"DoD" <thecats@ss.mil> wrote in message
news:vfmHg.3620$lq.2069@newsread1.mlpsca01.us.to.verio.net...

If there is a silver lining to the dark cloud of actor Mel Gibson's
anti-Semitic rant along the Pacific Coast Highway after a police officer
pulled him over for drunk driving on July 28, it's that the incident has
triggered a long overdue dialogue about the state of anti-Semitism in the
world today.

On the day of Gibson's now-famous outburst, 30-year-old Naveed Afzal Haq,
a
United States citizen of Pakistani descent, entered the Jewish Federation
Centre of Greater Seattle and opened fire, killing 58-year-old Pamela
Waechter and wounding five other women.

Friends and loved ones of Waechter remembered her as a witty, upbeat,
can-do
person. Originally from a Lutheran family in Minnesota, she moved to
Seattle
with her husband in 1979 and they raised two children.

She converted to Judaism, earned a degree in nutrition from the University
of Washington, and became a respected Jewish activist in the community.
For
two years, she served as the president of her temple in Bellevue.

When Naveed Afzal Haq stormed into the Jewish Federation Centre in late
July, he ended the life of one of the most vibrant souls in the Seattle
community. He explained to the police that he was upset over the horrific
carnage occurring as a result of the tragic war unfolding between
Hezbollah
and Israel.

"I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel," he proclaimed during his
rampage.

Following the attack, newspaper and television accounts insisted the
bloodshed from the Hezbollah-Israel War had reached North American soil.

But the larger threat of anti-Semitism was downplayed in the media. For
watchdog groups that monitor anti-Semitism around the world, however, the
current picture is not encouraging.

North America has been relatively cut off from the more virulent strains
of
anti-Semitism that are metastasizing overseas. In Europe and the Middle
East, the situation is worsening daily.

"Not since 1945 has there been such a level of concern, anxiety or
depression among Europe's Jews as one witnesses today," noted Robert S.
Wistrich, the Neuberger professor of Modern Europe and Jewish History at
the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"The newly emerging Europe is turning out to be the worst of all possible
worlds for its Jews."

In late 2005 and early 2006, protests erupted around the world over the
publication of offensive cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad in
the pages of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

But there were no comparable expressions of outrage over even more hateful
anti-Semitic cartoons that have routinely appeared in Middle Eastern
newspapers over the years. Many of these cartoons depict Jews as
shifty-eyed
devils with big noses, fangs and swastikas next to their Stars of David.

During the cartoon upheavals, few people noticed when police recovered the
mutilated body of 23-year-old Ilan Halimi, a French Jew who was kidnapped
and savagely tortured to death by his captors. The incident terrified the
French Jewish community.

In Middle East politics, anti-Semitism is often interwoven in complex ways
with criticisms of Israel and its policies. Holocaust denial and bitter
anti-Jewish hatred are rampant in certain parts of the region. In the
charter of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, one can find virtually
every tired old Hitlerian lie about Jews.

It reads: "With their money, they took control of the world media, news
agencies, the press, publishing houses, broadcasting stations and others.
With their money they stirred revolutions in various parts of the world
with
the purpose of achieving their interests and reaping the fruit therein.

Absolutely true.

"They were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most
of the revolutions we heard and hear about . . .

With their money they

formed secret societies, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and
others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging
societies and achieving Zionist interests."

This part is not true.

Such hatreds are profoundly unsettling.

In recent weeks, the brutal war between Hezbollah and Israel appears to be
fanning the flames of anti-Semitism.

After the Seattle shooting, anti-Semites in Australia smashed synagogue
windows, while in Florida, two synagogues and a Jewish-owned business were
vandalized.

Probably by the jew owner to collect insurance money lol