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French tax system deliberately employs “extreme discrimination” against Jews, says expert

French tax expert and leading Advocate Itay Bracha has expressed his dismay over new French tax measures designed to subject French Jews, both those residing domestically and those emigrating to Israel, to a disproportionate level of scrutiny. Bracha has stated he knows of no similar regime anywhere else in the world.

The new department already employs 20 Hebrew-speaking staff and is in the process of hiring more.

Ostensibly US tax authorities have a similar department, but whilst the purpose of the US department is to regulate movements of capital between the US and Israel, the French department has been established with the primary aim of subjecting Jews to a greater level of scrutiny for tax offences than non-Jews.

Bracha described the department as constituting “extreme discrimination”, commenting:

“I know of no similar department to the one founded in France, and certainly not with that number of employees. There is a special department in the US because of the need for direct communication with the authorities in Israel, and taking into account the volume of trade between Israel and the US, but the main purpose is absolutely not to catch tax evaders.” Bracha added, “Such a department, which constitutes extreme discrimination against Jews in France, does violence to equality between different citizens. Establishing such a department is an unacceptable statement by the authorities in France, and puts the Jewish community in a very unflattering spotlight”.

A European nation subjecting Jews to extra legal scrutiny comes with worrying connotations, not only being eerily evocative of the centuries of legal persecution of Jews in Europe, but in that it seems to evoke antisemitic canards about Jews being conniving and miserly with money. The tacit expression of these sentiments is bad enough, but their writing into national tax policy in breach of the basic principles upon which western nations are founded is unconscionable. This comes at a time when French Jews are perpetually failed by their government by its impotence against rising antisemitism, which has been driving French Jews out of the country at an alarming rate. This visits upon French Jews the double indignity of being gradually pushed from their homes by escalating antisemitism whilst they are subjected to disproportionate scrutiny from their government.

 

 

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German Court rules that attempt to set fire to Synagogue amounts to criticism of Israel

A Court in the German city Wuppertall upheld a previous decision that the attempt to burn a Synagogue was merely an act of protest against Israel’s actions in the 2014 Gaza War.

The attempted arson was committed by three German Palestinians during the 2014 War. They hurled Molotov cocktails through the windows of the Shul.

The court of first instance said that the acts were an attempt to bring “attention to the Gaza conflict”, and did not constitute antisemitism.

31-year-old Mohamad E., the 26 year-old Ismail A. and the 20-year-old Mohammad A. were given suspended sentences.

Wuppertal’s Synagogue was destroyed during the 1939 Nazi pogrom Kristallnacht, and the new building suffered 800 Euros of damage from the attack.

Thankfully, nobody was hurt in this arson attack, and the alert was raised by a boy who saw the flames from his house.

Volker Beck said that the judgment was in error, saying the “attack on the synagogue was motivated by antisemitism”, asking “what do Jews in Germany have to do with the Middle East conflict? Every bit as much as Christians, non-religious people or Muslims in Germany, namely, absolutely nothing. The ignorance of the judiciary toward antisemitism is for many Jews in Germany especially alarming”

Mr Beck is entirely correct in his analysis. The International Definition of Antisemitism states that “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel”. It is beyond belief that an attempt to set fire to a Synagogue has been minimised as merely “criticism of Israel” by a Court of Law. If even arson attacks against Jewish communal buildings can be passed off as just a case of political protest taken too far, then almost all antisemitism can be minimised as related to Israel in some way. This incident thus shows the urgent need for Western Governments and their institutions to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism, which we have been pressuring for for a long time, and to ensure that it is understood and applied consistently.

You can read the International Definition of Antisemitism here.

 

 

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French Embassy reinstates “Hitler didn’t finish the job” employee

The French embassy in Tunisia has allowed a worker to resume their duties after antisemitic comments were posted on their Facebook page.

Selim Dakhlaoui was suspended in August after comments surfaced that had been made in his name.

These comments included “Hitler didn’t finish the job”, said in the context of a discussion about Israel. He also allegedly posted “Soon it will be the end of Israel” with a missile emoji and “Go to hell, Israel”.

He later claimed that his account had been compromised. The JTA has just revealed that he was reinstated after an investigation.

Online antisemitism is absolutely rampant, and Dakhlaoui’s claim that his account has been compromised will seem like a get out of jail free card to Jewish communities in France, and the tiny number left in Tunisia, who are unlikely to be convinced by such a defence.

The CRIF, which represents Jewish communities in France, commented on the initial allegations: “This is a hateful comment, just like the ones we see too often on social media…except this one was authored by an employee of the embassy of France in Tunisia. We anxiously await their reaction!”

We cannot help but think that many Jewish communities will be saddened and disappointed, albeit not necessarily surprised by such a reaction. Employers and states must start to find ways to deal with online antisemitism of this sort, as unless they do so, almost anyone will be able to avoid disciplinary action simply by denying authorship of a post on their own account.

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Former Corbyn adviser claims that staffer referred to “Jewish conspiracy”, faced “inquisition” into Jewish background

Josh Simons, a former adviser to Jeremy Corbyn, has further fueled the Labour Party’s antisemitism row by making further claims of antisemitism to the Sunday Times

Mr Simons claims that Seumas Milne, Corbyn’s director of strategy, subjected him to a “rant” about Israel, as well as an “inquisition” into Simons’ Jewish background and views about Israel. The EUMC definition of antisemitism states that it is antisemitic to hold Jews “collectively responsible for the actions of the State of Israel”.

Milne has previously justified Hamas terrorism by saying “it isn’t terrorism to fight back”.

Mr Simons also claims that Mr Corbyn prepared for his meeting with the Board of Deputies of British Jews with “flippant disdain”.

He claims that another member of Mr Corbyn’s team referred to a “Jewish conspiracy”.

Mr Simons adds that Corbyn’s staff have “at least a blind spot with anti-semitism and at worst a willful disregard for it”.

A friend of Mr Simons adds that he was “bitterly disappointed” that evidence he gave to the Chakrabati was not included in her report.

A Corbyn spokesman has dismissed Mr Simons as a “disgruntled former member of staff”.

The Guardian has also revealed that Mr Corbyn’s campaign allegedly took a £10,000 donation from Friends of Al-Aqsa, an organisation whose founder has expressed support for the proscribed terrorist group Hamas. The revelation has prompted condemnation both from within the Labour party and from counter-terrorism watchdogs.

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Norwegian bank apologises for antisemitic credit card

Norwegian bank DNB issued a credit card featuring the centuries-old antisemitic caricature of a hook-nosed Jew, wearing a kippah and a prayer shawl, rejoicing against the backdrop of gold coins, symbolising obsession with money. Following a complaint, the bank issued an apology: “We have been notified about a picture of a Visa card issued by us, with an anti-Semitic drawing of a Jew and found out that this was produced due to a system we have where clients can upload their own pictures and get them printed on their card. We have, however, strict guidelines for what kind of pictures that are allowed, and this control is manual. Unfortunately, our manual controls have failed in this particular case, and we are deeply sorry for that. This card should never have been printed. We will contact the client, block the card and issue a new neutral card to the customer. Please note that this is not a mass produced card, and the picture has been deleted from our system. We are very sorry for this, and hope you can convey our answer if you get questions about this.”