En ortodox judisk student på besök
från USA överfölls på Nyårsdagen i
Venedig av ett shariagäng på ett
femtontal islamistiska araber.
Han drogs in i en mörk gränd,
knivskars och slogs medvetslös.
Hans liv räddades av förbipasserande
turister som larmade polis och
ambulans.
Enda anledningen till överfallet var
att hans hatt och skägg klart identifierade
honom som jude. Det brutala överfallet
betecknas som det värsta hatbrottet i
Italien på senare år.
Våldsdådet skedde inte i Venedigs klassiska
Ghetto, som står under ständig polis-
bevakning.
**
Båda Israels överrabbiner har i ett
skarpt formulerat brev till Europarådets
ordförande krävt att Europas stater äntligen
måste ta itu med den allt värre antisemitism
som härjar världsdelen.
"Rabbi Yona Metzger and Rabbi Shlomo Moshe
Amar on Wednesday sent a letter to European
Council President Herman Van Rompuy, asking
him to form a special task force to study the issue.
The letter was sent in the wake of the brutal attack
on an American yeshiva student during a visit to
Venice, Italy.
"This serious incident joins a series of incidents
from the past year which may indicate a trend
toward an increase in the phenomenon of
antisemitism throughout Europe," the rabbis
wrote, noting that "since the terrible massacre
in Toulouse we often hear about violence
directed against Jews in Europe."
**
"We express to you our fear that the latest attack,
in which a young Jew paid the price for his choice
to go out in public dressed in the attire of a yeshiva
student, testifies to the existence of a rooted
problem," said Rabbis Metzger and Amar.
They asked Van Rompuy to establish a special
committee "to examine the extent of anti-
Semitism on the continent and its sources and
submit suggestions to solve the problem."
At the end of their letter, the rabbis wrote,
"The memories of the victims of the Holo-
caust in Europe have not abated, and the
message has been learned: One can no
longer remain silent while Jewish blood
is spilled.
As a leader of the united European committee,
we see you as the most senior official who
can work to eradicate the lesion and restore
the peace and quiet to European Jews."
