Zionism – a perspective of a religious "peacenik" -By Chief Rabbi David Rosen

                Zionism – a perspective of a religious "peacenik"

                                    Rabbi David Rosen

While the political movement known as Zionism was produced by eighteenth century rationalism and nineteenth century nationalism; without the unique historical and spiritual bond of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, those secular forces alone could never have brought about the remarkable success that this political movement eventually secured. Moreover even when the British offered the Zionist movement an alternative location in which the Jewish people could take its destiny into its own hands; this was overwhelmingly rejected by secular Zionists as well.

Zionism has always meant the return of the Jewish people to establish independent Jewish life in its ancestral homeland. However precisely the combination of the aforementioned secular forces together with the historical bonds of a religious heritage, meant that there were and are many "zionisms", or in other words different ways of understanding the character and purpose of this enterprise.

Those that call themselves "religious Zionists" see the success of the Zionist enterprise as both a manifestation of Divine fidelity to the promise of return (see Leviticus 26 v.44 & 45) and as facilitating the ability to live a full religious national life in accordance with Jewish teaching (e.g. Leviticus 20 v.22-26; see Babylonian     Talmud, tractate Ketubot, folio 111)  However religious Zionists are also divided in their interpretation of the meaning of the establishment of the State of Israel. There are those who see it in messianic terms as fulfillment of Divine prophecy and as the first stage in the advent of messianic restoration and universal peace; while other religious Zionists have adopted a more pragmatic approach and see the state simply in its facilitatory role as above  mentioned. 

However not only religious Zionists, but also secular Zionists (both of the nationalist and socialist variety) saw the establishment of the State of Israel in moral terms, guaranteeing franchise, dignity, equality before the law, education and social services to all its citizens. This spirit and vision are evidenced in Israel's Declaration of Independence which also promises freedom of worship to all the religious communities of the Land. Moreover already in its early decades Israel saw itself as having responsibility to share and offer its technological achievements to the developing world.

From a Jewish religious perspective, this ethical dimension is critical to the meaning and success of Zionism. Not only does the Torah declares that the Jewish people is ideally to dwell in the Land in order to live as a nation in accordance with the revealed Divine tenets and commandments; but that failure to do undermines the ability of the People to live in the Land and leads to exile (Leviticus loc.cit. ) Moreover this condition is overwhelmingly portrayed both in the Torah and in the Prophets in terms of the values of justice and righteousness and the social ethical precepts especially towards the vulnerable and the "other".

The Zionist movement sought from the beginning to achieve a modus vivendi both with the local Arab communities and with the Arab world. In 1919 the preeminent Arab leader, the Emir Faisal, son of the Sherif of Mecca, co-signed a document with the president of the World Zionist Organization Dr. Chaim Weizman (later to become the first president of the State of Israel) welcoming the Zionist enterprise and expressing the hope that Jews and Arabs would work together to bring about a flourishing of the region for the benefit of all. The unfolding political developments meant that that dream was lost and conflict ensued with both Arab nationalism and nascent Palestinian nationalism. This conflict has caused much bloodshed, suffering, displacement and enmity. This should be a source of much distress to us who are proud to be called Jews and Zionists, for the vision of Torah and the vision of Zionism is one in which not only Jews but all people live in peace and dignity.

Moreover the conflict has inevitably been very costly for Israeli society and not only materially. Generally, I believe that Israel can be proud of the fact that despite the conflict, it has guaranteed equality of franchise and to a very large degree equality before the law for all its citizens. However it would be disingenuous to deny that the conflict does impinge on the freedoms and opportunities of Israel's Arab citizens.

Moreover while Israel assumed control of Gaza and areas of Judea and Samaria that constitute the West Bank as a result of a successful war of self defense in 1967, the price of controlling the lives of millions of Palestinians under occupation has inevitably had a deleterious affect on the moral fibre and institutions of Israeli life. That is why in my opinion a peaceful resolution of the conflict and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel is essential not only for Israel's security, for the right of Palestinian national self determination; but also for the health of Judaism, Zionism and Israel's moral character.

For the same reasons I co-founded the organization Rabbis for Human Rights, not only because I believe that  Jews who are true to their religio-ethical heritage are obliged to concern themselves with the human rights of others, especially those who confront the consequences of a conflict of which we are a part; but also because the concept of human rights is ultimately indivisible. If we disregard them in one place, that disregard will come back to haunt us in another. This danger is patently obvious today to all who are not willfully blind.

There is arguably no parallel in human history to the success of Zionism in restoring the Jewish people to independent life in its ancestral homeland; just as there is no parallel to the degree of fidelity that an exiled people maintained in relation to its land for two millennia. However in order to ensure the future success of Zionism we have to find a way out of the present political stalemate, so that the land which three Faiths call holy, may be a place of flourishing for us all.

Muslims Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust -By Rebecca Schischa

Courtesy : Meir Stone

http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/134920/#ixzz1FRoDfNLI

January 25, 2011, 10:54am
 
Of all the stories of Righteous Gentiles who saved Jews during the Shoah, there’s one story that rarely gets told: the Muslims who risked their lives to save Jews.

Norman H. Gershman’s photographic exhibition “Besa,” currently showing at the Soho Photo Gallery, redresses this imbalance, focusing exclusively on the unsung Albanian Muslim heroes who hid their Jewish neighbours from the Nazis, as well as thousands of other Jews fleeing across Europe, often at great risk to their lives.

The portraits, which have been published in a book with the same title, were painstakingly taken by Gershman over a seven-year period, in which he tracked down these ordinary Albanian and Kosovar Muslims whose families closely observed the principle of “Besa” to save Jewish lives.

Besa, which literally means “to keep the promise,” is a code of honor deeply embedded in Albanian Muslim culture. Besa demands that you take responsibility for the lives of others in difficult times. In some ways, it parallels the biblical commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and through the personal statements that accompany the portraits, we learn just how powerfully this principle guided the actions of Gershman’s subjects:

“The years were fearful, but friendship overcame all fear,” one said. “My father said that the Germans would have to kill his family before he would have them kill our Jewish guests.”

“Our motivations were not religious,” said another. “We respected our Jewish friends. They were honorable citizens just like us. Whatever we could do for them in those times, we did.”

Gershman’s black-and-white portraits seem to capture the strongly humanistic streak that characterizes his subjects. Indeed, the American photographer states that portrait photography “is my way of understanding and offering to others my innate belief in the goodness and the oneness of humanity.”

The subjects are sometimes the ‘heroes’ themselves, others are the children of heroes no longer alive. Some pose with their grandchildren.

Gershman’s deeply personal portraits hone in on his subjects’ faces; we see old women and men with lined, wrinkled faces, stubbly chins, twinkling eyes and wholesome grins. One man stares at the camera with a cigarette in his mouth. In one image, we see a pair of hands holding out an old photo of a Jewish mother and daughter who were presumably saved.

Nearly every person poses with an artifact of some kind; a photo showing parents no longer alive or a photo of the Jewish families they saved, a Koran, an Albanian flag, an apple. Some wear medals to recall their time fighting in the partisan army.

Indeed, it is often the artifacts that link us back directly to the absent Jews at the heart of these stories. In one photo, two brothers stand proudly holding their hands to their hearts in perfect symmetry, while an ancient sewing machine stands on a table in the foreground. We learn that this sewing machine was one of a number of objects that a Jewish tailor they were hiding left behind after the family helped him escape from Albania.
In another, a man stands in front of a well-worn table made for his family by a Jewish carpenter they ended up saving.

There is also a portrait of King Leka I of Albania, whose father, King Zog, issued passports to save 400 Jews from Vienna.

In all, Gershman’s photographs comprise a moving exhibit which gives insight into a forgotten past.

Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/134920/#ixzz1FdldYXvQ

Book : His Majesty's Enemies : Great Britain's War Against Holocaust Victims and Survivors

 

http://www.amazon.com/His-Majestys-Enemies-Holocaust-Survivors/dp/0275968162

His Majesty's Enemies: Great Britain's War Against Holocaust Victims and Survivors [Hardcover]

Itamar Levin

Itamar Levin (Author)

› Visit Amazon's Itamar Levin Page

Find all the books, read about the author, and more.

See search results for this author

Are you an author? Learn about Author Central

(Author), Natasha Dornberg (Editor), Judith Yalon-Fortus (Editor) 

 

Price: $91.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.  Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
11 new from $87.96 12 used from $37.60 Editorial Reviews Review “Itamar Levin's new book provides convincing evidence that similar conflicts produced a distinctly unfriendly British response toward postwar Jewish efforts to recover lost or confiscated property....Levin has an important story to tell, and he tells it with a readable, if sometimes exaggerated, passion.”–German Studies Review “...a solid piece of scholarship...Students of Britain in the Second World War, the Holocaust, and Allied policy during the Nazi era, would benefit from reading this book...”–Albion Fall 2002 “...the first book to describe a relatively unknown injustice committed by the British government against the Jewish people during the holocaust era.”–Bulletin of Arnol & Leona Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research Book Description Examines British policy toward Jews during the Holocaust and the ongoing struggle to retrieve the victims' property. Product Description Levin, the journalist who uncovered the affair, tells the unbelievable story of looting of the property of Holocaust victims by Britain--the country that prevented the saving of thousands of victims--and the decades-long struggle to right the wrong. About the Author ITAMAR LEVIN is Deputy Editor in Chief of Globes-Israel's Business Newspaper. Most Helpful Customer Reviews 11 of 12 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The Shams of Great Britain, February 16, 2001   By  itamar levin This review is from:   His Majesty's Enemies: Great Britain's War Against Holocaust Victims and Survivors (Hardcover) On the eve of the Holocaust, fearing that Europe was about to be engulfed in flames, thousands of Jews deposited their money in British banks. After the war, those who survived the death camps and the ghettos were to learn that the faith they had put in British moral code was in vain. "You are enemy citizens, therefore your property has been confiscated and will be used to compensate British citizens for their damaged and losses", the survivors were told, to their utter dismay. Any and all attempts made to alter this policy and require Great Britain to follow just and moral guidelines, have been futile.  That was the last and most cynical stage of the British anti-Jewish policy before World War II and afterwords. The Land of Israel, rogue of the Jewish people, had its gates locked in the face of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution and the survivors of genocide. When the Holocaust was at its height, Great Britain leaned back with arms crossed, refused to bomb Auschwitz and refrained from granting refuge to even a few hundred Jewish children whose lived could have been saved. Britain's role in the Holocaust victims' property affair, one of the most shameful to be revealed since the Swiss banks affair, was buried for decade under piles of paperwork and documents. I had the privilege of uncovering the affair, and this revelation finally forced the British government to change - albeit partially and tentatively - policies it had clung for over 50 years. But this vindication is as yet incomplete and many heirs still seek justice. My book, therefore, documents the past and calls for change in the present.				NATASHA DORNBERG is a high tech consultant.

ADL has repeatedly sounded the alarm about the coarsening of the political debate

http://support.adl.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=32507.0&dlv_id=45442

Recommended Excerpt from the mail of Anti Defamation League (ADL)

QUOTE

In recent years, ADL has repeatedly sounded the alarm about the coarsening of the political debate and how it hampers bipartisan cooperation and policy progress.  ADL has not hesitated to repudiate leaders across the political spectrum — those who have used harsh, inflammatory rhetoric, those who have demonized immigrants, those who have engaged in divisive appeals to voters in campaigns and those who have trivialized the Holocaust by inappropriately invoking  Nazi images and references. 

UNQUOTE


Full Text of ADL Mail

Dear friend, 

As we reflect on the shootings in Arizona that resulted in the tragic loss of six lives and the wounding of 14 others, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, we have become all too aware that words have consequences.  Without casting blame, we now have an opportunity to help challenge the too-frequent use of inflammatory and inciting language in our nation's political and public discourse.

In recent years, ADL has repeatedly sounded the alarm about the coarsening of the political debate and how it hampers bipartisan cooperation and policy progress.  ADL has not hesitated to repudiate leaders across the political spectrum — those who have used harsh, inflammatory rhetoric, those who have demonized immigrants, those who have engaged in divisive appeals to voters in campaigns and those who have trivialized the Holocaust by inappropriately invoking  Nazi images and references.

As one part of our overall effort, ADL has launched a campaign to make this the moment when our country dramatically shifts the tenor of our national discourse—an appeal for leaders to work together to change the bitter climate of political and policy debates.  Our call is not directed at Republicans or Democrats.  It is a call for all America’s leaders to consider the impact of their words and to reject appeals that exploit voters’ fears, frustrations and prejudices. 

Reach out to your elected officials and urge them to work together with Members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle to restore a level of respect and civility to public life that will reflect the best of America. Send a letter to your senators and representatives and tell them to rededicate themselves to engaging in reasoned and thoughtful debate— without anger and vitriol —on the very difficult issues now confronting our nation.

END

America’s becoming a Babylon tower – breaking down into ethnic, religious, political and even racial enclaves

 http://rt.com/usa/news/usa-immigration-hispanic-ethnic/

America’s becoming a Babylon tower – Pat Buchanan

Published: 02 June, 2010, 07:45
Edited: 28 September, 2010, 12:23

America is breaking down into ethnic, religious, political and even racial enclaves and risks the same thing that happened to the Soviet Union in 1991, according to political commentator and author Pat Buchanan.

“Native born Americans of European descent are the ones who are really angriest at the enormous numbers of illegal aliens marching into the country, many if not most of them from the third world, changing the character and composition of their country and eventually voting them out of power,” states Buchanan.

With about 100-135 million Hispanic citizens in the US and heavily concentrated in the American southwest by 2050, “politically it will probably remain the US, ethnically, culturally and linguistically it could very well be a part of Mexico as of the US.”

“Native born white and African Americans are leaving California,” Buchanan points out, adding “we are going to cease to be a nation and become more of an internal empire like the old Roman Empire.”

Read more

Further, the fastest growing TV and radio stations in the US are Hispanic, which enables the newcomers not to assimilate into American society and learn the English language.

“They do not immerse themselves into American culture, they bring their own culture and maintain it. How can you say we are fellow citizens if we can’t even talk to each other?” asks Buchanan.

Buchanan accused President Obama of refusing to enforce immigration laws in the US and that made authorities in Arizona take the initiative on their own.

Back in 2004 Pat Buchanan predicted that America would greatly change and eventually become a “giant Brazil of the north”.

Today he says that America is “developing a society of a war of all against all”.

Privileged Europeans' Hatred Against Under-Privileged Gypsies

http://rt.com/news/roma-gypsies-eu-crime/

EU turns its back on gypsies, pushing them to crime for survival

  email story to a friend print version

Published: 18 November, 2010, 09:23

A crisis over the plight of Roma gypsies is spreading across the European Union, resulting in growing dissatisfaction from all sides.

Some EU countries blame the Roma for rising crime and are trying to tackle the problem by deporting them back to where they came from, making it worse.

The mayor of one Bulgarian town had to tear down a block of flats, turned into a slum by Roma residents. Infested with rats, cockroaches and fleas, it was called “a health hazard” by authorities.

It is possible that solutions like these could become common across Europe in the future.

That people will be left on the streets does not worry Bulgarian authorities. Some gypsies had to move to a wasteland, where there is no shelter, healthcare, or education for the children. With winter approaching, they will be sleeping in the cold.

Not surprisingly, the Roma are far from satisfied with their living conditions, and their anger is turning into accusations of discrimination. They wonder why the EU treats its citizens that way.
Bulgaria is left to solve the gypsy problem on its own, believes Tsvetelin Kanchev, president of the Euroroma party.

“EU politicians bury their heads in the sand,” he stated.

France has sent tens of thousands of Roma back to Bulgaria. Sweden, Italy, Denmark and Germany had similar policies. The EU’s Justice Commissioner said it reminded her of World War II.

However, campaigners warn that most Roma sent back by France and other states cannot integrate, as there are not enough jobs for them in Bulgaria.

As Roma gypsies are left with nothing but despair, they turn to crime as a way to feed their families. Those that can, go straight back to richer EU states. Member countries report the number of Roma offences is shooting up.

This lawlessness is in turn pushing more and more people into angry, anti-gypsy groups. They claim that the Roma steal even train tracks, risking the lives of many people.

Europe’s 10 million Roma are the elephant in the corner. The EU community usually freezes them out, in all ways but one. With education opportunities limited, music remains one of their few paths to success.

However, anti-gypsy groups claim that ethnic conflicts will surge until the EU learns to live and work with Roma, not just enjoy their music in the nightclubs.

=0=


http://rt.com/news/a-one-way-ticket-for-italy-s-gypsies/

A one-way ticket for Italy’s gypsies

permalink email story to a friend print version

Published: 11 June, 2009, 17:07

The central Italian city of Pisa has found a new way to help curb Italy’s much-disputed “Roma-gypsy problem” – by shipping them all the way back to Romania if they agree to do so.

This latest initiative, called “voluntary repatriation” by local authorities, is completely legal, says Pisa mayor, Marco Filippeschi.

Nomadic gypsies living in shantytowns on the outskirts of Pisa are being offered €500 and a bus ticket back to Romania, as long as they accept the terms of the deal: to stay out of Italy for at least one year.

Read more

The new policy launched by the city council of Pisa, home of Italy’s world famous leaning tower, has kicked up a storm of controversy among both local welfare and Roma advocacy groups, though it does not seem to break any constitutional laws. Filippeschi says that, thus far, 42 Roma gypsies of Romanian origin and with European citizenship have already agreed to the deal and have been sent back to the southwestern Romanian city of Craiova. During their one-way trip, they were escorted by the Red Cross and given approximately €512 each – enough cash to get them back on their feet in their new country.

“The initiative has been coming for a long time,” says Filippeschi, “Everything was done respecting the law, informing the prefecture, police headquarters and the relevant foreign ministries. It is called ‘voluntary repatriation’.” Following accusations of deportation and racism, Filippeschi, who is from Italy’s largest centre-left party the Democratic Party, steadfastly denied that the initiative was a deportation, but instead a “soft” return to home.

The gypsies would not have any home in Pisa to return to anyway, says Filippeschi, because some of Pisa’s gypsy camps have already been demolished by the city administration. According to local authorities, there are about 1,000 Roma-gypsies in Pisa, half of which reside in shantytowns outside the city limits.

City officials want to make the same offer to other Roma-gypsies and eventually demolish all of the illegal encampments in the city because, as Filippeschi states, they pose both security and health risks to inhabitants.
However, many of the Roma-gypsies living in these camps now consider Italy their home and they don’t want to leave. A young, newly-married factory worker, Laurentiu, said the initiative is ineffective and can only work in the short-term:

“That 500 euro will only help you squat for a few days. Life in Romania is expensive. Whoever has accepted the deal and left Pisa will be back in a few months, I can swear on it.”

Instead of being given money to move back to Romania, the Roma in Pisa would like the city to help them find work and homes to rent. “The city is willing to help us move back to Romania, but why not help us to live better here? When we go to rental agencies they turn us away, telling us that no one wants to rent their property to gypsies,” Laurentiu explained.

Earlier actions

In May 2008, the Italian government launched a controversial profiling campaign of Roma-gypsy communities and shantytowns present in Italy. More recently, Italian officials released the data that was collected during the profiling scheme. According to the police checks carried out over a period of 12 months, authorities recorded a total of 12,346 inhabitants, who live in the 167 shantytowns throughout Italy (124 are unauthorized and 43 are authorized), among which 5,436 are minors. Now authorities say they will construct legal, hygienic and safe camps, as well as enroll the children in state schools.

Pisa is not the first Italian city to consider repatriation as a possible solution to Italy’s years-long “gypsy problem”. In recent years, similar pilot projects have been launched in the Italian capital of Rome and in the northern Italian city of Pavia. However, there is no data to suggest that these initiatives were successful in helping reintegrate gypsies into Romanian society. “Without social services and reintegration policies in place in Romania to track their movements, how can we know what really happens to these ‘volunteer repatriates’?” said a social worker from Pisa.

The city administration is also trying to strike the same deal with members of the local Senegalese community. However, Mbaye Diop, president of the Senegalese association of Tuscany, says that to accept such a deal, there would have to be a network set up to ensure jobs and homes for those who decide to move back to their native land. “We don’t want a bonus to get us out of Italians’ way, we want a real project that ensures assisted and productive repatriation,” says Diop.

Brenda Dionisi for RT

 

 =0=

http://rt.com/news/hungarian-neo-nazi-lead-war-on-gypsies/

Hungarian Neo-Nazi lead war on gypsies

permalink email story to a friend print version

Published: 22 April, 2009, 09:30

In Hungary, fascist groups are targeting Roma gypsies, but the government seems to turn a blind eye on the problem of ethnic minorities, and offers no protection for them.

A cold and brutal crime has torn a young family apart. Robert and his five-year-old son were shot dead, and his two other children seriously injured when their home was attacked. A homemade bomb was thrown through the front door and immediately sent the entire house up in flames. The young family had just finished building their small but modern house.

Their only crime was being Roma gypsies.

Robert’s family lives next door, and are reminded daily of the terror of the tragedy, but what haunts them more is the way the criminal investigation is being carried out.

Read more

“They pretended not to see 18 bullet holes in the small boy’s body. How is it possible that an experienced police official could not see this? Then it was reported that the fire was electrical. But there are remnants of a bomb everywhere,” says Robert’s mother Erzsebet Csorba.

The European Roma rights centre strongly supports the family’s claims.

“The police were not acknowledging that a murder had taken place. I’m not aware that there has been any progress,” said Rob Kushen from the European Roma Rights Centre in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

Fighting for their rights, activists also fear that the economic crisis will lead to an increase in hate crimes against Roma in poorer EU countries.

“So far they have done a good job in keeping the peace – which is a recipe for disaster,” Kushen believes.

Attacks on Roma haven’t only increased since the onset of the crisis, but a neo-Nazi trend is also growing in Hungary. The far-right Jobbik party, said to be affiliated with a banned fascist group called the Magyar Guarda, is growing in popularity. They often hold protests against Roma, insisting they are criminals.
Bela Kovacs, President of the Jobbik Party for a Better Hungary is unequivocal in his views:

“Gypsy crimes are growing every day, and it's getting so bad that people are afraid to go out at night,” he said.

But the party refused to comment on its connection with the extremist group which often attends their protests.

Robert’s family believes the Magyar Guarda brutally attacked their loved ones, and will never be punished, especially under the wing of a growing political party.

In the past year alone in Hungary, there have been 18 attacks on Roma homes, and six people have been killed. No one has been caught.

=0=

http://rt.com/news/prime-time/gypsies-face-new-battles-in-russia/

Gypsies face new battles in Russia

permalink email story to a friend print version

Published: 27 October, 2008, 06:34

A recent report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance shows Russian attitudes to Roma gypsies have become more hostile in recent years. Many Russians perceive them as criminals and drug dealers, but there are some who are interested in

The Tomovich family have lived in their house in north-western Russia for 20 years, but they don't know how much longer they'll be staying. It might be made of bricks and mortar, but on the city map it doesn't exist. By Russian law it could be demolished at anytime.

Around 2,000 other people in the same gypsy community in the town of Chudovo are in the same boat.
“They tore down eight houses built by young people who’d separated from their parents, and the authorities say they'll be pulling down our houses as well,” says middle-aged Elizaveta Tomovich.

Gypsies came to the town of Chudovo in the 1980s. Soviet law prohibited them from roaming and local authorities allowed them to stay. At that time the land was not needed. Now a new construction development plan is being worked out for the town and the region.

There have been over a dozen similar cases throughout Russia, but the issue of land ownership is just one of the problems facing the country's gypsies. According to the latest census, there are 200,000 gypsies in the country, but there are estimates the number could be up to a million.

Twenty per cent go on to higher education, but the majority hardly make it through middle school, often because they do not speak Russian.

Many find themselves unemployed, especially as their traditional crafts like tinplating are no longer valued.
Ethnologist Nadezhda Demeter says that now gypsies are only perceived as drug sellers – nothing more. 

“However, the percentage of those involved in criminal business is the same as with other nationalities,” she says. “Russia used to be friendly to gypsies, and Russian literature and music were influenced by gypsy culture”.

Gypsies say their nation is alive as long as their songs are alive, but the lack of interest in gypsy folk music in modern Russia represents an additional challenge to the community.

The Buzylev family has been performing gypsy folk songs around the country since the 1940s. In Soviet times gypsy culture was embraced.

Mikhail Buzylev has launched a gypsy music project to help aspiring musicians get on stage. If people hear more gypsy songs and not only criminal reports, he says, attitudes will improve and young Roma perhaps will have a better chance of finding their place in society.

=0=
http://rt.com/news/russias-roma-minority-struggle-for-tolerance/

Russia’s Roma minority struggle for tolerance

permalink email story to a friend print version

Published: 15 May, 2007, 08:55

A middle-class Roma community is a rare sight in Russia since most of the country’s 1.5 million Roma population live in extremes of either far below the poverty line or way above it.

In the Zubchaninovka settlement those Roma who have managed to amass wealth have built lavish buildings, and even shopping malls. Locals call them “Gypsy Palaces”.

But just 20 kilometres away is another extreme. In a camp gypsies live without electricity, running water, or gas. They don’t have a legal permit for the land they occupy, so they have trouble getting passports, and without them they can’t apply for jobs, because officially they don’t exist.

Children complete an average of only three years of schooling. Many never learn how to read or write.

Instead they spend their days begging and pickpocketing on the streets while their parents are often caught up in a life of crime.

Police raids are common. There have been several attempts to have the camp burned down. Local residents want them deported. But unlike other Russian minorities, the Roma don't have a state to return to. Their families have lived in Russia for centuries.

“Its like we are not humans, we lived here like this for seven years. No one pays attention to us, its like we don’t live in Russia, we are Russians, and we are raising our children to be Russians,” says one of the residents.

Roma people experience discrimination daily as they have been feared and mistrusted internationally for thousands of years. But the local government says the gypsies have to help themselves.

“The problem is that gypsies are poorly socialized, poorly integrated. It helps them preserve their culture but on the other hand it fuels negative perception from the society. Gypsies won’t listen to us, they would listen to their community leaders,” says Nadeshda Osipova, Samara government ethnicity specialist.

One man trying to make a difference is Victor Karbanenko. He heads the Roma Life organization that fights stereotyping and assists the poor to obtain documents.

“People don’t know what tolerance is, they know ‘blacks’ are enemies – gypsies mean drugs, Tajiks took over the markets. People are here to live and work. We are trying to change the stereotype by educating your youth and sharing our culture,” he says.

Roma remain one of Russia’s minorities that are simply overlooked and they feel they have to change their ways in order to change the established perception.

 

 =0=

 

 

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=195036

Anti-Semitic themes found in mainstream British circles

By JONNY PAUL 
11/12/2010 03:59

Comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany are becoming increasingly common anti-Semitic conspiracies are used more freely in conversation.

LONDON – A report published by a Jewish community organization on Thursday highlights how old anti-Semitic themes to depict Israel and Zionism have become more widespread in mainstream British circles during the past year.

Comparisons of Israel and its supporters to Nazi Germany have become increasingly common among the public, and anti-Semitic conspiracy themes are being used more freely in conversation, the “Anti-Semitic Discourse in Britain in 2009” indicated.


The 57-page report was published by the Community Security Trust, which monitors anti- Semitism and provides security for the Jewish community in Britain.

“As in previous years, the report examines public discussion of anti-Semitism, Jews and Jewish issues in mainstream media and politics,” CST communications director Mark Gardner said.

“It is not the report’s intention to brand those who feature in it as being anti-Semites. Nevertheless, old anti-Semitic motifs remain remarkably persistent, especially in relation to Zionism and Israel, and it is hoped that this report will help explain why CST, the Jewish community and many other observers note and fear the ongoing development of this trend.”

At the heart of revived anti- Jewish sentiments, according to the study, is the “corruption and debasement” of the word “Zionism,” which is found not only in extremist discourse but more commonly in mainstream circles. The overlap of the words “Zionist” and “Jew” also manifests such corruption and reflects modern-day anti-Semitism, according to the CST report.

“When mainstream journalists and politicians use the word ‘Zionism’ in a pejorative way, it can be very difficult to distinguish their words from those of actual anti-Semites who conceal their anti-Semitism by swapping the word ‘Zionist’ for ‘Jew,’” the document states.

While the report emphasizes that the anti-Israel and anti- Zionist campaigns that exists in certain media outlets, liberal-left discourse and trade unions is not inspired by anti-Semitism, it says that such discourse often inadvertently has anti-Semitic effects.

“Depicting the Jewish state as a uniquely racist or imperialist enterprise serves to threaten, isolate and demonize all those who believe that Jews have a right to statehood,” the document reads. “Indeed, anyone who shows support for Israel or Zionism risks being defined and castigated for this behavior, rather than gauged by any of their other actions and beliefs.

“The use of “Zionist” as a pejorative description of any organized Jewish (or Jewish related) activity, such as the ‘Zionist Jewish Chronicle’ or the ‘Zionist CST.’ These bodies are then maltreated for being allegedly Zionist, rather than properly engaged with in their own right.”

The comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany became more popular during and in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead, according to the report. This, it says, represents “the deliberate abuse of diminishing the tragedy of the Holocaust and playing upon Jewish sensitivities in order to provoke.”

The Nazi comparisons were seen during the often violent demonstrations that took place in London during the 22-day Gaza conflict. One of the main organizers, the British Muslim Initiative, produced placards saying “STOP the Holocaust in Gaza.”

The placard of another organizing group, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, featured a swastika joined to a Magen David with the words, “History seems to be repeating itself.”

Because of groups’ connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, the report questions the alliance with far-left fringe groups such as the Socialist Workers Party.

Richard Seymour, a spokesman for the party, asserted that those attending a Jewish community rally for peace “ought to be shunned and treated as the moral and political degenerates that they are.”

Meanwhile, anti-Israel activist and former MP George Galloway said at a demonstration, “Today the people in Gaza are the new Warsaw Ghetto, and those who are murdering them are the equivalent of those who murdered the Jews in Warsaw.”

The publication also denounces the play Seven Jewish Children, written by British anti-Israel playwright Caryl Churchill, which it says typified the emerging trend to depict Israel and Zionism as a mass Jewish psychological reaction to the trauma of the Holocaust.

Citing a number of examples, the community report shows how Jewish conspiracy theories and secret-Jewish lobby charges have increasingly slipped into mainstream conversation. In 2009, two stories in The Independent newspaper assumed a Jewish conspiracy charge was valid. The suspected scheme surrounded the appointment of two Jewish academics to the British government’s Iraq War Inquiry – Sir Martin Gilbert and Prof. Lawrence Freedman.

Commenting on the makeup of the panel, Independent columnist Richard Ingrams censured its inclusion of “ two Jewish historians thought to have been in favor of the war” and who were “no military or legal experts.”

“The association of ‘Jewish’ and supposedly ‘in favor of the war’ was a singling out of the Jews on the panel,” the report says. “This followed the same pattern seen in other public controversies: where the religion of Jews is pointed out, but that of others goes unmentioned.”

Former ambassador to Libya Sir Oliver Miles also wrote in The Independent, “Both Gilbert and Freedman are Jewish, and Gilbert has a record of active support for Zionism. Such facts are not usually mentioned in the mainstream British and American media, but The Jewish Chronicle and Israeli media have no such inhibitions, and the Arabic media both in London and in the region are usually not far behind.”

The most insidious example used in the report is the Channel Four Dispatches program “Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby” screened last year, in which presenter Peter Oborne said he had not identified any conspiracies while making the program.

“We haven’t found anything even faintly resembling a conspiracy, but we found a worrying lack of transparency, and the influence of a pro-Israel lobby continues to be felt,” Oborne said at the time.

Channel Four’s website alluded to what the report sums up as “shady characters, with financial influence, underhand tactics and treacherous goals.”

This message was repeated, the report shows, in The Guardian’s news story about the program – titled “Pro-Israel lobby group bankrolling Conservatives, film claims.”

The report also highlights how a medieval accusation, claiming that Jews steal children in order to use their blood, was also revived and frequently used last year in accusations that Jews and Israelis steal body parts. The London-based but Iranian-run Press TV revived the blood libel charge, according to the CST document.

One of the Press TV stories begins with the sentence: “An international Jewish conspiracy to kidnap children and harvest their organs is gathering momentum as another shock story divulges Israeli plot to harvest organs from Algerian children.”

British media watchdogs, like Adam Levick of CiF Watch, praised the report for bringing to the surface rampant bias against Jews in daily publications.

“The CST report is a shocking indictment of how so-called progressive news outlets such as The Guardian are mainstreaming the type of anti-Jewish hate speech that was once the province of the far-right,” said Levick, whose organization particularly monitors The Guardian’s “Comment is Free” blog.

CST is the only organization in the UK that collects, analyzes and publishes statistics and incidents relating to anti- Semitism, including an annual Anti-Semitic Incidents Report.

CST’s publishes an annual Anti-Semitic Incidents Report. The 2009 report, published in February, showed a record high number of incidents in one year since records began in 1984.