Holocaust lessons meet Muslim rebuff in France

[drdon326]

"Filthy Jew!" schoolchildren howl at a classmate. "Jews only want money and power," they tell their teachers. "Death to the Jews" graffiti appear on school walls outside Paris and other French cities.

These are not scenes from the wartime Nazi occupation or a fictional France where the far-right has taken control. Outright anti-Semitism like this is a fact of life these days in the poor suburbs where much of France's Muslim minority lives.

snip

Their outspoken book "The Lost Territories of the Republic" opened France's eyes to classrooms where some Muslim pupils openly denounced Jews, praised Hitler and refused to listen to any non-Muslim teacher talking about the history of Islam.

Such tension has prompted Jewish pupils in these areas to switch to private Jewish or even Catholic schools.

"Muslim pupils react less now to what happens in the Middle East," Roder said. "But the situation hasn't really changed. As soon as you talk about Jews in some historical event, there are (anti-Semitic) comments."

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=657119

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Interesting article about racism and anti-semitism in France.

[UL_Approved]

1. The article seems to be a bit loaded

Kind of a propaganda article against Muslims, at first. It hints at the problem of people showing hatred toward Jews, but the state of Israel today is just as war-like and corrupt as the U.S. is now, and like NAZI Germany was in WWII. Its hard to tell these people to respect a nation that considers them to all be an enemy. And in the end, Jews everywhere suffer for the actions of corrupt leadership.

[cali]

6. Last night I watched

a PBS special on Auchwitz and the final solution. As awful as Sharon is and as much as I condemn many of Irael's actions, from the expansion of settlements to the razing of Palestinian homes and the killing of Palestinians, I can only conclude that those who compare the current Israeli regime to the Nazis, don't have a clue. Not a clue. It's just a fallacious comparison.

[leftynyc]

7. I agree. Well said. (eom)

[drdon326]

8. There is , sadly.....

a rise in anti-semitism in europe and especially France.

I can only conclude that those who compare the current Israeli regime to the Nazis, don't have a clue. Not a clue. It's just a fallacious comparison.

well said.

[sherilocks]

9. Well said Cali

I was about to respond to the post, but your response says it all.

[Carolab]

2. Also from the article:

"I'm convinced it's not just a problem of Jews and Arabs," Singer said. "There is a wider problem, one of identity. The (Muslim) pupils feel under attack for their identity so they reject out of hand anything that could put them down."

I read that there is a movement to play up the anti-semitism in order that Sharon can push the idea that Jews need to move to Israel. That is echoed in this article as well.

[Englander]

3. Interesting=

"those fuckin' froggie jew-hating bastards"
& "those filthy stinkin' jew-killing ayrabs"

Elsewhere in the article;

"ONLY A MINORITY PRESENTS PROBLEMS

Both Roder and Claude Singer, head of Holocaust education projects at the Jewish Contemporary Documentation Centre (CDJC), underlined that most schools had no problem teaching about the Holocaust and most pupils learned the lesson being put across."

[ComerPerro]

4. It's a sick world

I am sure the right wing is all over this.

Imagine what it must look like on FreeRepublic and all those other trash sites.

"this is yet another problem with France. They are showing the intolerance and hatred that just proves that they deserve no credibility at all."

(meanwhile, maybe ten posts down the page)

"This is why we should just kill all those raghead muslim idoloters! Death to the muslims!"

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Muslims fought against Hitler, and some died in the Holocost

Nooranisa Khan was a member of the French Resistance-a radio operator with the code name "Madaleine". She was captured by the Germans, tortured, shot, and then burned alive at the concentration camp at Dachau. She was heralded as a French national hero and given the Cross de Guerr(don't know how to spell it) posthumously.

Sad that the Muslims described in the article aren't aware of this. A holocost effects all people. Hate fuels holocosts, and the hating on all sides needs to be stopped, which will not be an easy task.