a
“settlement.”
The European Union itself defines Jerusalem as a corpus separatum — a
“separate body” whose status is subject to negotiation — rather than
occupied territory.
More broadly, the drive to label Israeli merchandise has allowed
Germany’s resurgent far-right to push its way to the front of the
anti-Israel movement.
In 2009, Jürgen Rieger, a Holocaust denier and then-deputy chairman
of the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany, called on Germans
to boycott Israel.
In 2012, the party submitted a legislative initiative in the state
parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to mark Israeli products.
Udo Pastörs, the NPD’s leader in the state, has declared Germany a “Jew
Republic.”
To its credit, the German government did not join the 16 out of 28 European foreign ministers who signed on a letter calling for labeling of Israeli products from the 'occupied territories.' But among those who did sign on was Austria, the birthplace of Nazism, which is still trying to portray itself as a victim of Nazism 80 years later. Here's Weinthal again:
To its credit, Germany did not sign a European foreign ministers’
letter calling for product labeling. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
administration has demonstrated it has learned from its nation’s
history: The first phase of the Holocaust, after all, started with
targeting Jewish businesses with the crude Nazi slogan “Kauf nicht bei
Juden” (Don’t buy from Jews).
While visiting Israel in 2014, Merkel said flatly that boycotting Israel “is not an option for Germany.”
Nevertheless, 16 of the 28 EU foreign ministers did sign the
sanctions letter, including regional leaders France and Britain, and
Germany’s neighbor (and Hitler’s birthplace) Austria.
The similarities between the BDS movement and the beginnings of Nazism are stunning and too obvious to miss. Obviously, that's of no concern to Europe.
Turkish 'protesters' stormed the soccer pitch and attacked Maccabi Haifa players during an exhibition match against a French team in Austria on Thursday night. The Maccabi players had to be escorted off the field by police in what was supposed to have been a 'friendly' match.
The protesters, who were holding up Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) flags and were reportedly of Turkish origin, stormed the field as
the game against the French soccer team Lille was going on. They
proceeded to spit at, curse and kick the Israeli players. Some of the
players retaliated, leading to a brawl on the field.
No one was injured, and the Haifa players were taken off the field by
police officers and instructed to remain in the locker room until
things calm down.
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat reacted to the incident and
said, “This is a dangerous and seemingly pre-planned incident, and we
must not ignore it.”
Maccabi Haifa said in a statement following the incident, "We
experienced an unpleasant experience of violence on the field and in the
stands. We as a club call for co-existence and patience but this attack
was planned and dangerous in light of the incitement in the Turkish
media.”
“We deplore the violence against us, we came to play soccer and we
are sorry that this how the game ended, but this did not happen because
of the sport and because of soccer, but because we are a group
representing Israel.”
Kitty Werthmann is a WW2 survivor. She is 87 years old and is President
of the South Dakota Eagle Forum. Werthmann lived under Nazi rule through
the war, and strongly feels the need to warn Americans about the
horrors of socialism. Werthmann said that Adolf Hitler spoke just like
an American politician. She says: When the people fear the government,
that's tyranny, but when the government fears the people, that's
Liberty! Sighting Switzerland's policy where citizens are required to
own guns, Hitler did not attempt to invade the country and it has not
been involved in a war for 600 years. Kitty advocates: 'Keep your guns.
Keep your guns, and buy more guns! and stock up on ammo because: "What
good is a gun without ammunition?"
Let's go to the videotape. More comments after the video.
What bothered me about this video is that there is no mention of Jews - the word "Jew" isn't even spoken. There's one small reference at the end that claims that they didn't know about the concentration camps - let's say I find that difficult to believe.
The Austrians are masters at turning themselves into Hitler's victims when in fact they were quite complicit in the slaughter of Jews.
While her depiction of socialism may be (and probably is) accurate, her failure to acknowledge the special role of Jews as Hitler's victims left a bad taste in my mouth.
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, an Austrian by birth and the former
governor of California, sent a letter to the country’s chancellor,
Werner Faymann, to express his belief in the importance of an EU move to
blacklist the Lebanese terror organization.
According to Maariv, Austria initially vehemently opposed the move,
but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Feymann and the
country’s president, and with the help of Schwarzenegger was able to
convince the Austrians to support the measure.
It seems that there are several European countries who are afraid to designate Hezbullah a terrorist organization. Some of them could even be counted among Israel's friends.
Poland and the Czech Republic expressed “reservations” about
blacklisting Hezbollah at a discussion in Brussels earlier this month,
JTA has learned.
Both Poland and the Czech Republic are considered
more supportive of Israel than Western European nations that supported
blacklisting Hezbollah, the source said.
...
Joining Poland and the Czech Republic — both traditional Israeli allies in Europe — was Finland, the source said. The Wall Street Journal has also reported that Austria is opposed, while The Jerusalem Post, quoting unnamed Israeli officials, reported that Ireland was also against. The Irish embassy declined to comment .
On the other hand, some countries that we thought were opposed to designating Hezbullah are now said to be in favor.
Denmark, Sweden, Germany and France support blacklisting Hezbollah, the
source said. It has long been believed that France was blocking such a
move out of concern that it would diminish European influence in
Lebanon, a former French colony.
Decisions in the EU are made by consensus. I find it hard to believe they're going to get one on this.
There's a volunteer to replace the Austrian contingent in the disengagement force on the Golan Heights. There's just one small problem: It's the Russians.
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is ready to send peacekeepers to the Golan Heights
to replace Austrian forces after Vienna said it would recall its troops
from a UN monitoring force due to worsening fighting in Syria.
"We
could replace the leaving Austrian contingent in this region on the
border between Israeli troops and the Syrian army," Putin told the RIA
Novosti news agency.
Following
the battles at Quneitra in Syria early on Thursday morning, Austria
announced it was withdrawing its troops that serve in the UN
Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan.
On Thursday, Israel demanded that the United Nations replace the Austrian soldiers as soon as possible.
Sounds to me like the fox guarding the hen house. What could go wrong?
In case you were wondering why Israel doesn't place a lot of stock in international peacekeeping forces, consider this.
After the 1956 Sinai war, UN peacekeepers were installed to watch our border with Egypt. In May 1967, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser expelled them, and the Six Day War ensued.
After Israel 'unilaterally disengaged' from Gaza in 2005, European troops were installed to watch the critical Philadelphi corridor between Gaza and Egypt, which was being used for weapons smuggling. When Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, the Europeans fled.
After the 1974 disengagement of forces between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights, a United Nations force was installed to watch the border between the two countries. Now, with Syria's civil war spilling into the Golan, Austria, which has the largest contingent in the force, is withdrawing its troops. (And there are many other examples - UNIFIL in Lebanon and UNDOF in Sinai come immediately to mind - of ineffective peacekeeping forces).
The Austrian decision came after battles between Syrian troops and
rebels near the Quneitra crossing point. The 1,000 strong United
Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has been monitoring the
border for the last 40 years.
Israel is keen on the force remaining on the border and trying to
preserve the quiet that has reigned there for some 40 years. The Foreign
Ministry issued a statement saying that it "regrets" the Austrian
decision and "hopes it will not lead to an additional escalation" in the
region.
The statement said that Israel expected the UN to uphold its commitment under Security Council Resolution 350 to maintain UNDOF.
One
diplomatic official said that Israel was watching the developments
closely and that its faith in the international peace keeping troops
hung in the balance. "If at a time when a few bullets are fired, these
forces run away form where they are needed to keep the peace, then what
is it worth," the official said.
In the event that an arms embargo on Syria is lifted next month, as might happen, Austria is threatening to withdraw its troops from the UNDOF observer force that has helped to maintain peace on the Golan for the last 40 years. With three of the other five countries who contribute troops to UNDOF having withdrawn in the last few months, Austria's 377 troops are the largest contingent of the roughly 1,000 troops who remain in the neutral zone on the Heights. But according to the Austrians, the mission is becoming impossible.
If the embargo is lifted at the end of next
month, “it would be difficult in that moment to maintain the security [of the
Austrian soldiers],” he said.
[Deputy Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael] Spindelegger arrived in Israel earlier in
the day for a 24-hour visit during which he will travel to the Golan Heights,
examine the terrain and meet with Austrian soldiers and their commander, so he
can personally assess the situation.
He also wants to stress to Israeli
leaders the danger to Syria and the mission’s future, if the arms embargo is
lifted.
Austria is one of only three nations, along with India and the
Philippines, that remain in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force; it
recently lost three of its members – Croatia, Canada and Japan.
...
“The problem is that more and more it is not possible to
do this mission,” he said.
...
But if the embargo is
lifted and European countries export arms to the Syrian opposition, Austria will
no longer appear neutral to forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.
The
absence of such neutrality would increase the danger to the extent that it may
not be possible to remain, he said.
“If Syrian opposition could have more
weapons from the European side, than we are really on one side, and it would be
a hard job just to be present, and this would be the moment where we would think
to pull out,” Spindelegger said.
Neutrality is such a critical component,
he said, that Croatia pulled out, fearing for its troops’ safety, after a rumor
surfaced that Croatia had delivered weapons to opposition forces, Spindelegger
said.
He explained the situation to President Shimon Peres and to Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in separate meetings on Thursday.
Israel
agreed with him that no more arms should flow to Syria.
In Vienna on Friday, protesters against Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense called for 'death to the Jews.'
Israel’s eight-day military
operation to stop Hamas rocket fire from entering the country prompted two
fiercely anti-Israel protests in the Austrian capital.
Samuel Laster, an
Israeli journalist who lives in Vienna, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that
he heard a contingent of 15 to 20 Austrian Islamists chanting in Arabic, “Death
to the Jews.”
Laster first reported on the call to eliminate Jews on his
website die juedische (“the Jewish”).
Speaking from Vienna by phone, he
told the Post that a “mix of Austrian leftist radical extremists and Islamists”
appeared at the protest. He estimated that at least 400 anti-Israel protesters,
including Salafists, Muslim Brotherhood members and Palestinians, took part in
the demonstration.
The demonstrators marched to the federal chancellor’s
office.
The anti-Israel activists yelled “Freedom for Palestine” and
“Down with Israel,” and a group of Austrian Muslims blasted repeatedly in Arabic
“Death to the Jews.” Laster said the Austrian authorities, including the
domestic intelligence agency (Verfassungschutz), must increase their efforts to
combat “Islamic extremism.” He criticized the lax approach of Austrian police
officials who waved off the anti-Jewish rhetoric as merely a protest against
Israel.
...
At an earlier demonstration
during the war, Austrian Islamists and Leftists screamed slogans calling for the
destruction of the Jewish state. According to a report on November 16 on the
Vienna news website Heute.at, protesters invoked slogans including “We are
against the two-state solution” and “We are for a Palestine that is free from
the West Bank and reaches to the Mediterranean and Israel will be wiped
out.”
Heute.at reported that a large segment of the protesters were of
Turkish and Arabic descent and yelled “Allahu akbar.”
Many Austrians still believe that they were victims of the Holocaust when the truth is that they were the top assistants to the perpetrators.
Austria allows aide to Ahmadinejad to launder money
Austria has a long history of doing this sort of thing. This time, they've allowed an aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to launder money on behalf of the mullahcracy.
Writing in the British Daily Telegraph in late October,
foreign affairs correspondent Damien McElroy first reported on the Iranian
agent, who is a senior departmental director from Iran’s Center for Innovation
and Technology Cooperation. The US Treasury Department has sanctioned both the
agent and the Center for Innovation and Technology Cooperation for illicit
nuclear proliferation activity.
According to the Telegraph report, “At
least two visits this year to Vienna by a senior departmental director have been
used to carry out transactions worth millions of euros, according to sources.
Western officials confirmed the official is a regular visitor to the Austrian
capital and has traveled for extended stays each year since 2007.”
The
agent’s network involves deliveries that are “handed to money lenders in
Austria, Germany and Italy. Payments from the network have been documented as
transfers to accounts as far as Russia and China to pay for goods that are
subsequently sent to Iran,” the Telegraph continued.
In a telephone
interview with the Post on Saturday, a spokesman for Austria’s Interior Ministry
said there is “no criminal investigation” in connection with the agent and the
center. Asked if the Austrian domestic intelligence agency probed the money
laundering operation and the center, he said, “The findings are not public.” The
Interior Minister spokesman referred to sections of the domestic intelligence
agency’s 2012 report about Iran’s activities in Austria.
According to the
2012 report, “In the period under review, concrete proliferation-relevant
activities were observed in connection with North Korea and Iran.” The report
noted, “It can be assumed that these developments will continue in 2012 and that
the conflict with the Islamic Republic of Iran will intensify.”
Samuels
slammed Austria’s laxity toward Iran sanctions. “This is not a new story for
Austria. Austria has been behaving like this for a while,” he said. It is
disturbing that the Austrian authorities remain indifferent because Austrian
banks are “down the road from the International Atomic Energy Agency,” he
stressed.
The IAEA is the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog
agency.
The legislation singled out Israel’s anti-terror policy on detention for condemnation but – astonishingly – failed to acknowledge its neighbours’ similar or worse policies, including Syria, the paramilitary Israel-eliminationist organisations which operate on Israel’s borders, and the draconian detention measures meted out in Palestinian law to dissenters and gay people. These are well-documented by human rights organisations, feed the region’s authoritarian tendencies and it is seriously strange that they are ignored by the Bundesrat.
If the Middle East is a playground full of bullies, and you single out one bully for a kicking while leaving the other bullies to go about their violent business unhindered, then you’re obviously a bad politician. And if the bully you’re so singularly and enthusiastically attacking is Jewish, then they may reasonably feel attacked as a Jew.
Now why do so many people have a hard time understanding that?
Jewish communal leader blasts Austrian vote on 'fact-finding mission'
And here I thought when they boycotted Durban III, maybe there was some change in Austria's hostile attitude about Jews and Israel. Sadly, that is apparently not the case. Last week, when the United Nations 'human rights council' voted to establish a 'fact-finding' mission about Israeli 'settlements' in Judea and Samaria, eight of the ten European countries on the council at least had enough of a conscience to abstain. Austria, which still sees itself as a victim of the Nazis rather than as the active participant they really were, was one of two European countries to vote in favor of the 'fact-finding' mission (the other was Belgium). Maybe they feared that a no vote or an abstention would disturb their massive trade with Iran. But in any event, the local Jewish community is furious.
Oskar Deutsch, who was elected in late February, is the first Austrian-born president after the Holocaust, of the roughly 8,000-member Jewish community. He told the daily Die Presse on Thursday that Austria allows itself to be misused from the “agitation” of states who “themselves violate human rights on a daily basis.”
The 36-to-1 vote resulted in Austria aligning itself with such countries as China, Russia, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, which, according to human rights groups, engage in anti-democratic behavior and trample over civil liberties. The US was the only democracy to vote against the resolution.
As a result of the vote, Israel pulled the plug last week on its cooperation with the UNHRC.
Israel summoned the Ambassadors of Belgium and Austria to file formal complaints to their governments about their countries’ votes.
Anne Bayefsky, a leading international legal authority on the United Nations and human rights, issued a micro-blog on Twitter after the vote blasting both EU countries. She wrote, “Austrian & Belgian anti-Semites prevail as states break ranks with EU over UNHR Council settlements resolution.”
According to the Die Presse article, Deutsch, the head of the Austrian Jewish community, sees a slanted anti-Israel voting record by Austria and called for more “balance” toward the Jewish state. He added that there is a “continuity” at work, since Austria voted to include the PLO as a state representative at the UNESCO vote in Paris.
Deutsch noted the Palestinians “do not yet have a state” and “given Austria’s past, it would be better if Austria remained neutral in connection with the votes.”
Traditionally, Austria proclaims a neutral foreign policy, but has targeted the Jewish state over the last few months in international forums.
One of the leaders of Europe's drive to keep Iran afloat and ready for nuclear warfare is Austria.
“In the first eight months of this year, Austrian firms supplied goods and services worth a total of 189 million euros to the Islamic Republic, more than, for example, to Israel, Thailand or Ireland,” the Vienna daily Die Presse reported recently.
Austrian energy giant OMV continues to refuel Iran Air planes, in contrast to many fuel suppliers across Europe.
“While top-ranking British, European politicians are quite vocal about new Iran sanctions, Austria remains silent,” Dr. Diana Gregor, a Vienna-based specialist who has written and lectured on Austrian-Iran relations, wrote to The Jerusalem Post by e-mail on Friday.
“In recent years, Austria has strongly contributed to keeping the Iranian regime from international isolation, and has not taken any steps toward destroying the economic basis of the dictatorship of the ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guards,” Gregor wrote.
Yacov Stiassny, from the Israel-based Central Committee for Jews in Austria, told the Post by phone from Bat Yam on Friday, “Yes, it is obvious what they [the government in Vienna] should be doing, but they are not doing it. Business is more important to Austria than its commitment to the Jewish people and Israel. It is a pity.
“Instead of taking care of the Jews who fled Austria, the Austrians are doing business with Iran,” he said.
Was the company's investment in Iran a "miscalculation" because of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and the sanctions imposed for violating United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for the regime to halt enrichment of uranium, asked Dr. Hava Bugajer, an OMV shareholder and president of the Women's International Zionist Organization in Austria.
"The details are to be negotiated" and there is "no foreseeable result" regarding the implementation of the deal, replied CEO Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer to a packed auditorium at the Austrian Center Vienna.
OMV sees time as an ally and is waiting for "political change in the USA," Ruttenstorfer said in response to questions about sanctions against Iran at the stockholder meeting. [Think they're expecting Barack Hussein Obama to be the next President of the United States? CiJ]
He declined to comment on whether OMV's gas deal would violate the US Iran Sanctions Act, which prohibits large energy investments in Iran and spells out penalties for conducting more than $20 million of annual business in Iran's energy sector.
OMV spokesman Thomas Huemer told the The Jerusalem Post that "OMV as a company does not have a moral responsibility toward a particular state."
Bugajer told thePost that Ruttenstorfer' responses were "not really answers."
The problem, as I described at length in that post, is that the Austrians see themselves as victims of the Nazis, when in fact Hitler sprung from among the Austrians and much of the hierarchy of the World War II German army came from Austria. The Austrians feel no sympathy and no empathy for Israel or Jews. And don't expect that to change.
Austrian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Schallenberg told the Post that “we have no intention of participating in Durban III in September.” Austria has now joined the anti-Durban group of countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Australia, the United States, Canada, and Israel.
Schallenberg said that Austria has” doubts about the content and direction of the conference” and that is the reason for Austria's decision to skip the event.
...
Austria participated in Durban I in 2001 and the 2009 Durban II conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger , from the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), has now, with his decision to boycott Durban III, placed Austria as the first German-speaking country into the anti-Durban camp.
In response to Austria's decision to pull the plug on its participation in Durban III, Israel's Ambassador to Austria, Aviv Shir-On, told the Post on Wednesday, “ I was pleased to hear that our position on the Durban III process was accepted by the Austrian government.” He added that “not only Israel sees the issue (Durban III) as problematic,“ citing Canada, the United States , the Netherlands, Italy and other countries that are staying away from the Durban conference.
Shir-On said “Israel was singled out and bashed at the first Durban conference” and the countries at Durban I were “not interested in fighting racism but criticizing Israel.” He said that does not mean that the “basic of idea of fighting racism in all its forms is bad” but the Durban process has steered away from its anti-racism mission.
“I welcome the Austrian decision and that they realize this is a problem,” said Aviv Shir-On.
And the Swiss Jewish community would like Switzerland to be next. Read the whole thing.
Have the Europeans finally had it with their Muslim population? If this speech by Austrian MP Ewald Stadler (who calls for the Turkish ambassador to Austria to be declared persona non grata) is any indication, (at least some of) Europe is awakening and is fed up with the behavior of the Muslims in their midst.
Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Shy Guy via Atlas Shrugs).
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
