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Teacher in Argentine Catholic school told students that “Hitler did some good”, blamed Jews for Holocaust

Denise Yanet Evequoz, a History teacher at a Catholic school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, allegedly taught her students that Hitler “did some good”, whilst spreading antisemitic canards to her students, ultimately blaming Jews for the Holocaust.

Evequoz teaches at the Jesus Maestro High School in Castelar in Western Buenos Aires.

“Jews took advantage of the people who needed money, they loaned the money and then they chased them to get their money back, always with interest. They had the money but they did not help Germany improve. They did not help the people to generate employment nor to create industries. This generated a certain hatred towards Jews” she taught in a lesson in 2015, audio of which has just been released.

“Hitler was demonized, treated like a demon, a kind of anti-Christ, but it was not so … He did good things, such as developing the transport industry, which was destroyed by war, restored employment and took Germany out of hunger”, she continued.

The Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires released a statement in which it says that Evequoz “reproduces anti-Jewish prejudices, vindicates the figure of Hitler and the Nazi regime, and denies his criminal, totalitarian, and genocidal character”, urging the school to discipline her. She has been suspended, but it is not clear whether this is a permanent measure. She has also been reported to the Department of Education.

Evoquoz has refused to apologise for her comments.

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Puerto Rican Newspaper issues tepid “apology” for antisemitic article that claimed Jews control US Government

El Nuevo Dia, a newspaper based in Puerto Rico, has issued an apology after publishing an article that blamed Jews for the lack of American aid to the territory.

The newspaper published an article by Wilda Rodriguez titled “What does ‘the Jew’ want with Puerto Rico?” which argued that the US Government was under Jewish control, suggesting that Congress “will finally do what ‘the Jew’ wants, as they vulgarly call the prototype of true power?”

The column claims to explain “how the Jews control Washington”, adding that Israelis are not shy about “recognizing [that] Jewish power over the United States is no offence. It is the victory of their diaspora”.

In a statement, the Anti-Defamation League said:

“This is not the first time that confronted with an economic crisis Jews are accused of controlling the power and money. Wilma Rodriguez’s column published in your diary follows the worst legacies of anti-Semitic regimes that we would like to have left behind in the 20th century.

“Publishing an article accusing the Jewish people of controlling governments to the detriment of the future of Puerto Rico is practically the definition of antisemitism.”

Indeed, according to the Definition of Antisemitism, “making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions” is antisemitic, and antisemitism “is often used to blame Jews for ‘why things go wrong'”.

In a tepid ‘apology’, Rodriguez wrote that “writing is interpreted as antisemitic…. I can understand the  reaction of some to the mere use of the word Jewish. But the intention is not to provoke offence, but to contribute to public discussion”.

The writer’s ‘apology’ does nothing to address the actual offence that was caused, and seems to place blame upon the Jewish community for being offended by an article which is a blatant expression of classic antisemitism. Instead, it shamelessly suggests that antisemitic conspiracy theories have a place within “public discussion”.

The publisher of the newspaper itself wrote that it “apologizes to the Jewish community and to the rest of our audience that has been offended”, but left the text of the article entirely unchanged and un-retracted.

The ADL re-iterated its initial criticism of the article, stating that it “follows the worst legacies of antisemitic regimes that we would like to have left behind in the 20th century”

 

 

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Everyday Antisemitism Featured Hate Mail Location Medium South America Ξ Channels Ξ E-mail Ξ Social Media

Argentine Jewish author breaks into tears on air when reading antisemitic email

Federico Andhazi, a Jewish-Argentine author and journalist, has broken into tears on air when recounting antisemitic abuse he has received.

The author was speaking on the popular “I give my word” program.

Andhazi began by recounting the story of his grandmother, Esther Fainzilber, who was arrested in 1953 in the Soviet Union when participating a study group, eventually fleeing the country.

He then began to quote pieces of an antisemitic email he received. One passage stated “Jewish Zionist, piece of scourge, not even good enough for poor quality soap”, which he said was just one piece of a long antisemitic email. This is of course a reference to the Holocaust, as soap was manufactured from the remains of many victims.

Andhazi commented:

“This is part of the mail and, really, it is the most readable, I read it because I do not want to keep silent, because when we keep silent, the truth is that it did not go well. They have no chances, democracy is here to stay, we will defend it with tooth and nail, let them know, and also with the words”

“You have to know that we will not be silent. You have to know that we will look for you. With law and justice. We will not be silent and we will not rest. We already know from which server this terrible threat came out. Let the criminals know, yes,  they are criminals, that it will not happen again. I promise in the name of Esther Feinzilber, in the name of my grandfathers, who had to flee their land because of people like them. But I have bad news for them, this time they will not be able to”

A video, in Spanish, can be viewed here.

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Brazil Featured Location Medium Posters South America

Flyers in Brazil claim that “All the Jews are murderers” who should be pushed “out the country”

Deeply antisemitic flyers were placed at a bus station in Esplanada dos Ministérios, Brazil. The street in Brasília is home to many government buildings.

One of the flyers reads “all the Jews are murderers, thugs and criminals. All the Jews. They worship a false religion, all the Jews are terrorists, Jews are crooks. Destroy Israel.”

A second flyer is captioned “out the country” and lists several groups of people, including politicians, journalists and, of course, Jews, continuing that “the earth does not need these margins of society, thieves, robbers, criminals and murderers”.

Calling for the deportation of Jews and unequivocally calling “all” Jews murderers is among the most toxic antisemitic rhetoric that we have to cover. Indeed, saying that the “earth does not need” Jews seems to come close to a call for Genocide. As such, we hope that the police will approach this incident with genuine care and concern.

We have limited information about the incident, or any investigation into it, but will update our coverage when when we have more.

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Brazil Education Everyday Antisemitism Featured Location Medium South America Vandalism Ξ Channels Ξ E-mail Ξ Social Media

“Israel Genocide State” graffiti on Jewish school in Brazil

CFCA has reported that antisemitic graffiti was found on a Jewish school in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The words “Israel Genocide State” and “Free Palestine” were spraypainted on school property.

According to the Definition of Antisemitism, “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel” is antisemitic. The fact that somebody would take out their political frustrations on a Jewish school of all places is extremely worrying. Whatever one thinks about the Israel-Palestine conflict, it should not be taken out on an institution which has as its sole aim educating Jewish children.

Porto Alegre has had a Jewish community since the early Nineteenth Century, and is currently home to over 15,000 Jews.

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Chile Everyday Antisemitism Location Medium South America Verbal Abuse Violence Ξ Channels Ξ E-mail Ξ Social Media

Jewish man slashed repeatedly with knife and beaten by neo-Nazis in Chile

The Chilean Jewish community, alongside with the Integration Movement and Liberation for Homosexuals (Movilh), have condemned an attack committed against a Jewish member of the Sexual Diversity Group.  He was reported to have suffered a range of physical and verbal attacks, for the sole reason of wearing a shirt depicting the flag of Israel.  The victim (Jorge Arce), has issued a statement following the ordeal, describing how his aggressors followed him: shouting profanities and anti-Semitic slurs, which subsequently descended into applications of physical violence, beginning with stone throwing and followed by beatings and slashing’s.

According to the victim, the assailants were wearing items identifying themselves to Neo-Nazism, thus affirming that the motivation for the attack was wholly antisemitic in origin, and clearly indicates that it wasn’t merely related to Zionism, but to the clear link to Jews and Judaism which the attackers would have inferred from the flag. However, even if the attack was merely motivated by his t-shirt, according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel” is antisemitic.

Whilst subjecting the victim to fist punches to the chest, the victim’s arms and legs were exposed and subsequently slashed with a knife, from which he suffered multiple cuts. Jorge Arce remarks that there were “40 marks” on his arms, several of which shall scar permanently; a poignant and harsh reminder of the wholly repugnant behaviour he was subject to, for the sole reason of being a Jew.

Movilh condemned the attack, stating the events “deserve total legal and social sanction” and adding that they will fully back any actions the Jewish community sees fit to take. In response to the event, the Jewish community of Chile have stated “we cannot allow more victims of hate in our country.” The incident has made clear the absolute necessity that attacks carried out on the basis of belief or personal identity are condemned, investigated and punished. Unfortunately, the shocking ordeal inflicted upon Jorge Arce offer a harrowing message to the world that the fight against antisemitism is far from won.

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Wiesenthal Center raises concerns over new Venezuelan Vice President’s ties to Hizbollah

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has raised concerns over Tareck El Aissami’s, the newly made up Vice President of Venezuela’s, ties to Hezbollah, as well as Islamic regimes in the Middle East.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center released a report which expresses concerns that El Aissami “is closely identified with Shiite Iran, the Hizbollah terrorist organization and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s family, whom he apparently hosted in Caracas”.

El-Aissami is also linked by the report, through his links to Iran, to involvement with the 1994 Buenos Aires Jewish Centre bombing, which killed 85 people and injured over 300, as well as to drug and weapon trafficking between Latin America and the Middle East.

The leader of Hizbollah famously said that that “the Jews will gather from all parts of the world into occupied Palestine, not in order to bring about the anti-Christ and the end of the world, but rather that Allah the Glorified and Most High wants to save you from having to go to the ends of the world, for they have gathered in one place–they have gathered in one place–and there the final and decisive battle will take place“.

Despite claims from various people within Hizbollah that the organisation is merely anti-Zionist, and in fact supports the religious rights of Jews, Robert Wistrich’s book “The Fatal Obsession” details how their ideology fuses both political anti-Zionism with historically common, and far more vitriolic, Islamic antisemitism. This includes, but is not limited to, prominent figures within Hizbollah describing Jews as “the grandsons of apes and pigs”, with one official saying “”If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do not say the Israeli”. Jews being described as “weak” or “cowardly” is a common strand of thought in Islamic antisemitism.

Hizbollah has also imported various elements of Western antisemitism into its ideology, with Hassan Nasrallah allegedly claiming that “Jews invented the legend of the Nazi atrocities”, and saying that it is evident from the Quran “what they did to the prophets”, invoking the common Christian claim that the Jews are collectively responsible for killing Jesus. Both of these claims are those which we may more readily associate with the far right than with far left or Islamic antisemitism.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is thus rightly concerned that the promotion of an individual with close ties to such a group could lead to a worsening situation for the country’s Jews. Hugo Chavez had a long record of making antisemitic statements, and whilst some of these were clearly related to his ideological opposition to Zionism, some demonstrated the characteristics of traditional antisemitism, with him at one point describing Jews as “the descendants of the same ones that crucified Christ”. When challenged about his antisemitism, Chavez went so far as to say that such claims were “part of an imperialist campaign”.

The relationship between Socialist Venezuela and Islamic antisemitism in the Middle East is a complex one. The country may well feel that, in a part of the world in which left wing governments are particularly concerned about the possibility of opposition or interference from America, they must form alliances elsewhere in the world. Unfortunately, in this case it clearly has led to what CAA Chairman Gideon Falter has described as a combining of “the strains of far-right antisemitism, far-left antisemitism and Islamist antisemitism into one super-resistant antisemitic ideology that is almost invulnerable to the usual social immune defences of reason and opprobrium”.

There is a clear risk that El-Aissami may, as  Dr. Ariel Gelblung of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre says “transform antisemitism into state policy and further the transplantation of the Middle East conflict to South America”. Though there have been efforts to protect Venezuela’s Jewish Community, with El-Aissami having been Justice Minister when the Government was forced to reassure the Jewish community following the desecration of Synagogues in 2009, his links to extremism, and to the 1994 attack in Buenos Aires in particular, are extremely worrying for the Jewish community in the country and must be addressed by the Government to convince international observers that Venezuela will be provide safety for its Jews.

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Jewish man told that Hitler should have killed all the Jews in Brazilian airport

A young, Jewish, Brazilian man was the victim of a verbal anti-Semitic attack at Rio De Janiero airport, in October.

Leo Rabinovitsch, 20, was checking in to an Anitalia flight to Tel Aviv via Rome, with his mother, when allegedly he was accosted by Fabrizo Trichero, an Italian passenger who hurled anti-Semitic abuse at him. Seeing Rabinovitsch’s kippah, Trinchero made the Nazi salute at him, and screamed that Hitler should have exterminated all the Jews.

Rabinovitsch, whose only crime was being Jewish was shocked by the outburst. “Such offensive and sudden aggression was totally unexpected,” he told JTA. “He was fuelled by much hatred. He said he didn’t like either Jews or Muslims, and that Jews owned the World Bank.” Conspiracy theories such as these are common, and fuel anti-Semitism.

The incident at Antonio Carlos Jobim Airport, was reportedly witnessed by a number of staff and fellow passengers, whose presence potentially prevented this attack from turning violent.

Fabrizio Trinchero was released after paying a $600 bail following his arrest.

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“Dogs” graffiti in Mexico City Synagogue, organised hate group may be to blame

The Agudat Ahim Synagogue in Mexico City has been broken into and vandalised twice in the past week.

In one of the incidents, vandals broke in and smashed tables, chairs and windows, and spraypainted “blasphemous” words in the Synagogue, as well as the word “Perros” – meaning dogs. Of course, any instance of calling a group of people dogs is dehumanising and to be condemned, but it must also be noted that comparing Jews to animals has been a constant feature of antisemitism for hundreds of years.

There was also a form of “Anarchy” symbol. That an anti-establishment symbol would come to be used in an attack upon a Synagogue is extremely telling, as it demonstrates that Jews are associated with the establishment, which potential betrays an underlying conspiracy theory mindset as one of the motives of the attacks.

Representatives believe that the attacks have been perpetrated by an organised group whose express goal it is to intimidate the Jewish community.

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Argentina: students attend club dressed as Nazis, abuse and attack Jews

Reports have circulated that several high school students in Argentina attended a club with Hitler mustaches and swastikas painted on them and wearing leathers. They attend a school in Lanus, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

The club was also host to several Jewish students from an ORT High School.

A mother of one of the Jewish boys spoke to Rádio Latina saying:

“at a certain point in the night, young people came wearing swastikas and had painted-on Hitler mustaches…my son and his friends complained and asked that they be taken out, but all the club management did was demand that the mustaches be washed off and that the swastikas be removed”

“They all ended up fighting, and everyone was kicked out of the club – not just the aggressors”

According to the Telegraph, the students who were dressed as Nazis also shouted “f*cking Jews” and “proudly” showed off their Nazi imagery when they realised there were Jewish students present.

Families of the Jewish students have condemned the club, saying that no students bearing Nazi imagery should have been allowed in in the first place.

Ariel Cohen Sabban, head of the Delegaiton of Argentine Jewish Associations, said that he would be happy to meet with the club’s manager, and commented:

 

“It’s neither a joke nor a grace. These symbols reflect an ideology which culminated in the assassination of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis. If these kids are older than 16, then these kids could be sentenced to between a month to three years in prison for their actions, as this is a crime in Argentina. We have to be alert because we are beginning new hot beds of anti-Semitism…the state’s drive to combat this phenomenon, specifically through education, is very important”.

The event occurred in the resort of San Carlos de Bariloche, which is in the Andes. The town was a hiding place to several Nazis after the conclusion of World War Two, including Erich Priebke, and several conspiracy theories hold that Hitler and Eva Braun survived and secretly fled their after the war.

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Venezuelan publication accuses “Rabbis” of manipulating economy

On August 12th, a Venezuelan weekly magazine called “The Truths of Miguel” published an antisemitic cover story.

The popular magazine’s cover featured an image of a Haredi Jewish man with a Star of David made from a banknote, titled “The Rabbis of Cadavi”, which references the government institution which deals with currency exchange, which implicitly accuses Jewish leaders of economic collusion. At a time of economic uncertainty for Venezuela, this amounts to using Jews as a scapegoat for economic troubles.

The editor of the magazine also writes that currencies are being manipulated by companies “that belong to citizens of Israelite origin”.

The head of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt writes:

“For several years, we have seen anti-Semitic accusations and themes appear in Venezuelan public discourse,”

“This shockingly graphic manifestation of anti-Semitic imagery on full display on Venezuelan newsstands is unacceptable and repulsive.”

“At a time when all of Venezuela feels the impact of a serious economic hardship, this magazine cover not only feeds into base, age-old anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews and unscrupulous behavior towards money, but dangerously points the finger at Jews for taking advantage of this crisis and deepening the economic instability for their benefit”

 

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Everyday Antisemitism Uruguay Violence Ξ E-mail

Jewish man stabbed to death in Uruguay by man shouting “Allahu Akbar”

David Fremd, a 54-year-old local businessman, was stabbed to death in Paysandu, Uruguay, yesterday and his son was also injured.

Fremd was a local representative of the Uruguayan Jewish community. He was married with three sons.

A 35-year-old man with a criminal record, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” before stabbing him, the local El Pais newspaper said. Police arrested him.

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Brazil Everyday Antisemitism Newspaper Ξ E-mail

Major Brazilian newspaper brands new Israeli ambassador “the Jew”

One of the most prominent newspapers in Brazil, O Globo, published in Rio de Janeiro, has covered a diplomatic spat between Israel and Brazil by calling Israel’s proposed new ambassador to Brazil “the Jew”.

An article on O Globo’s website is headlined “Experts opine on the appointment of the Jew Danny Dayan as an ambassador to Brazil” (Especialistas opinam sobre indicação do judeu Dani Dayan para embaixador no Brasil).

Source: CFCA/NRG

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Costa Rican demonstrators shout “Jews sons of bitches” and “Murdering Jews”

Anti-Israel demonstrators in San José, Costa Rica, chanted antisemitic slogans, including: “Jews sons of bitches” and “Murdering Jews” at a group of Jews and non-Jews who were rallying to call for peace in Israel.

Photo: CFCA

Source: CFCA

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KKK-inspired posters in Brazil warn that Jews and others will be hunted down

Posters inspired by the Ku Klax Klan have been found in Niterói, Brazil. The posters threaten “communists, homosexuals, Jews, Muslims, blacks, antifascists, drug dealers, pedophiles and anarchists.” One poster said: “We will hunt anyone who wishes to hurt our country and its citizens. We have been working in the shadows more than you, so don’t underestimate what you don’t know.”

Photo: Rodrigo Mondego