Wilders’ Pro-Israel Party Favours Forbidding Ritual Slaughter…writes Manfred Gerstenfeld
Before the Dutch parliamentary elections in September 2012, Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger wrote a letter to Geert Wilders, the pro-Israel leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV). The party’s platform for the elections included the prohibition of ritual slaughter.[1]
Manfred Gerstenfeld
Its parliamentarian Dion Graus also announced that he intended to continue his failed past efforts to forbid the import of ritually slaughtered meat.[2]
Rabbi Metzger wrote that Graus has taken the classic antisemitic position of targeting Jewish rites as done over the centuries. He added: “One cannot be at the same time a friend of Israel and the Jewish people and on the other hand support an anti-Jewish law and be friends with Mr. Dion Graus.”[3]
Wilders, the only Dutch politician known internationally, has acquired a justified reputation for major support of Israel. He has said that Jihad is not only against Israel, but targets the entire Western world.[4] The PVV platform also states that Jordan is Palestine.[5] His party has also exposed antisemitism by Muslims and others in The Netherlands.
Yet already in 2011, Wilders’ image in the Jewish world took a severe beating. On the prohibition of unstunned ritual slaughter, the PVV supported the extreme positions of the small populist Party for the Animals. In Parliament, Graus called ritual slaughter ‘ritual torture.’[6] He furthermore turned the Jews into a political instrument by falsely claiming that his party was not anti-Islam because the ritual slaughter law would also hurt the Jews.[7] The Amsterdam Orthodox community declared that it considers Graus, “a danger for the Jewish communities in the Netherlands and Europe.”[8]
Prohibiting ritual slaughter has drawn much media attention in the Netherlands, Israel and also among organized Jewry in the United States.
Former PVV Parliamentarian Wim Kortenoeven has alerted major U.S Jewish organizations to the PVV’s stance on this issue.. He was the only one of his party to vote against the proposed anti-ritual slaughter law in 2011. He left the PVV afterwards. Kortenoeven says that several of his colleagues supported his position, but caved in under pressure from Wilders.
The first American Jewish organization to challenge the PVV on the ritual slaughter issue already in 2011, was the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Later its Associate Dean, Rabbi Abraham Cooper wrote again to Wilders requesting he drop the issue from PVV’s platform.[9] In his answer, Wilders claimed that anti-Semites will not be tolerated in his party and that Graus was not one.[10] Rabbi Cooper was not convinced and wrote a second letter which remains unanswered.[11]
This conflict made the front page of the largest Dutch daily De Telegraaf.[12] That article also claimed that U.S Jews had been financing Wilders because of his pro-Israel positions and this was now at risk as the PVV was attacking one of the most fundamental rituals of the Jewish religion. Little proof was given to substantiate the Jewish financing. Far more important is that Wilders has been warmly received in major pro-Israel Evangelical Christian communities in the United States. This is unlikely to continue.
Why would Wilders threaten important American relationships by insisting on a marginal issue such as prohibiting ritual slaughter? The most probable explanation is that this is one more indication of the populist way he often operates.
Wilders’ initial success derived from having identified two crucial issues for the future of The Netherlands neglected by others. He saw that far more threats against the future of democracies come out of the Islamic world than out of any other religion. Wilders also realized that the democracy-deficient European integration in some critical fields had dangerously run ahead unchecked. He translated these issues into populist campaign slogans which gave the PVV 24 out of 150 parliamentary seats in the 2010 election. The party then dropped to 15 seats in the 2012 elections.
The PVV never upgraded to a professional party as it should have. It still has no research organization. It rarely details any proposal in great depth. From time to time, Wilders tosses out extreme remarks which do not help his two major political aims. Though frequently warned, he has ignored the problems which his position on the ritual slaughter issue causes, mainly among foreign supporters.
Had Wilders professionalized his political approach, there was a good chance that the PVV could become the Netherlands’ largest party. The problems due to uncontrolled European integration, as well as the major violence in the Islamic world have aggravated further and are now exposed for everyone to see. The longer Wilders’ populist attitude continues on many other issues, the less valuable his pro-Israel positions will be for Israel. At the same time, the PVV being in the forefront of antisemitic proposals on a crucial issue for Jews, should not be overlooked.
Manfred Gerstenfeld is a member of the Board of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, of which he has been Chairman for twelve years. He is recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) of the Journal for the Study of Anti-Semitism.
As this article may provoke controversy, J-Wire adds Gerstenfeld’s sources
[1] Verkiezingsprogramma PVV 2012-2017, ‘Hun Brussel, Ons Nederland’. [Dutch]
[2] Parliamentary debate Second Chamber, 13 April 2011. [Dutch]
[3] Letter from Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger to mr. Geert Wilders, 28 August 2012.
[4] David Horovitz, “Wilders hails Israel ‘fighting jihad”’, Jerusalem Post, 9 June 2010.
[5] Verkiezingsprogramma PVV 2012-2017, ‘Hun Brussel, Ons Nederland’. [Dutch]
[6] Parliamentary debate Second Chamber, 17 February 2011. [Dutch]
[7] Ibid.
[8] “NIHS-bestuur: ‘PVV vormt bedreiging,’ NIW, 24 August 2012. [Dutch]
[9] Letter from The Simon Wiesenthal Center to Geert Wilders, 15 August 2012.
[10] E-mail from Geert Wilders to Rabbi Abraham Cooper, 17 August 2012.
[11] Letter from The Simon Wiesenthal Center to Geert Wilders, 19 August 2012.
[12] Charles Sanders, ‘Joodse sponsors razend op PVV’, Telegraaf, 21 augustus 2012. [Dutch]
I suggest Jewish people and those who support Israel and the Jews listen to this speech, given by Geert Wilders in Germany just last week, at least for the last few minutes, starting at minute mark 52.30
http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=59407
I recommend that Jewish people listen to this speech (Geert Wilders spaeking in Germany last week), starting at minute 52.30
http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=59407
This article was just sent to me. It’s from the Gatestone Institute so no to be dismissed lightly
“The Smear Campaign Against Geert Wilders”
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3306/geert-wilders-smear
In the 1920s and 30s, during the British Palestine Mandate, when the muslim Arabs rioted and massacred Jews in protests over Jewish immigration, the British response was to reduce and eventually stop that flow of Jews into Palestine in an effort to appease the Arab masses and stop them from massacring Jews. Jewish intellectuals in the cafes of Europe blamed the Zionists. Those were the first lessons the muslim Arabs had that violence pays dividends. They learnt it fast. They learnt it well.
During the Intifadas of the 1980s to 2000’s, when the muslim Arabs unleashed their deadly terror attacks on Israeli civilians, the West criticised and condemned Israel. The Jewish left blamed the Zionists. Israel was pressured to make concessions for “peace”. That was the culmination of endless lessons the West has taught the muslim Arabs that violence pays. That violence reaps rewards. That violence is good.
And now the tail is wagging the dog. The muslim Arabs need not even threaten violence and they are rewarded. Even though Sydney’s muslim leadership has urged its community to stay at home, to ignore Wilders, the venues cancel his meeting one after the other.
This is happening in Australia.
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing”.
Geert Wilders and the Q Society are the good guys who are standing up for us. All of us. Jews and Gentiles alike. We owe it to ourselves to support them.
I can tell you of some personal problems I have had with Muslims and people I had no issue with when I found out they were Muslims, but they didn’t want a bar of me when they found out I was Jewish. One I had known for over 30 years
Search “Extremist campaign against Dreyfus” if the URL has been removed
http://www.jewishnews.net.au/extremist-campaign-against-dreyfus/14927
VOTERS in the Melbourne seat of Isaacs are being urged not to vote for ALP candidate Mark Dreyfus due to his support for Israel.
An advertisement, endorsed by the Australian Muslim Palestine Committee, appeared last week in The Dandenong Leader, saying ‚’When voting put Dreyfus last. No more support for Israel.’
Judeh then continued, ‘The Zionist influence is growing. There are two Zionist Jews [sic] Labor MPs, Michael Danby and Mark Dreyfus. After this election, another Australian Jew will become Liberal MP.’
Now let’s get this right. Geert Wilders and his friends are philosemites. OK.
But Australia New Nation, a local anti-Muslim hate group, seems to have a particular obsession with “the Zionist-controlled mainstream media'” while encouraging people to go hear Geer Wilders. I’ve listened one incomprehensible webcast (if you really care, the site is easy to find on Google), and the Age quotes its views on those who don’t agree with Wilders etc , “go . . . and be prepared to defend yourself and if they take a swing at you, they push at you, they spit on you, don’t hold back. You have a legal right of self defence do what should be done to this rag-head camel f— . . . Islamic filth who have no place in civilised society.”
But isn’t the key point that the QSociety and its mates don’t hate Muslims, just Islam? As I and others have suggested, the distance between Wilders, the QSociety, its apologists and sympathisers anti-Semitism is one of political opportunism that sometimes gets very muddled up and can easily turn into traditional hatred.
My recommendation to anyone with some IQ is to stay away from these people.
.
” This rhetoric is dangerous and incendiary, and wrongly focuses on Islam as a religion, as opposed to the very real threat of extremist, radical Islamists.” Says Larry
So Larry These extremists that are the cause of Jews living under a siege like mentality are ‘ Radical Islamists” but not Muslims?? so acroding to you there are two types of Muslims , How so ?
Says Larry
”And what did the (then) Immigration Minister Chris Bowen say of Wilders’ permission to visit last year:
“”I have decided not to intervene to deny him a visa because I believe that our democracy is strong enough, our multiculturalism robust enough and our commitment to freedom of speech entrenched enough that our society can withstand the visit of a fringe commentator from the other side of the world””
I hope that people with common sense stay far away from Wilders and the QSociety and their hatreds.
So Larry on one hand you argue that we Australians have enough common sense to make up our own minds and then in previous diatribes from you you demand ECAJ and other Jewish bodies to condemn
Wilders and Q – Society… { no doubt you and your comrades and other Palestinian actvists will be out side Geert Wilders auditorium handling out your leftist propaganda similar to what you have been doing outside Beth Weizman Center] .
I am so happy my kids don’t go to Monash University thats for sure!
Burdy…
Whichever method is less cruel to the animal should be used.
I know that the religious among us will argue until they blue in the face that what our ancestors of thousand of years ago used is the best method. But don’t forget they had no electricity, the Earth was a pancake and everything revolved around it and therefore them.
And now, when we know that the Universe is infinite and we are not at its center, a Dutch politician argues against the ancient practice. How dares he? Scream some in our community and try to dig out as much dirt on him as possible.
I don’t concur very often with the views of the Antidefamation League in the US, but here is what they have said of Geert Wilders and they continue to hold that view. i.e. this is not the view of a few odd Jews (and I don’t know what Hamas has to do with this).
“ADL Condemns Anti-Islam Remarks Made by Dutch Parliamentarian During Appearances in S. Florida
Boca Raton, FL, April 28, 2009 …The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) strongly condemns remarks made over the last few days at various appearances throughout South Florida by Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders.
In his speeches, he claimed that “Islam is not a religion” and “the right to religious freedom should not apply to this totalitarian ideology called Islam.” Mr. Wilders also stated that the Koran is a book of hatred, and that Mohammed was both “a pedophile and a warlord.”
Andrew Rosenkranz, ADL Florida Regional Director, issued the following statement:
The ADL strongly condemns Geert Wilders’ message of hate against Islam as inflammatory, divisive and antithetical to American democratic ideals.
This rhetoric is dangerous and incendiary, and wrongly focuses on Islam as a religion, as opposed to the very real threat of extremist, radical Islamists.”
In 1933 the Gutmenschen of the ADL would have likely scolded Mr Churchill for wrongly focusing on Fascism, instead of the very real threat of extremist, radical Fascism. He knew the noble left all too well, when he said that the Fascists of the future would be called the Anti-Fascist. Seems a snug fit for the Anti-Defamation League, which cheered on Arafat to continue his “jihad for peace”. No doubt the ADL is doing many good things, but they’re not the sole dispensers of truth and wisdom on matters of Islamic supremacism. For those who think the ADL is as white as snow, spend a couple minutes here: http://www.hirhome.com/israel/leaders2.htm
Today more and more seem to forget the S in NSDAP stood for Socialist.
This is an open forum for comments and opinions, which comments are screened before publication is allowed. It is not up to any individual contributor to call another ‘wrong’, or consider herself or himself ‘right’ because of who they know or might have met. The person who considers herself right is still voicing an opinion coloured by subjectivity, as we all are. Nobody has a franchise on ‘right’. It’s also not up to a contributor to demand or ask for an apology for comment published, or admonish by use of terminology such as ‘shame on you’. And, no matter how abhorrent comment might be to the reader (and some I’ve read has been abhorrent to me), it is not up to a contributor to suggest this website is not for them and they should remove themselves and go elsewhere, viz. to a pro-Palestinian website.
I applaud the comments of Paul Winter and Michael (Burdy) – any comment I might make on this subject couldn’t be better voiced and I agree with their sentiments.
A friend who alerted me to this thread wrote this:
One may question who benefits from regurgitating this non-news item from the dead at this particular point in time. If this is how a most vocal European MP and supporter of Israel is being portrayed by a certain clique of Australian Jews, the Friends of Palestine and Hamas will soon throw the biggest party of them all.
Not many European politicians come out in support of Israel these days. Smearing the one who has already lost so much political support over his stand for Israel is perfidious.”
Reading this thread, and some of the comments here I fully agree with him.
1. If I were the Q-society I would sue this hate-peddling Larry Stillman and his ilk for defamation without delay.
2. Anyone who knows me or who reads my blog knows that I am a very outspoken defender of the Jews and of Israel, which is a) not very fashionable these days to put it mildly. But, since I have seen the attitude of the Jewish community (and those who purport to represent them) with regard to the Geert Wilders’ visit to Australia, my conviction that I am doing the right thing is not as strong any longer.
3. I think the Q-society is brave to stand up for free speech and to go against the fashion in its support for Israel and the Jews. I think they are too generous to those from this community who attack them so disgracefully.
4. Have a read of this latest attempt at the life of a friend of Geert Wilders, and may those who sympathise with these assassins hang their head in shame.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/339844/lars-man-standing-just-mark-steyn
Concluding: I dont think I will hang around J-wire so much any more., because as the friend, I quoted above said:
“Not many European politicians come out in support of Israel these days. Smearing the one who has already lost so much political support over his stand for Israel is perfidious.”
I’ll leave it to readers of Jwire to distinguish between fact and fantasy about Muslims–particularly Muslims in Australia, rather than the rantings revealed here.
During the hearings on the prayer time at the Neighbourhood House in St Kilda, one of the objections concerned skin flakes caused by ritual washing, such was the ridiculous paranoia to completely law abiding Bangladeshis. The Q Society corespondents herein appear to forget that their attempts to cause division were also commendably condemned by a group of Rabbis who immediately saw the parallel between bigotry against Muslims and bigotry against Jews. The Q Society bases its work on selective ‘scholarship’ if that is the word and the particular experiences in Europe which have no parallel in this country.
The accusations about Hallal food are of course loopy, and also extend to a theological objection to consuming food that has been ritually blessed by a Muslim (and thus, a false god).
I quote here Rabbi Ralph Genende is response to an editorial made by the owner of the Jewish News, but much the same applies to supporters of the QSociety and Wilders;
“Migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees are a hot-button issue not only in Australia but across the world. And Israel today faces its own complex set of challenges with African asylum seekers and Filipino migrant workers.
The debate in Australia is clouded by myths, fear, xenophobia, and politics. It is hard to know what is fact and what is fiction. The reaction of the Jewish community is reflective of the confusion of the general public. We have many champions for refugees but we also have many claiming that illegal immigration is criminal and dangerous, that it will disrupt our society, undermine it economically, and threaten stability. As Jews, we are particularly fearful of Muslim immigrants and their potential for extremism.
These are not light fears but like many fears they are in large part unfounded. Asylum seekers are not “illegal queue jumpers who can afford to pay criminals to deceive Australian authorities.” They are neither illegal (there is no Australian law criminalising arrival without visa), nor are they migrants who leave by choice. The vast majority are desperate people forced to leave their countries (and unable to return) because they fear persecution and even death.”
And what did the (then) Immigration Minister Chris Bowen say of Wilders’ permission to visit last year:
“”I have decided not to intervene to deny him a visa because I believe that our democracy is strong enough, our multiculturalism robust enough and our commitment to freedom of speech entrenched enough that our society can withstand the visit of a fringe commentator from the other side of the world””
I hope that people with common sense stay far away from Wilders and the QSociety and their hatreds.
Bella I know of at least 6 Jewish residents that live in east St-i Kilda that vehemently opposed and the Islamic Center /Mosque that was proposed in their neighborhood. I asked them why they didn’t publicly oppose at the council, their response was they were so scared of the repercussions.
The Q- Society went into bat for them even though the ADC { which has strict security for fear from we know who] joined hands with the Muslims to endorse their proposal .
It is not unreasonable for Jews who have security at all their schools, Synagogues and community centers around the area to protect them from extremists in the Muslim community to be fearful for a Mosque/ Islamic center in their neighborhood.
Do you really think the Islamic Council of Victoria would go out to bat for say a Chabad house to open in the heart of Preston/ Coburg or Broad meadows or the equivalent Islamic council of NSW if a Chabad was to open in the main street of Lakemba?
If I were a member of the Q Society I would be scratching my head in disbelief >
So let me understand we should be condemning a recognized staunch friend of Israeli Jews { the only friend in Europe] , Wilders a Dutch politician who doesn’t support all Jewish rituals [ notwithstanding many Jews don’t keep kosher , eat Pork products and even ridicule orthodoxy ] and instead we should support Jews that demonstrate out side Jewish buildings and denigrate , vilify Israel, Zionists and one of the oldest Jewish organizations JNF as well as align them selves with the Palestinians and Arabs.
Interesting ?
Burdy
The issue is shehita vs stunning and calling Wilders antisemitic because his party opposes ritual slaughter is a cut below the belt.
Wilders is a friend of Jews and of the Jewish state. The Q Society is not anti-mohammedan; it opposes creeping islamofascist domination being imposed on Australian society be PC enforcers. My blood ran cold when I read Danny’s post about how Aussies have been made to crawl to aggressive colonisers.
It would be highly improper and unwise to turn against Wilders on the basis of his party’s stance on shehita. We should not stick to ritual slaughter if stunning a beast is a more merciful way of ending its life. However, instead of complaining about proposed bans – even if the motivation for them is Jew hatred – we should go on the attack. We should demand a scientific comparison to the methods through EEGs and muscle tone comparisons of carcasses. I personally think that clobbering an animal would cause more pain than slitting its throat in one stroke. I would recommend putting beasts to sleep in a CO2 enriched environment as is done to pigs in some places. I would also call out those hypocrites who remain shtum with regard to whaling – and I am addressing you Norwegians – where an animal is blown up, then finished off by electrocution and the corpse pumped full of air to stop it sinking. That sadistic activity should be made to take precedence over shehita and we must force hypocritical Jew bashers to back down.
I have great admiration for Geert Wilders, and applaud Q Society for bringing him out to Australia. It is a pity that most likely only those who agree with what he says will attend.
As for the kosher slaughter issue, I totally disagree that one cannot criticise this plank of Geert’s policy, while admiring his stance on Islam. After all, in a democracy, we are expected to criticise certain measures politicians take, even if we agree with them on other matters. I believe Geert made the wrong call in supporting the ban on unstunned animals, when there is zero evidence that it is any less humane than stunning, which is a very hit and miss affair. In fact, the opposite appears to be the case, judging by the evidence.
Geert is definitely not anti-Semitic, and to suggest otherwise is obscene, but I don’t think he thought this one through. He is aware how the Jews of Europe are suffering, but probably doesn’t realise how important this issue is to orthodox Jews. Maybe, as a philo-Semite, he should have listened more to Jewish concerns and less to animal rights activists, who we know are generally anti-Semitic e.g.
Donkeys more important than Israelis –
http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000239.html
Feb 24, 2003 – “PETA shows its stripes with letter to Arafat” (LA Daily News, Feb. … that PETA would condemn the Palestinians’ use of donkeys as bomb delivery … “Apparently, PETA doesn’t feel that Israelis have the right not to be blown up … In June 1995, a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated a donkey-led cart rigged ..
The Qsociety is not a hate group at all. It is a group which wants merely to educate Australians about Islam in order to preserve the Judeo/Christian flavour of Australian society. I suggest strongly that readers go to the Qsociety website. There are members from all walks of life, politically and ethnically diverse, including Jewish members. There is no hint of any anti-Semitism or any racism at all.
1. I support the State of Israel wholeheartedly – though I sometimes disagree with some of its actions (just as I sometimes disagree with some things I have done, some things my closest friends have done and some of the things Australian governments have done).
2. I support many of Geert Wilders’ political views in relation to the Fall of Europe, the danger of expanding Islamist extremism, I treasure his support for Israel – he is one of our few friends left in European politics.
3. I regret that he is being brought out by Q Society because though I am vehemently opposed to the current demonization of Israel and I object strongly to the whitewash of many evil Islamic societies, I cannot accept that demonizing all Moslems is acceptable or constructive. I also regard Q Society as hatemongers and will not associate with them. I read Mr Wilders’ material but because he is here at behest of Q Soc, I will not go to see him.
4. Mr Wilders is at liberty to disagree with kosher slaughter – The right of free thought is basic to human rights. Jewish thought has progressed from Biblical Times and it may be that current slaughter is more humane. We have stopped stoning individuals for picking up a branch on Shabbat (Numbers:Ch15:32-39), so perhaps in time slaughter will also change.
To call Mr Wilders anti-Semitic because he disagrees with kosher slaughter is laughable..
Bella, please, who is “demonizing all Moslems”? Where in any material of Q Society do you find that sort of stuff? The sad fact that JINOs like Larry Stillman seem to suffer from Q-phobia and spread their innuendo wherever they find a platform, does not make it any more true.
People can be critical and show open dislike for what they regard as a bad socio-political and supremacist religious ideology, without wishing anything bad to people who happen to be born into that ideology, or being conned into it. Muslims are often he first victims of Islam, you can see that every day: Discrimination against women and non-believers, extreme homophobia, violence and killing, retarded social and economical life, most Islamic countries are either already totalitarian theocracies or on the way to it, places from which millions of people want to get away as quickly as possible. And what does Islam bring to Europe?
Can’t we dislike Communism and rally against Marxism – and be friends with decent Chinese people?
Let me leave you with a quote from “Mr Bean” – Rowan Atkins: “What is wrong with inciting intense dislike of a religion if the activities or teachings of that religion are so outrageous, irrational or abusive of human rights that they deserve to be intensely disliked?” Nu?
The only “hater” I can see here is Mr Larry Stillman, saturating his comments on this warmed-up non-story with malice and innuendo.
What is wrong to send an email and drawing the attention of those who have taken a position against the vile BDS campaign to a prominent friend of Israel visiting Australia?
Don’t you think Australians can decide on their own whether they want to attend a talk by Mr Wilders and Mr Solomon? Don’t want to go? Delete it, end of story.
Few politicians are as pro-Jewish and pro-Israel as Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party PVV. The 49-year old Wilders, who lives under round-the-clock police protection because of Islamist death threats, has visited Israel over 40 times. In his recent book Marked for Death: Islam’s War against the West and Me, Wilders, who was raised a Catholic, relates how he lived and worked in Israel for one year as a young man and how he admires the Jews and their state.
Geert Wilders also leads the fight against anti-Semitism in the Netherlands — and in Europe. Two years ago, the senior Dutch politician Frits Bolkestein advised “recognizable Jews” to leave the Netherlands and emigrate to Israel and the U.S. because of the Dutch government’s inability to prevent the anti-Semitic violence committed by Jew-hating Muslim immigrants. An indignant Wilders reacted that “Jews shouldn’t emigrate; anti-Semitic immigrants should.”
Animal rights is a big issue for the Dutch. There is even an Animal Rights political party. Voting in the matter of unstunned animal slaughter of any kind was declared a conscience vote in Wilder’s PVV party. The Netherlands is one of the last countries in Europe to debate this ban.
Wilders himself is against unstunned slaughter with the exception, on record, of shechita if done as it should be.
To suggest that Wilders is in any way anti Semitic or anti Israel is worse than labeling our prime minister, Gillard, who is and has been a staunch friend and supporter of the Jewish Nation since her youth, with the same libel because of the anti Israel sentiments of the Left wing of the Labor Party, with Carr leading the charge. No faction of the PVV holds such a position.
Israel has few friends let alone politicians who so staunchly, even at the risk of losing votes, stand up for her. It is worse than folly for Jews to discredit them.
Please understand that Mr Wilders and his “Freedom Party” have never been pro-jewish and pro-Israel, this has been a disguise from the beginning. First of all, banning schehita has been adopted in the party programm right from the beginning so everybody knew it. Secondly, one candidate of mr wilder for parliamentary elections who happens to be jewish, gidi markuszower, spoke out in public against our rabbi’s and against our schehita. thirdly, wilders is only flagging the extreme right-wing in israel – he has never done anything in favour of israel government policies. fourthly, one of his MP-s publicly denounced our previous foreign secretary Prof. Uri Rosenthal for coming out against Israel whereas rosenthal is recognised as a moderate pro-israel politician. last but not least. the freedom party is not an actual political party, it has no members, there is only one and that is Mr Wilders himself who is in complete control of his private party like back in the old days of the soviet union. I do hope australian brothers and sisters and esp you Danny that you will first read the facts before you express you silly thoughts. Sincerely yours, Els Vredenburg – Amsterdam – The Netherlands
Petition by Q- Society against BDS campaign by Marrickville City Council
In January 2011 Q Society launched a petition aimed at Marrickville City council in Sydney.[6] A majority of the then Green/Socialist dominated city council had voted in December 2010 to align the municipality with the BDS (Boycott Divest Sanction) movement against Israel and Israeli companies, academic, cultural and sport exchange with the Jewish State. In total 4,251 signatories voiced their protest through the Q Society petition against BDS; many stating this divisive campaign of a foreign anti-semitic hate group had no place in Australia and that they felt reminded of the National-Socialists and their “Kauf nicht bei Juden” (don’t buy at Jews) campaign of 1933 Germany. The modern day BDS campaign was developed with the declared aim to isolate, deligitimize and ultimately destroy the modern Jewish State of Israel.
Q Society handed hard copies of the petition to the council and relevant NSW state ministers on March 1. Due to strong community resentment expressed by many individuals and groups, the Marrickville BDS campaign was eventually rescinded with 8 vs 4 votes at a tumultuous council meeting on April 19, 2011.
Larry I looked and I searched high and low I could not find your name or any other members of your Group
on the Q -Society organized anti- Israel BDS petition. I also checked your AJDS web site and could not find any words of straight out condemnation for boycotts against Israelis and Jews.
I guess the Q Society should be condemned by the ECAJ and other Jewish organizations none of which as far as I am aware had organized any similar Pro- Israel anti Marickville council/BDS petitions.
Perhaps you should also ask the ECAJ to condemn the Q -Society for supporting the local Jewish Community in St -KIlda for opposing the application for a ”so called Mosque” or Islamic Center in the heartland of the Jewish community.
How dare a Dutch Politician and a local group of non Jewish Individuals in Melbourne stand up for Israeli Human Rights , who do they think they are !
. It is farcical that their biggest critics are in fact Jews >
Burdy
Could it be because that Dutch politician is married to a lady of Hungarian Jewish extraction, and some of these non Jews of Q are actually not non Jews? Just a rumour, don’t take my word for it.
Please be advised that Geert Wilders’ tour of Australia is being supported by the QSociety, a leading hate group in this country. Their Islamophobia is only inches away from traditional anti-Semitism despite their apparent ‘love’ for Israel.
They have emailed people who signed the petition started by them against the Marrickville Council BDS resolution to come see Wilders People should realize that Wilders and the QSociety are political opportunists and purveyors of hatred. Wilders should be avoided at all costs. I hope that the ECAJ and other bodies condemn any common cause with him or the QSociety.
Larry get a life, you must be one of the problematic left wing followers that talk too much before reading about the truth.
The Q Society is made up of a full cross section of Australian community, all ages, all races, many different political parties, and does not include any extreme left or right individuals.
Australia has a very big advantage over other counties that has let Multi-Culturalism get out of control. Most people misunderstand the true meaning and ideological meaning of Multi-culturalism, it has a Marxist base/platform it is the polar opposite to integration or assimilation.
Multi-culturalism allows for minority groups to have as much and in some cases more rights than the majorly of the host country.
A book you should read to better understand what you think you are supporting is;
“The Origins of Multiculturalism in Australian Politics 1945-1975” by Mark Lopez.
Published by Melbourne University Press.
I personally do not need to agree with anything Geert Wilders talk may say however if we in Australia would like to avoid going down the same road as Europe, England, Canada, and parts of the USA it is better to gain as much information and knowledge as possible now, so we will not need to manifest any Politicians in the near future like Mr Wilders.
If we can control what is deemed out of control in other parts of the world now, all Australians will be better off in the future.
Freedom of expression has no limits, only the crazy left do not like the truth, so what type of Australian are you Larry? . are you the type of Australian that can listen and debate any topic, knowing that no one is forcing anything on you personally or making you agree to anything? Or are you just going to put your head in the sand and ask everyone to do the same.
Once again Larry dear, way off the mark!! An apology is well and truly in order.
What chutzpah you have and more so in light of the vile letter you complained no one would publish.
HOW DARE YOU come up with a comment like **only inches away from traditional anti-Semitism despite their apparent ‘love’ for Israel. ** when you don’t know any of those involved.!!
You should be ashamed of yourself, you who vilifies Israel at any opportunity
I am not part of the Q Society, however I know most their executive very well and they have more love for Israel than many Jews.
Shame on you !!
Dear Larry,
Still pushing the same hate message I see!
It is Islam that calls for hatred, not Q Society.
The first pillar of Islam calls for the hatred of the kafir (especially Jews)
The Quran says that Allah and Muslims hate the kafir [Q40:35]
Islamic law requires hatred of Jews and Christians [law w59.2 page 1015]
Is it hate speech to oppose Islam because it calls for hatred?
There are primary and secondary issues here.
The primary issue is that Islam wants to destroy our culture and make us submit to Sharia law.
The secondary issue is about ritual slaughter and I maintain it is irrelevant to the primary issue which threatens our very existence.
Larry, you obviously have not been to a Q Society meeting and know nothing about the Q Society or its members who include immigrants from muslim countries and apostate muslims who know about islam. They acknowledge that they are healthy islamophobes.
The Q Society is not anti muslim. It is anti the islamisation of Australia which is creeping inexorably into its society in ways you may not know:
50,000 items on our supermarket shelves are hallal certified and we all pay for the privilege. Yes, I hear you say “what about Kosher?”: when was the last time you were forced to buy and forced to pay extra for Kosher food? The last time you were forced to buy and pay extra for hallal was your last trip to the supermarket for items which include tinned fruits, chocolate, flour and thousands of other items that have nothing to do with hallal. Those items are hallal certified due to extortion and intimidation of the producers by Australian muslim associations. You pay. 100% of goat meat, 85% of lamb, 65% of chicken, 50% of beef are hallal certified. You pay. You pay the Dimhi tax to islam. Where does the money go? Where do the billions of dollars go? We all know where. To fight Israel.
The Dandenong (Victoria) municipal public swimming pool was pressured to insist on and provide total body covering for all females over the age of 10 during Ramadan to assuage “muslim sensitivities”. The public swimming pool complied and all attending women and girls, both muslim and infidel, were forced to wear blue head to foot “body-sox”. Do not mistake this for a frivolous demand. This sends a not so subtle message: western women are immoral (whores) while muslim women are moral and pure (superior).
Darebin City Council (Victoria), following demands from its muslim community, has actually deemed the mixing of sexes at a recent music festival held at the municipal council hall to be culturally inappropriate and created a separation between the sexes; the same council installed a $45,000 privacy curtain in its municipal swimming pool; has created a special position (at $66,000) for a project to instruct ratepayers in muslim piety, customs and expectations. No such programs about Jews or Hindus and none to instruct the muslim community about Australian liberal customs and social expectations.
La Trobe University has its Muslim-only toilets and prayer rooms. The group Aussie Muslims is campaigning for exclusively Muslim prayer rooms in a WA hospital on the basis that they need to avoid the idolatry that may occur if they share. Public schools are adapting to a Muslim Perspectives curriculum project which whitewashes islam describing it as a tolerant religion of peace. Look into this and you will have nightmares.
Some public schools are catering to diversity by ensuring truck shops [cafeterias] are exclusively hallal.”
This is all a power game. The creeping islamisation of Australian society.
If you are not concerned about the Islamisation of Australia then you have been ignoring the frightening news of the islamisation of Europe or you might think, as some do, that Australia is somehow different, that its society is so strong that it will integrate muslim immigrants, something that has failed in every other non muslim country in the world. You are in denial. Islamophobia is not a dirty word. It is a healthy awareness and fear of islam based on what islam has been telling the west for decades: hatred of democracy; hatred of Jews; hatred of anything that is not muslim; hatred of muslims that are different from “my” islam.
The Q Society’s aim is to educate Australians and make them aware of the above so they will pressure our institutions and governments and educators to say “NO” to these unreasonable muslim demands.
Now you know (don’t take my word for it – Google it). Now you have an inkling of what Geert Wilders and the Q Society are about. And yes, they both really are – not apparent – great friends and supporters of Israel and the Jewish Nation. It will do you no harm to listen to what Wilders has to say, you can always reject it.
I, with the help of the Q Society, have done my bit. Wilders will do his. In the meantime, Australia is a democracy and you are free to choose what to do with this information?
I was horrified to receive an email from the QSociety. Evidently, they got my email from a petition that I signed against boycotting Israeli goods. Despite their statements that they are pro Israel, I too am deeply suspicious that this stance is an empty gesture through which they hope to gain some respectability. I was sickened by the content of the email they sent me. The irrational hatred was obvious. Muslims today. Jews tomorrow.
Yael, you couldn’t be more wrong if you tried.
AS I said elsewhere, though I have no connection in any way at all with the Q Society, I know many of its Executive and members personally. I m also very involved in the ‘things’ in the Jewish Community and I can tell you for a fact that there are more pro-Israel and than MANY Jews and would NEVER speak about Israel the way Larry Stillman and his racist group the Australian Jewish Democratic Society.
Before vilifying the Q Society look at the website of the AJDS. I’ll even oblige you with their web site and you see for yourself which of the two is the better one.They even have Arabic on their logo
http://www.ajds.org.au/
Mind given an example for what you call “irrational hatred”? I could not find anything even remotely in this email of the Q Society.
I hope Israel’s only friend and supporter in what is becoming Islamic Europe is treated with respect and
at least given a chance to express his views although knowing how the Left and progressives operate will try to silence him and stifle any debate.
The kosher issue is just one issue of contention even amongst Jews themselves.
Here is some background information worth reading on this matter re Wilders Views.
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3306/geert-wilders-smear
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/whose-law.html
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/kosher-slaughter-and-anti-semitism-part.html
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