From left, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, U.S. Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen and Rabbi Marvin Hier announce release of The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s 2015 Top Ten Worst Global Anti-Semitic/Anti-Israel Incidents. (Submitted photo)
Anti-Semitism sadly reared its ugly head numerous times throughout the world in 2015.
“2015 was a disastrous year for anti-Semitism, across Europe, on our nation’s campuses, online and beyond,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a human rights organization.
Cooper and Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the organization, were joined by U.S. Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Miami) at a recent press conference at Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center to announce the release of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s 2015 Top Ten Worst Global Anti-Semitic/Anti-Israel Incidents.
This compiled list is available at wiesenthal.com. The top item on this list is “Inspiring San Bernardino terrorist’s hate.” Sayed Farook, father of the man accused of killing 14 at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California last month, validates his son’s hatred for Jews in an interview with La Stampa even while attempting to dissuade him from acting out violently.
“The shooter in San Bernardino grew up in a home led by a father who himself is an anti-Semite,” declared Hier. ” It clearly influenced the young man whose hate was transformed into terrorist deeds…It is time to give a name, a source to much of today’s hatred of Jews — it is Islamic Fundamentalism…it is past time for moderate Muslims to speak out against this hatred. It has been left unnamed by the Obama Administration; left unnamed and unchallenged it will only grow.”
The rest of this list includes, in order:
•ISIS. A video shows a knife-wielding ISIS fighter stands near two masked gunmen as a narrator announces that the war against Jews “will soon be launched, God willing.”
•European Union. The European Union’s labeling of products from the Golan Heights and disputed territories on the West Bank, but ignoring the products of other disputed territories such as Western Sahara, Kashmir, Tibet and from areas controlled by terrorist Hamas and Hezbollah typifies anti-Israelism.
•U.S. Campuses. According to a Trinity College/Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law survey, more than 50 percent of 1,157 self-identified Jewish students at 55 campuses reported having been subjected to or having witnessed anti-Semitism on their campuses.
•Palestinian Authority/UNRWA. The United Nations‘ acknowledges that at least 22 Palestinian employees of the UNRWA (U.N. Palestinian relief agency), including some teachers, openly encouraged and celebrated the knifing and shooting attacks against “Jewish apes and pigs.”
•Iran. Iranian Officials in Tehran announced a 2016 Holocaust Cartoon contest, expected to draw entries from 50 countries.
•Europe: Culture & Sports. A music festival in Spain tried to cancel the performance of American Jewish rapper Matisyahu because he wouldn’t sign a pledge supporting the Palestinian State. In June, hundreds of Bosnian soccer fans rioted outside a hotel where Israel’s national football team was staying.
•UK Jeremy Corbyn, British Labour party leader, and Gerald Kaufman, Labour MP. Corbyn has called Hamas and Hezbollah his “friends,” received funding from a promoter of anti-Israel violence and donated to Holocaust denier Paul Eisen’s charity.
•Kuwait. CNN reported that on Dec. 15, Kuwait Airlines informed the U.S. Department of Transportation that they will stop service between JFK and London after U.S. authorities threatened legal action against the airline for its refusal to sell a ticket to Eldat Gatt, an Israeli citizen.
•Poland. A demonstration against accepting Syrian refugees in Wroclaw morphed into a vicious anti-Semitic display when dozens of demonstrators began burning stereotypic effigies of ultra-orthodox Jews. Also, pro-ISIS, Holocaust denying, Hitler-praising, anti-Semitic graffiti was painted at the Jewish cemetery in Sochaczew, Poland in December.
Cooper said in an interview regarding this list’s release: “We hope to inspire people of responsibility and members of our own community to understand the nature of our threats and roll up our sleeves and deal with it.”
Cooper said that in today’s world with the Internet, including social media, everyone can be a frontline player in terms of combating anti-Semitism and anti-Israel incidents.
“You can be in Fort Lauderdale, or you can be Seattle, or you can be in Galilee, or anywhere around the world. When you see something that’s anti-Semitic or anti-Israel, you can do something about it,” he explained.” You can send us the link atireport@wiesenthal.com. You can notify the Wiesenthal Center, other groups.”
Cooper also said the organization was very grateful that Ros-Lehtinen was able to attend the conference and lend her “important” voice to the effort. Ros-Lehtinen spoke at the conference and stated that earlier in 2015, the House passed a resolution that she and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Boca Raton) authored to condemn anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement from within the Palestinian Authority.
“There should be no doubt that the Palestinian Authority sets the tone with its incitement, resulting in the recent wave of attacks that we’re seeing against innocent civilians,” Ros-Lehtinen stated. “The Palestinian Authority’s anti-Israel incitement is causing tension, violence, and terror. This must no longer be tolerated.”
Originally published HERE.
