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Army investigates after 101st Airborne chaplains seem to obstruct on-post worship for Jewish soldiers and their families

Ranking Chaplains for the 101st Airborne Division have allegedly dismissed Jewish leaders who have historically led Shabbat and festival services for Jewish soldiers on post.

No explanation was given for the dismissal, but it has left Jewish soldiers without religious services for themselves and their families. The chaplains also refused to support arrangements for a first-night Passover Seder as it conflicted with Christian celebrations.

Jeanette Mize served, with her family, as a lay leader for the services, but they were allegedly dismissed without explanation. Mize said that her family had “faithfully provided weekly Shabbat and yearly religious worship events since 1999” and that “this is the first time in at least 34 years that the Jewish soldiers and their families have been denied weekly Shabbat worship at Fort Campbell”.

Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation was alerted by Mize of what had transpired, and subsequently contacted the division’s chief of staff. A “15-6” investigation has since been launched, a serious measure which indicates a genuine commitment to getting to the bottom of what has happened and responding to it appropriately. Weinstein has suggested that the investigation is a sign that the relevant people are taking the issue seriously.

Whilst other religious groups can easily worship in the surrounding area, there is not a Synagogue nearby for Jewish personnel to attend. Jewish soldiers were allegedly told that they had to celebrate Passover on the wrong date to have the backing of the chaplaincy.

Weinstein commented that “when you say that some of the most senior military chaplains can’t even observe Jewish faith practices because it would be offensive to their religious views, it doesn’t get much worse than that, except when you tell them that if they want the base chaplains to support Passover, they have to choose a day that isn’t Passover”.

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Hundreds march with former SS officers in Latvia, one arrested

Police have arrested a Latvian man for displaying a poster of Nazi soldiers murdering Jews. The man displayed the poster during an annual march held by the remnants of two SS Divisions who formed the Latvian Division during WW2, euphemistically termed the “Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires”.

Latvian Nazis formed the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS and the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS. Latvia is the only country that still publicly honours those who contributed to the Nazi war effort and the Holocaust.

The march has gained popularity this year, with ultra-nationalist Latvians looking to Nazism in the context of growing tensions with Russia.

Protesters from Latvia Without Fascism staged a demonstration against the march, in which hundreds of Latvians marched with a handful of Nazi soldiers, with locals lining the streets to offer former Nazi soldiers flowers. Aleksejs Saripovs of Latvia Without Fascism said that “it’s a disgrace that this is happening in Europe. The European Union needs to pressure Latvia into abandoning this shameful event, but so far there is total silence”.

Advocates for the march have peddled historical inaccuracies about the divisions, including asserting that they were not involved in the perpetration of the Holocaust. In reality, they assisted in the extermination of 70,000 of Latvia’s Jews.

 

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Ukrainian General calls to “destroy” Jews, saying “go to hell K*kes”

Vasily Vovk, a retired general in Ukraine who still holds a senior rank in the security services, has posted a particular virulent antisemitic rant on his Facebook, which has since been deleted.

He wrote that Ukrainian Jews “aren’t Ukrainians and I will destroy you”. He also threatened to “destroy” a senior Jewish lawmaker.

“I’m telling you one more time – go to hell, zhidi [kikes], the Ukrainian people have had it to here with you” he continued.

He also said that “Ukraine must be governed by Ukrainian”.

These represent some of the most ugly antisemitic attitudes imaginable. Not only is him singling out a Ukrainian lawmaker alongside Jews an indication that he believes that Jews have been wielding influence over politics, as well as his statement that Ukrainians “have had it to here with you”, but also his statement that Jews aren’t Ukrainians is reminiscent of both the worst of medieval persecutions, and of Nazism.

We have been at the forefront of documenting the rising antisemitism in Ukraine, which has involved a revival of ultra-Nationalism which reveres many figures who collaborated with the Nazis, attacks upon Jews, Jewish religious sites, and those who defend the rights of Jews, and pressure from nationalists resulting in criminal proceedings being brought against a Jewish war hero who killed Nazis.

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New Greek aerospace Vice President previously published article claiming “Jewish people want to undermine the world”

Hellenic Aerospace Industry has appointed Babis Papaspyros as its Vice President. In 2010, Papaspyros reblogged a far-right blog entitled “How Jewish people want to undermine the world via multiculturalism”. The article suggested that the Jews have acquired the power to kill “thousands of Palestinians” while they remain unpunished and accuse “their enemies” of antisemitism. At the end of the blog post was a video by notorious antisemitic conspiracy theorist David Duke. Papaspyros is close to Greece’s Minister of Defense, Panos Kammenos and is reported to have been appointed to his new role by Greece’s Finance Minister.

Source: Ενάντια στον αντισημιτισμό

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Algerian military marching song: “Turn your guns towards the Jews in order to kill them”

MEMRI has brought to light an Algerian military marching song which commands its soldiers to kill Jews. In a marching drill of the Algerian National Gendarmerie, the soldiers chant: “Turn your guns towards the Jews…in order to kill them…slaughter them…and skin them.” The video was posted online on 1st November 2015 to mark Algeria’s Revolution Day, but the post did not state when the video was filmed.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wbLIs0lren0

Source: MEMRI