Jewish groups call on EU leaders to prevent Jerusalem sparked ‘intifada’

By TAMARA ZIEVE
Updated: DECEMBER 10, 2017 13:05
Screenshot of AT5 site with video of Palestinian man attacking Kosher resturant in Amsterdam (photo credit: screenshot)
Screenshot of AT5 site with video of Palestinian man attacking Kosher resturant in Amsterdam
(photo credit: screenshot)
The European Jewish Congress called it "highly morally objectionable" that voices in the continent were blaming increased attack on Jews on the US' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Leading Jewish groups spoke out on the issue after a Swedish synagogue was firebombed on Saturday and protests in other European cities against the Jerusalem declaration included antisemitic chants.
Sveriges Radio reported that some demonstrators at the Swedish rally in Malmo chanted: “We have announced the intifada from Malmö. We want our freedom back, and we will shoot the Jews.”
Police is seen at the site of an attack near a synagogue in Gothenburg, Sweden December 9, 2017 / TT NEWS AGENCY/ADAM IHSE/VIA REUTERS
Police is seen at the site of an attack near a synagogue in Gothenburg, Sweden December 9, 2017 / TT NEWS AGENCY/ADAM IHSE/VIA REUTERS
“It is unconscionable that Jews are under attack on the streets of Europe, whether by terrorists hurling Molotov cocktails or openly and brazenly calling for the mass murder of Jews in Malmo, Vienna and Paris,” EJC President Dr. Moshe Kantor said.
“We call on European governments to take strong punitive action against those who perpetrated these acts and call for the immediate arrest of anyone who makes anyone making murderous chants,” Kantor added.
Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Yaakov Hagoel also released a statement saying: "After President Trump's announcement last week that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, some see it as a cause for a new wave of anti-Semitism."
Hagoel criticized European leaders for evading responsibility on the matter and called on Swedish Prime Minister Stephen Leven to condemn the incidents and to protect Jewish holy sites.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center too denounced the Swedish government for their “serial refusal to act against anti-Semitism.”
In a statement from Jerusalem, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Associate Dean said: “now the world witnesses 20 hooded terrorists firebomb a synagogue in Gothenburg, where Jewish youngsters inside barely escaped injury or death- what more will it take for this democracy to finally deploy the full weight of their law enforcement and judicial powers against anti-Semites and provide full protection for its Jewish citizens?”
Addressing the racist chants heard in Malmo, he noted that the Simon Wiesenthal Center put Malmö on its Travel Advisory list years ago "because local authorities refused to protect the local Rabbi and other Jews subjected to constant threats."
"Apparently authorities are not moved when the screams of ‘we will shoot the Jews’ echo on the streets of Sweden’s third largest city”, Cooper concluded.
On Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump's announcement, a man wearing a Palestinian flag smashed the windows of a kosher restaurant in Amsterdam, and took an Israeli flag from the restaurant.
Reacting to the incident, World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer said: “Anti-Semitism is raising its ugly head across Europe once again on both the right and the left, among pro-Jihadists, anti-Zionists, and neo-Nazis as one. There can be no tolerance for any anti-Semitic violence or hate speech. The World Jewish Congress stands firmly with the Organization of Jewish Communities in The Netherlands in its vigilant efforts to ensure the security and well-being of all of its members. No Jew should ever have to live in fear or danger.”
 
Ruben Vis, director of the NIK – Organization of Jewish Communities, expressed his horror over the incident, saying, “With this wrong-doing the entire Jewish community is affected. Jews in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, must be able to cherish their identity in safety.”