March 25, 2015

Russia fails to squelch gay equality in the UN

Russia fails in bid to stop U.N. staff benefits for all gay couples

(Reuters) - Russia failed on Tuesday in a bid to stop the United Nations extending staff benefits to all same-sex couples after a U.N. General Assembly budget committee voted 80 to 43 against the proposal.

There were 37 abstentions and 33 countries did not vote.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in July that the United Nations would recognize all same-sex marriages of its staff, allowing them to receive U.N. benefits.

Previously, staff members' personal status was determined by the laws of their country of nationality. But the United Nations now recognizes all same-sex couples married in a country where it is legal, regardless of their nationality.

Russia wanted the 193-member General Assembly Fifth Committee, which deals with the U.N. budget, to overturn Ban's decision and had been threatening to put the measure to a vote since December.

"We must speak plainly about what Russia tried to do today: diminish the authority of the U.N. Secretary-General and export to the U.N. its domestic hostility to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) rights," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, said in a statement after the vote.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/24/us-un-gaymarriage-russia-idUSKBN0MK1UW20150324

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/03/24/bid-to-block-spousal-benefits-for-gay-u-n-employees-fails/

Voting Record on L.9

Published by UN Tribune

Draft resolution sponsored by Russia that would have revoked benefits for same-sex married UN staff

March 24, 2015

Graves at Jewish cemetery vandalized in Hungarian city

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The leader of a small Hungarian Jewish community says about 20 graves have been vandalized in a Jewish cemetery.

Peter Weisz says the damage to the graves in the northeastern city of Gyongyos, including the scattering of human remains, was "unprecedented."

The office of Prime Minister Viktor Orban condemned the "barbaric deed" on Sunday and vowed to launch a program this year to renovate neglected cemeteries.

more...

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Wow! Not content with just kicking over grave markers and painting swastikas on memorial stones, now they are digging up bodies?!

March 18, 2015

Swastikas painted in Jewish fraternity at Vanderbilt

Source: The Tennessean

Swastikas spray-painted inside one of Vanderbilt University's Jewish fraternity houses drew swift condemnation on and off campus this week, but some Jewish advocates say the crime is indicative of a troubling national trend.

Students discovered the graffiti early Saturday morning after a party at the Alpha Epsilon Pi house on Vanderbilt Place, according to the university. Two swastikas were painted in the elevator, and a third was found on the basement door.

The Vanderbilt University Police Department launched a hate crime investigation in conjunction with the Dean of Students Office.

Josh Hyman, the student president of the AEPi chapter at Vanderbilt, said he and his fraternity brothers were horrified to discover the graffiti.


Read more: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2015/03/17/vanderbilt-hate-crime-jewish-fraternity-swastikas/24887351/

March 17, 2015

Anti-Semitic Photo Posted to Long Island High School's Facebook Page: Report

Parents and students at a Long Island high school are outraged after an anti-Semitic photo was posted to a private Facebook page for students.

The photo, which depicts a young boy with a drawn-on Hitler mustache and a swastika armband, was posted Friday to the page designated for Great Neck South High School’s freshman class, according to the New York Observer.

The photo’s caption reads, “I’d rather be gassing Jews right now.”

Students say word spread quickly among the freshman class, many of whom are Jewish.

more...

First comment:

Jeff Rusynyk · Seattle, Washington

haaahahahaha.. that's fucking hilarious.

March 5, 2015

Neo-Nazis troll Reddit to recruit ‘Alex Jones-reading kosher retards’

A neo-Nazi blogger explained in a post studded with Internet jargon why Reddit is such a fertile ground for recruitment.

The Daily Stormer website – described as “a veritable Drudge Report for Nazi sympathizers and anti-Semites” – urged white supremacists to take part in discussions in specific communities, called “subreddits,” where other users might be receptive to their arguments.

“Reddit has a strong reputation for being a far-left SJW (social justice warriors) hugbox and it’s frequently mentioned in the same breath as Tumblr,” wrote neo-Nazi blogger Michael Slay. “However, many areas of Reddit are much more open to our ideas than you might think.”

The website listed some communities where white supremacists already gather – including “/r/WhiteRights,” “/r/GasTheKikes,” and “/r/CoonTown” – but he said some less obvious groups might yield new recruits to their hateful message.

“First and foremost, the #1 place on Reddit to recruit people to our side is /r/conspiracy,” Slay wrote. “Yes, I know what you’re thinking,” he continued. “Why bother trying to enlighten a bunch of Alex Jones-reading kosher retards who think that the ‘Illuminati lizard people’ run the world? Well, I’ll tell you why: conspiracy-minded people are the most open to considering the reality, which is that international Jewry, in fact, runs our societies.”

more
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/neo-nazis-troll-reddit-to-recruit-alex-jones-reading-kosher-retards/

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Keep in mind the mental health disparaging remark is from the story, not a comment from me nor the poster from whom I lifted this story ( DonViejo). Fits in with some of the more recent stories.

I really miss AlienGirl. This type of story was right up her alley.

March 5, 2015

Letter: Tolerating stereotypes allows discrimination to flourish

Anti-Semitism is certainly not a new phenomenon, and current headlines emphasize that anti-Semitism is very much a current event. From the kosher supermarket in Paris to the synagogue shooting in Denmark, anti-Semitism is not a historical reference but a current movement. Last summer, the Anti-Defamation League conducted a global survey of anti-Semitism, involving 102 countries and territories and interviews with over 53,000 people. Sadly, the survey found that 26 percent of the world’s population still harbors anti-Semitic attitudes — that’s 1.09 billion people.

As French Prime Minister Manuel Valls powerfully said in a speech to the French National Assembly, “History has shown us that a reawakening of anti-Semitism is the symptom of a crisis of democracy.” Hate is powerful and rocks the foundation of our communal belief in the pursuit of equality and justice.

Anti-Semitism is certainly not only a European problem. It is an issue in the United States — as we saw in the horrific shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas, last year, for example. Anti-Semitism is unfortunately a New Orleans problem, as well.

This Mardi Gras, on the St. Charles Avenue parade route in New Orleans, amidst the revelry and joy of celebration was an anti-Semitic sign that read “Don’t be a Mardi Jew. Throw me something mister.”Someone used a hateful stereotype about Jews in a public plea for Mardi Gras throws. This sign in the midst of a traditional and well-traveled parade route demonstrated that anti-Semitism exists with a strong heartbeat in our community.

more: http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/opinion/11758550-123/letter-tolerating-stereotypes-allows-discrimination

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This is just sad. New Orleans is such a neat place, but there is a vein of anti-Semitism which is very prevalent there.

March 5, 2015

Rising Anti-Semitism Challenges Sweden's Proud And Tolerant Self-Image

When a militant extremist stormed into a kosher supermarket in Paris shortly after cartoonists were massacred at the Charlie Hebdo publication, Swedish media described it as a hostage situation at a food store.

There was no mention of an anti-Semitic motive.

Now, the discourse has come full circle, with a full-throttle discussion in media about the magnitude and roots of anti-Semitism in Sweden, which prides itself as a beacon of tolerance and open doors.

“Sweden has awoken from its fairy tale dream” of being a racism-free society, said Willy Silberstein, president of the Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism, SKMA.

Swedes see their country as a refuge from the world’s conflicts and oppression; they’ve accepted large numbers of refugees from Somalia, Iraq and now Syria. About 15 percent of the population was born abroad, and in just a few decades the homogeneous land of blondes has turned into a multiculturally vibrant society.

But the attacks in Paris triggered a debate that flooded op-ed pages with a crash course in the history and origins of anti-Semitism in Europe and the Middle East.

The defining moment was when a TV reporter, who is not Jewish, put on a yarmulke and a hidden camera and walked around Muslim neighborhoods in Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city. Viewers of the popular show Uppdrag Granskning were shocked to see the reporter being insulted and threatened.

more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/04/sweden-anti-semitism_n_6804218.html

March 4, 2015

Anti-Semitism Is On The Rise In German Schools

MUNICH -- Scrawling swastikas on synagogues, Jew-baiting during demonstrations, desecration of Jewish cemeteries: Once again, 75 years after the Holocaust, hatred against Jews is taking place openly in Germany, even in schools.

Current figures from the German government show that the anti-Semitism is not only a perception: The number of crimes linked to anti-Semitism in Germany increased dramatically over the past year. While 788 cases were registered in 2013, there were 864 cases registered in 2014 -- a 10 percent increase.

The word “Jew” is often used as a curse or swear word in German schoolyards. This became clear during last weekend's Jewish Youth Congress, held in Berlin, which was also attended by Hans-Georg Maassen, the president of Germany's Domestic Intelligence Service. At the Youth Congress, speakers stated that the bullying of Jewish students has grown so pervasive that many “pupils concerned have to leave regular school to attend Jewish schools,” according to the well-known German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Maassen states: “It is a fact that there are people who feel provoked by a kippa or the Star of David. One must be simply aware of that and, in those areas, one should act in an appropriate way.”

more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/04/antisemitism-germany_n_6794928.html

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one commenter had this to say:

Another distraction technique to comment on how some Jews are immigrating to Germany, as if that negates articles like this.

March 2, 2015

'The Jewish Journey' Eyes 350 Years of Migrations to America

Los Angeles — (JTA) — “You survive, you honor us by living,” said Martin Greenfield, now a New York master tailor, recalling his father’s words after he was liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp.

The quote could easily be taken as the theme of “The Jewish Journey: America,” a PBS documentary tracking the migrations over 350 years of Jews fleeing Latin America, czarist Russia, Nazi Germany and the Muslim world for these shores.

The one-hour program, opening with a majestic rendition of “America the Beautiful,” will air on PBS stations nationwide in March and April. The show is produced, directed and written by Andrew Goldberg, who has become the semi-official Jewish chronicler for PBS, with such productions as “The Yiddish World Remembered” (2002), “Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century” (2007) and “Jerusalem: Center of the World” (2009).

While many Jews arrived in the United States seeking refuge from persecution, millions more came for economic reasons – to build better lives for themselves and their children in the New World.


Read more: http://forward.com/articles/215719/the-jewish-journey-eyes--years-of-migrations-to/#ixzz3TD121U6N

Starts March 3rd, but apparently not in all places as it is NOT showing in Oklahoma!

http://www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/jewish_life/index.html

March 2, 2015

Why the silence of the left on anti-Semitism?

THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP!

On February 15, 38-year-old volunteer security guard Dan Uzan was shot and killed outside a Copenhagen synagogue during a bat mitzvah celebration. A month earlier, a gunman executed four customers at a kosher grocery store in Paris.

In May 2014, a gunman killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. In 2012, a gunman murdered three students and a teacher at Toulouse Jewish primary school in south-west France. Eight-year-old Miriam Monsonego was shot point-blank in the head.

You might discern a common theme to these shocking crimes. Seventy years after the Holocaust, Jews are again being murdered in Europe for being Jews.

These recent outrages are but the tip of an anti-Semitic iceberg. About 7000 French Jews made aliyah (migrated) to Israel last year. For good reason. Jews make up 1 per cent of the French population, but half of all racially-motivated crimes during 2014 targeted Jews. In recent weeks several hundred graves were defaced at a Jewish cemetery in north-east France; in Germany a synagogue in the city of Wuppertal was firebombed.

more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/why-the-silence-of-the-left-on-antisemitism-20150301-13qn5p.html