The chareidi community in North London's Stamford Hill has
been forced to organize a special neighborhood watch program
following a series of antisemitic attacks in the chareidi
neighborhood while at the same time ceremonies are held
throughout Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of the
liberation of Auschwitz. The European press is filled with
stories and photographs of the horrific annihilation of the
Jews. Each newspaper claims it is publishing exclusive
photographs and testimonies never heard before.
A wall engraved with the names of all 76,000 French Holocaust
victims was unveiled this week in Paris. Thousands of family
members packed the narrow street alongside the wall in the
Jewish quarter in Mara, searching for the names of their
loved ones and complaining that antisemitism continues. "With
no grave, at least they have emerged from the anonymity the
Nazis decreed against them," said one Holocaust survivor of
the list of names. But the wall does not appear to have any
effect. In fact antisemitism seems to be on the rise in the
streets. Arab and Muslim organizations instigate against the
events and demand Europe also mark the so-called "holocaust"
against the Palestinians. As usual when the Holocaust is
discussed the attack rate increases.
Eight Jews have been attacked in Stamford Hill in recent
weeks. Last Friday London police announced they had arrested
a youth suspected of organizing attacks as the head of a
Pakistani gang incited by virulent sermons at an integrated
mosque.
"We do not want to be called guards but community defense,"
Dovid Berger told The Times. "Within a matter of
seconds we can bring in 20-30 people to the scene of the
crime." Despite complaints neither patrol cars or policemen
are to be seen in the neighborhood.
According to eyewitnesses the gangsters arrive in the
neighborhood in a green Volkswagen, stop alongside one or two
Jews, beat them while issuing antisemitic slurs and doing
Nazi salutes and then flee. Two of their victims were
hospitalized with serious injuries. According to The
Times, fear now prevails in the neighborhood, which until
now was quiet based on agreements between the Jewish and
Pakistani communities. "The Jews look over their shoulders
when they leave the beis knesses on the corner of
Kyverdale Road and Cazenove Street. They don't go out in the
evenings and don't ride the buses." One Jew says his uncle
was beaten outside his home. "One of them got out of the car,
shouted hello and landed a punch to his face. The violence is
more concentrated than in the past and everyone is
afraid."
Berger says the police ignore the attacks, choosing not to
intervene. Hackney Borough Police Commander Simon Fontaine
merely said he "understands the concern in the community,
whose residents stand out due to their religion." The
newspapers also remain silent despite the pages they devote
to covering the liberation of Auschwitz and the testimonies
of survivors. The Times was the only newspaper in
England to report the attacks are not restricted to the
Jewish neighborhood, but have spread to outlying towns where
Jewish cemeteries are desecrated one after another.
The Jewish community's security division reports an increase
in antisemitism. Tension in the Middle East, the venomous
incitement by imams in mosques and the emergence of the
extreme right all contribute to the upsurge in violence
against Jews, says a spokesman for the Jewish community in
London. The scandal resulting from Prince Harry's appearance
at a party dressed in a Nazi uniform adds to an atmosphere
that fosters attacks. Following the incident the British
Foreign Minister decided to interrupt his efforts to secure
an agreement with the mullahs in Teheran over uranium
production to travel to a ceremony in Auschwitz to atone for
the prank.
According to The Times Labor activists are waging
attacks against the Conservative leadership with antisemitic
undercurrents in order to win the votes of the Muslim
communities who abandoned Labor because of the war in Iraq.
Conservative Party Chairman Michael Howard, Finance Minister
Olivier Latvin and Lord Stashi, all three Jews, are the
targets of antisemites from the left-wing of Labor who attack
Prime Minister Blair's staff as Jews who led him to wage war
against the Arabs. Energy Secretary O'Brian called on the
Muslims to vote Labor by presenting Howard as "a Jew who will
do nothing for the sake of Palestine."
According to a poll by the Jewish Chronicle one in
five British voters would not vote for a Jewish prime
minister and one in seven believes the dimensions of the
Holocaust are exaggerated. The British Muslim Council, which
represents one million Muslims, wrote a letter to Interior
Minister Clark saying the Jews are not the only ones to
suffer from racism and a Holocaust and announcing they would
not honor an invitation by the government to participate in
events marking 60 years since the liberation of Auschwitz if
"the holocaust of the Palestinian Intifadah is not included."
Clark expressed understanding for their arguments but said he
would not respond to the Muslims' claims in order to avoid
antagonizing the Jewish community.
