Holocaust denial cases up 77 percent in Canada
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada rose by 3.7 percent in 2012, and Holocaust denial rose 77 percent, an annual audit revealed.
The report released by the League for Human Rights of B’nai B’rith Canada showed that there were 1,345 anti-Semitic incidents in Canada in 2012, up from 1,297 in 2011.
The analysis highlighted several regional anomalies, with the number of anti-Semitic incidents rising by 25 percent in Canada’s three most western provinces. Also, in the Québec province (excluding the city of Montreal), there was a four-fold increase.
“We are particularly concerned about this year’s findings of increased participation in these incidents by perpetrators self-identifying as Muslims who are apparently supportive of Islamist ideologies of hate and violence,” Frank Dimant, the CEO of B’nai B’rith Canada, said. “But we are encouraged by the many Muslims with whom we work closely, who are prepared to expose anti-Semitism in their community.”
Dimant said the audit showed an overall decrease in vandalism and violence, but a 10.6 percent increase in harassment incidents.
“Jews were targeted in their homes and at their workplaces, on their way to synagogue or returning from school,” Dimant said. “The language has moved from ‘F**k the Jews’ to ‘Kill the Jews,’ with Holocaust denial cases soaring by 77 percent and threats becoming more ugly, explicit and open.”
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U.S. shifts view on Syrian chemical weapons
(JNS.org) The United States now believes that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons against rebel forces, corroborating with an earlier Israeli intelligence assessment.
“Our intelligence community does assess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin,” White House aide Miguel Rodriguez wrote in letters to Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ), the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Wall Street Journal reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Chuck Hagel also confirmed this shift while touring the Middle East.
“The intelligence community has been assessing information for some time on this issue,” Hagel said, USA Today reported. “The decision to make this conclusion was reached in the last 24 hours.”
Earlier this week, the head of the Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence Research Branch, Brig. Gen. Itay Baron, said that the Syrian government used lethal chemical weapons, mainly sarin gas, against armed rebels several times in the past few weeks, and is continuing to do so.
Additional American allies, namely Great Britain and France, also believe Assad’s regime used chemical weapons.
President Barack Obama has previously said that Assad’s use of chemical weapons would be a “red line” for his administration, possibly triggering U.S. military action.
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Suspected Hezbollah drone intercepted by IDF
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used F-16s and Israel Air Force helicopters to shoot down a drone approaching the coast of the northern city of Haifa from Lebanon on Thursday. The Hezbollah terrorist organization is suspected of sending the drone. After shooting the drone down at about 6,000 feet, the IDF navy searched for its wreckage in the water.
The IDF said in a statement on the incident that it “thwarted the penetration of an unmanned aircraft into Israeli territory.” The Times of Israel, citing a military source, reported that drone “was apparently sent by Hezbollah.”
“Shortly after 1 p.m. a drone was identified as it was flying north to south along the Lebanese coastline,” the IDF said Thursday, according to Yedioth Ahronoth. “The air defense system tracked it for (several) minutes while it was still in Lebanese territory, and it was under surveillance throughout its flight until the interception. IAF planes were scrambled, as were combat helicopters, after it was determined that the aircraft was not friendly, and certainly not (an Israeli) aircraft. The Air Force commander authorized the interception.”
Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon told Army Radio, “We’re talking about another attempt by Hezbollah to send an unmanned drone into Israeli territory.” The IDF, however, has not yet confirmed Hezbollah’s involvement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, “I see this attempt to cross into Israeli territory as a very serious issue. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure the citizens of Israel remain safe.”
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EU Parliament cancels Iran visit
(JNS.org) A European Parliament trip to Iran, which was criticized by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for going forward despite Iran’s refusal to allow the parliament’s delegation to meet with two human rights prizewinners, has been canceled.
Tarja Cronberg of Finland, the chair of the parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iran, said in a statement, “it has proved impossible for the Majlis to receive the delegation from the European Parliament on the dates proposed [May 2-6].”
In 2012, Iranian Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi were awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. At that time, a planned European Parliament delegation visit to Iran was canceled because the Iranian government refused to let the delegation meet with the two winners and give them their prize. This time around, the European Parliament had dropped the requirement to meet with the two winners, allowing the visit to take place without the meeting, before the eventual cancelation.
“The simple fact is this trip should never have been considered in the first place,” Daniel Schwammenthal, director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute, said in a statement. “The mere suggestion of a desire to visit Iran only emboldens its repressive leadership and weakens those struggling for freedom. That is counter to the mission and values of the European Parliament.”
By removing the requirement to meet with the winners, the European Parliament was “completely undermining the powerful human rights message that the award sent to Iran’s oppressive, internationally isolated leadership,” Schwammenthal previously said.
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Israel’s President Shimon Peres to visit Pope Francis
(JNS.org) Israeli President Shimon Peres will visit Pope Francis I at the Vatican next week, becoming one of the first heads of state to visit with the new pontiff.
According to a statement from the Israeli President’s office, “Peres will raise the issue of furthering peace and stability in the Middle East, progressing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the common struggle against world poverty, and the deepening of relations between Israel and the Vatican and between Christians and the Jewish people.”
Peres will also meet with Italian leaders and members of Italy’s Jewish community. Peres, a Nobel Laureate, will also be presented with the “Medal of Honor for Peace” by Franciscan monks during a visit to Assisi, the home town of the revered St. Francis of Assisi, who is the current pope’s namesake.
Under Pope Francis’s predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, diplomatic ties between Israel and the Vatican grew substantially. The two states established diplomatic ties in 1993 and recently signed an agreement formalizing their relations and resolving outstanding disputes earlier this year. Peres has already formally invited Pope Francis to visit Israel.
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