Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Op-Ed: 700,000 Jews are considering leaving Europe

Supporters of Karpaty Lviv hold a German Nazi flag with a swastika as they attend a soccer match against Dynamo Kiev in Kiev August 19, 2007. Poland and Ukraine denounced British press allegations of racism and mob violence at soccer stadiums and assured foreign footballers and fans on May 29, 2012 that they would be safe during the Euro 2012 tournament they will jointly host in June 2012. A BBC Panorama investigative programme on soccer violence filmed in their countries, which aired on May 28, 2012 contained footage of fans giving Nazi salutes, taunting black players with monkey noises, anti-Semitic chants and a group of Asian students being attacked at the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv, one of the four Ukrainian cities which will be hosting matches. Picture taken August 19, 2007. REUTERS/Stringer/Files (UKRAINE - Tags: SPORT SOCCER CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST) - RTR32TKD

Giulio Meotti
The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter and of "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published by Mantua Books.. His writing has appeared in publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary.
opean Jews are at a crossroads as anti-Semitism surges.
In the industrial area of Malmo, the third largest city in Sweden – which has always been governed by the Social Democrats -there is the famous spiral skyscraper designed by architect Santiago Calatrava. It is inspired by a human torso, meant to symbolize the dozens of ethnic groups living in the city, all bound in a multicultural embrace. 

Approximately one third of 300,000 inhabitants of Malmö are, in fact, of foreign origin and this percentage is increasing steadily.

But Jews are fleeing Malmö.

In the seventies, the community had more than 2,000 members: today there are less than 500. The others left for Stockholm or for Israel.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a warning to all Jews who visit Malmo,  “hide public religious signs and do not speak Hebrew”. Malmo was laready Marseille five years earlier: two days ago, the Jewish authorities in the French city issued a similar warning, “take off the kippa for your own good”.

The European Union’s Agency for Fundamental Rights reveals that a third of the Jews of the Old Continent have stopped wearing religious symbols because of fear of attacks. From Denmark

The European Jewish Congress has publicized a shocking poll: “A third of the European Jews think of emigrating”. That is 700,000 people.

“The Jews of Europe are at a crossroads”, tells me Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress based in Brussels. “If the authorities continue to add only defensive measures, building taller walls and thicker doors, then the Jews will not want to live this imprisoned life and will leave Europe in large numbers”.

Before the attack in Copenhagen, a year ago, there were 23 children in the Jewish kindergarten in Malmö: today there are only 5 left. The armed guards in front of the school triggered panic and parents prefer to enroll their children in public school. It is the end of Jewish identity. Some people 
whispered that the synagogue of the city will soon be turned into a museum. From 2010 to today, the synagogue lost a third of the faithful. The rabbi, Shneur Kesselman, is constantly attacked in the streets: almost 200 episodes of anti-Semitism in ten years.

Today, many Jews in Sweden are afraid. Parents are afraid to let their children go to Jewish preschool, they are afraid to go to the synagogue and there are many people who are hiding their stars of David, because they are too scared to wear them.

This is what Malmö teaches Jews all over Europe: for the Jews, the next step after removing the kippah is leaving the city and then the country. The once placid and civilized Sweden, the “paradise of refugees” has turned into a nightmare for the Jewish people.

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