A weekly digest on Jewish affairs in Europe

[mgt23]

emphasis on Scandinavian tensions.......

http://www.algemeiner.com/generic.asp?ID=6324

Eye on Europe
A weekly digest on Jewish affairs in Europe
By Joshua Freedman
 
Hateful graffiti in red paint on the monument at the Plaszow camp.

 Jewish Leader 'Compares Chabad to Radical Islam'

 

A leader in the Jewish community of Norway has come under fire after she attacked the Chabad Lubavitch movement as right-wing, misogynist and "anti-democratic." Anne Sanders, the head of the community in Norwegian capital Oslo, said the Chassidic group "represents a more distant side in religion than we are able to accept." In an interview with a Norwegian newspaper, she added that the values of the group, which has been present in the city for four years, were "completely different to the average. It's a movement which mixes religion and politics and has an anti-democratic structure." Sanders also attacked the "inferior role" of women in the movement and its perceived right-wing policy on Israel, complaining: "We are busy with democracy, with volunteering and with being socially responsible, and this conduct is completely destructive towards the environment." Local Chabad Rabbi Shaul Wilhelm said Sanders had put local Jews in danger: "We have been feeling very uncomfortable since the article was published, and so far no one has taken these remarks back. Comparing Jews to radical Islam in a country with some 100,000 Muslims is terrible, especially when there is not a lot of sympathy for Jews and Israel in the media."

 

German Town Gets First Shul Since 1938

 

A town in northern Germany with a Jewish history spanning seven centuries has a synagogue for the first time since Kristallnacht – following the construction of a $2.75 million neo-Gothic place of worship. The 1852 synagogue in Herford, some 60 miles south west of Hanover, was destroyed by the Nazi raid on Jewish buildings in 1938. Few of the 200 Jews living in Herford before the Holocaust returned, but the recent influx of immigrants from the former Soviet Union had meant the prayer room nearby was too small for the town's soaring Jewish population. German community head Charlotte Knobloch described the new construction as a memorial for the Jews that lived in the town before the war, adding: "Today, together, we can prove that there can also be tears of joy."

 

Archbishop 'Baffled And Angry' Over Israel

 

The spiritual leader of the Church of England has said Israel's defence methods make him "baffled and angry." Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, told an audience the state was "legitimate" and had a "right to exist and right to defend itself" but said he was "angry at what seems like collusion with unauthorised parties." He attacked the settler movement, saying he was yet to hear a "legal defence" of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. "Unless there is a way of representing the settlements as legitimate self-defence I remain very disturbed about that, along with many," he added. The cleric also said British citizens needed to be better educated in order to fight anti-Semitism.

 

Sacks 'Should Be Last Chief Rabbi,' Says Book

 

The position of Chief Rabbi in the UK is divisive and should be abolished, according to a new book by a journalist and academic. Meir Persoff, a former journalist at the London Jewish Chronicle, claims the Chief Rabbinate has "run its course" and should be replaced with an alternative system of leadership that "recognises the plurality of the community" in Britain, which has been hit by numerous inter-denominational quarrels since Jonathan Sacks took office in 1991. Persoff argued Sacks had failed to follow the platform of inclusivity announced at the start of his tenure. Sacks is due to retire in 2013, when he turns 65.

 

Polish Monument Daubed on Eve of Memorial March

 

The phrases "Jude Raus" ("Jew Out") and "Hitler Good!" were sprayed on Holocaust memorials at a former concentration camp in Poland, on the eve of a march held to mark the 67th anniversary of the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto. Vandals spread the red paint on the monument at the Plaszow camp, which features in Steven Spielberg's film "Schindler's List." German soldiers liquidated the Krakow ghetto on 13 March 1943, shipping its inhabitants to Auschwitz and nearby Plaszow.

 

Next Dutch Prime Minister May Be Called Cohen

 

A Jewish politician is likely to become the next prime minister of the Netherlands, according to latest polls. Job Cohen, formerly the highly popular Mayor of Amsterdam, took over as Labor Party leader following the resignation of Wouter Bos last week and can expect 55% of the vote in June's election. Current prime minister and Christian Democrat leader Jan Peter Balkenende is on 25%, according to the pollster Maurice de Hond. Cohen, 62, is a non-practising Jew known for his work on inter-cultural affairs.

 

Fascists March through Lithuanian Streets

 

A 500-strong neo-Nazi demo in Vilnius held on the 20th anniversary of Lithuania's independence from the Soviet Union has shocked local community members. The anti-racist campaign site holocaustinthebaltics.com described the brandishing of Nazi symbols on the streets of the city as "a grievous stain on the entire region."

anyone get this link to work?

http://file.wikileaks.org/file/kaupthing-claims-update.pdf

 17. Mar. 2010: Update to over 40 billion euro in 28167 claims made aganst the Kaupthing Bank, 3 Mar 2010
    This document contains an update to a list of 28167 claims http://wikileaks.org/#kaupthing-claims
, totaling over 40 billion euro, lodged against the failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing Bank hf. The document is significant because it reveals billions in cash, bonds and other property held with Kaupthing by a vast number of investors and asset hiders, including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Exista, Barclays, Commerzbank AG, etc. It was confidentially made available to claimants by the Kaupthing Winding-up committee.