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Situation Report

A representative list of some of the anti-Semitic incidents in April 2002
  • Copenhagen, Denmark – A senior member of the Jewish community had his tires slashed.


  • Helsinki, Finland - A threatening letter arrived at the building of the Jewish community and in it was written: “Jews, your plan did not succeed; the Nazis have decided to unite forces with the Moslems in order to fight against the wily and snakelike Jews. You will pay with your blood for the things you are doing.” The letter was “decorated” with swastikas.


  • Montreal, Canada – 15 Moslems attacked 3 Jews students near to the Jewish students’ center, “Hillel”. The attackers shouted offensively, kicked and pushed, and one of the attackers drew a knife and made threats to kill.


  • Brussels, Belgium - Shots fired from an air gun broke the glass of the front window of a kosher restaurant.


  • Anderlecht, Belgium - Youths threw stones at participants in a memorial ceremony for Belgian Jews killed in the Holocaust.


  • Copenhagen, Denmark – In an anti-Israeli protest, the radical Moslem organization “Hizb al-Tahrir” called for the killing of Jews: “Kill them in every place you find them and expel them from every place in which they have settled.”


  • Geneva, Switzerland – In a search done before Sabbath morning prayers in the “Beit Ya’akov” Synagogue, an 18mm bullet from a hunting rifle was found.


  • Dublin, Ireland – In two incidents, abusive anti-Semitic graffiti was found in the vicinity of the central synagogue of the city. On one the ‘equation’ – swastika = Star of David, was drawn and on the other the Jews were called “Nazis”.


  • Curitiba, Brazil – In a combined protest by an extremist Islamic party and a radical left-wing party, signs were carried comparing Sharon to Hitler. The sign depicted him as Satan saluting over the heads of dead Palestinians.


  • Krasnoyarsk, Russia – During afternoon hours, an improvised bomb exploded next to a synagogue.


  • Paris, France – The Israeli ambassador to France received a threatening letter which contained a bullet from a handgun and a stone. The letter contained a threat that if the head of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, were to be harmed, the European Jewish community would suffer the consequences.


  • Nikolayev, Ukraine – A stone was thrown at the office of the local rabbi. On the same day, a swastika was painted on the wall of the Jewish nursery school in the city.


  • Ulianovsk, Russia - The deputy head of the Jewish community was violently attacked by a youth who belongs to an extremist right-wing organization.


  • Kosice, Slovakia – More than 100 gravestones in the Jewish cemetery (the largest in Slovakia) were destroyed.


  • Spain – The newspaper “El Mundo” published an anti-Semitic caricature made up of three pictures: In the first, Sharon is seen waving a knife in order to murder Arafat; in the second, Bush and Spanish Prime Minister, Aznar, are seen with arms outstretched and Bush is saying to Sharon, “Remember Auschwitz”; in the third, Arafat is seen naked in a gas chamber with only a keffiya on his head.


  • Manchester, England – Three youths attacked two Jews, after first ascertaining that they were in fact Jews.


  • Canberra, Australia – A metal container containing 4 liters of gasoline with a burning rag attached was thrown at the Jewish community building. The container failed to penetrate the building due to the reinforced protective front window of the building.


  • Paris, France – Two Molotov Cocktails were thrown at the apartment of a Jewish family in a suburb of Paris.


  • Kiev, Ukraine – During evening hours, 50 youths marched on the Great Synagogue. The youths threw stones, beat the head of the yeshiva and his son, smashed windows and shouted “Beat the Zhids!” [A derogatory terms for Jews – K.E.]


  • Tunis, Tunisia – Unknown persons broke into the synagogue, caused severe damage, destroyed Torah scrolls and threw in P.L.O. flags and pictures of Arafat.


  • Salonica, Greece – The site commemorating the victims of the Holocaust in the city was destroyed. Unknown persons poured large amounts of red paint on the memorial and wrote the word “Palestine” in red.


  • Peru – On the state television station in Peru it was said that the Jews control the media in Peru and do not allow the Peruvians to “know the truth” about what is happening in Palestinian cities.


  • Sfax, Tunisia – The synagogue in this city was set alight and burnt to the ground.


  • Strasbourg, France – An attempt was made to set the main synagogue in Strasbourg alight. Gasoline was thrown on a rear wall of a building near the entrance to the mikveh (ritual bath). The gasoline was set alight but no damage was caused to the building other than signs of charring.


  • שריפת יהודים בימי הביניים

  • Florida, U.S.A. – The synagogue in the city of Key West was burnt down – available evidence points to arson.


  • Herford, Germany – The walls of the synagogue were covered with the enormous wording: “Six million are not enough!”


  • Brussels, Belgium – A shop selling religious articles was set alight and burnt to the ground.


  • Berlin, Germany – Arabs attacked a mother and daughter on the underground railway. The two were identified by a Magen David (Star of David) pendant worn by the daughter. The other passengers who were in the carriage did not try to intervene on their behalf.


  • London, England – A synagogue was desecrated and severely damaged – the front windows of the synagogue were damaged, swastikas were sprayed on the walls, paint was splashed on the aron hakodesh (“holy ark”), books and talitot (ritual prayer shawls) were destroyed and the attackers even defecated in the entrance to the building.


  • Charleroy, Belgium – Shots were fired at the synagogue from an automatic weapon. There were no worshippers present and nobody was injured.


  • Montpellier, France – Attackers threw Molotov Cocktails at the synagogue in Montpelier. The Molotov Cocktails missed their target and hit a building near the synagogue. The building burnt to the ground.


  • Paris, France – During the night unknown persona set alight two busses used to transport pupils of a Jewish school.

For up to date information about violent incidents!

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