Germany: Bavarian Courts Rule on "From the River to the Sea....."

There is an interesting debate going on within legal circles in Germany as to whether the slogan, "From the river to the sea", regularly used during anti-Israel protests, should be declared illegal on the grounds that it advocates the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel. Two district courts in Bavaria have ruled in two separate cases that it should be punishable under law, the same as pro-Nazi expressions are illegal in Germany. 

The below article by Frederik Schindler in WELT is translated by Fousesquawk. I will be writing about this question in more detail in the very near future.

Israel-hate

"The Hamas slogan is treated no differently under criminal law than the Hitler salute, for example".

By Frederik Schindler

Political editor

Posted 13:27 (November 29, 2024)

The first two court decisions that classify the slogan, "From the river to the sea," as a symbol of the Hamas terrorists are legally binding. The judiciary in Bavaria declares that their "clear position"  on this issue" is having an effect. The criminal liability of the slogan is controversial.

It is the most well-known slogan that has been used for decades by anti-Israel activists. "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free“. In this slogan, there is no more room for the state of Israel, which, in addition to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, extends over 78% of the territory between Jordan and the Mediterranean.  Now the first two court decisions have become legally in force, in which the use of the slogan is punishable.

This regards two criminal rulings from district courts in Sonthofen and Fuerstenfeldbruck. Both are available to Welt am Sonntag. It regards postings on the X platform from November of last year. A few weeks after the terror attacks by Hamas on Israel, an (X) user used this slogan on November 3. Ten days later, another posted: "No, never recognition of a genocidal state like Israel. From the river to the sea, no Israel territory!"

The State Prosecutor's offices in Kempten and Munich see this as the use of symbols of anti-Constitution and terrorist organizations, punishable under Paragraph 86a of the Criminal Code-and applied to the district court to issue an order of punishment (sentence). In the first case, it was 4,200 euros to be paid- 60 euros a day for 70 days. In the second case, it was 5,400 euros, equivalent to 60 euros a day for 90 days. Since no objection was filed, these became legally binding in mid-July and the beginning of October. Otherwise, the penalty order would have been in an indictment in a principal court hearing. 

"They knew, or at least accepted that it was the expression of a slogan of Hamas," the District Court of Sonthofen found in its decision in the penalty order. In Fuerstenfeldbruck, the document reads: "The expression symbolizes in a catchy (phrase) the proclaimed goal in the Hamas Charter that Israel should be fully incorporated into a Palestinian state. This goal assumes the logical destruction of the state of Israel."

The Commissioner for Anti-Semitism in the Bavarian judiciary, senior public prosecutor Andreas Franck, assesses the (sentences) positively: "Our clear position on this issue is showing an effect. There have hardly been any cases in public space in Bavaria where the Hamas slogan has been reported."

Criminal penalty for the slogan is controversial

On November 2, 2023, the Federal Interior Ministry banned Hamas. A portion of the decree is the ban on using their symbols publicly. The slogan, "From the river to the sea" is also named. Since 2017, it stands in the charter of the Islamist terror organization, where it states: "Hamas rejects any alternative to the complete and unrestricted liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea." However, it was already used by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the 1960s, so it is clearly older than the 1987-founded Hamas. On the contrary, the 1977 election platform of the current Premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, states: "Between the (Mediterranean) sea and the Jordan (river), there will only be Israeli sovereignty."

The criminal liability of the slogan is controversial. Some activists point out its ambiguity and stress that they are demanding not the eradication of Israel or Jewish life, rather the "liberation of Palestine from Israeli occupation"- or a secular and democratic state, in which Jews and Palestinians could live equally. Other courts have interpreted the expression as covered under freedom of expression.

In March of this year, the Hessian Administrative Court threw out the demonstration requirements of the city of Frankfurt, with which it wanted to ban the slogan. The court stated that criminal liability was "extremely doubtful". The main principle says nothing about how the goal of  "a free Palestine, including the territory of Israel," should be reached- for example, either through armed struggle or treaties under international law. There are no visible concrete indications that the use (of the slogan) must be understood as a mandatory call to violence and terror. The Bavarian Administrative Court decided in June that the city of Munich could not ban the slogan from demonstrations across the board if there was no "recognizable reference to Hamas".

The Federal Administrative Court has not yet dealt with it. In addition, there is not yet a Supreme Court decision in existence in criminal law. In November of this year, for the first time, a state court classified the slogan as a terrorist organization symbol. A Berlin superior court based this on case law of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in which it is stated that a symbol does not have to be used exclusively by a terrorist organization and when it is founded to be counted as such a symbol. It is sufficient that Hamas, "through its constant use of the slogan, makes it its own". Since an appeal against the verdict has been filed the BGH must now handle it.

In its case law, the Federal Court of Justice consistently describes freedom of expression as "absolutely established in free and democratic order". It is a violation against the fundamental right of freedom of expression, it stated in an earlier decision in 1995, if  a court, in the case of ambiguous statements, "relies on the meaning that leads to conviction without first having excluded the other possible meanings with conclusive reasons."

Constitutional law professor Anna-Katharina Mangold, who teaches at the University of Flensburg, says, "The possible interpretation of the slogan as a mere demand for democracy and equality must be accepted as a legal basis, when in a specific case, it is not completely implausible". It is "really regrettable that the Bavarian district courts did not consider the Karlsruhe* case law."

* Karlsruhe is the seat of the Federal Supreme Court in Germany (translator).

Justice Anti-Semitism Commissioner Franck is of a different opinion. The leeway for the slogan,"From the river to the sea", in light of freedom of expression, is significantly narrowing.  "The Hamas slogan is treated no differently under criminal law than the Hitler salute, for example. It takes very special circumstances, for one or the other, to go unpunished,"  

Political Editor Frederik Schindler reports for WELT on the AfD (Alternatif fuer Deutschland party), Islamism, anti-Semitism, and Justice themes. His column "Counter Speech" appears biweekly.

Switzerland: Asylum-Seeker Desecrates the Black Madonna of Einsiedeln

The Black Madonna of Einsiedeln

On November 16, a 17-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker walked into the monastery chapel of the Swiss town of Einsiedeln, and in front of astonished visitors, tore the clothing off of the much-venerated Black Madonna, which had been placed there in the 15th century, removed the crown, and put it on his own head before police arrived to take him into custody.

The below article from Bote (Switzerland) is translated from German by Fousesquawk.

Confused teenager undresses the Black Madonna

A sad incident in the monastery in Einsiedeln. A deranged 17-year-old caused damage to the Black Madonna. Before the eyes of the shocked pilgrims, he tore the clothing from the image of grace.

November 16, 2024 at 18:32

At noon Saturday, at the Chapel of Grace in the Einsiedeln Monastery, a disturbing incident occurred that will be talked about for a long time. In the evening, the Einsiedeln Monstery announced: "In the presence of many praying pilgrims, a confused person forcibly removed the clothing of the Black Madonna". According to information from TeleZur, the 17-year-old asylum-seeker from Afghanistan also set the crown of the Black Madonna on his head.

The much-venerated image of grace from the 15th century, which is visited annually by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, suffered light damage."We are thankful that more did not occur, and above all, nobody was injured," said the Einsiedeln Monastery. And further," We are deeply sorry about this incident and are thinking of the many people present whose religious feelings were hurt. Our prayers and thoughts are with them, as with also the person taken into custody." As possible crimes, among others, there is disruption of religious freedom and property damage. 

The motive of the 17-year-old is presently under police investigation. The Schwyzer (canton) police spokesperson Roman Gisler: "The person was taken to a medical institute." The monastery thanks the police officers who quickly arrived on the scene, as well as the monastery stewards for their "courageous and judicious intervention."

Finally, the message from the Monastery leadership said, "In our efforts to make the Einsiedeln Monastery a place of peace and reconciliation, we use this event as an opportunity for prayer. In this sense, the Rosary prayer on Sunday evening, 17 November at 18:15 will be specially designed."

The importance of the Black Madonna

The Black Madonna of Einsiedeln has for centuries, been an important destination for pilgrims from all over the world. She is visited annually by several hundred thousands of pilgrims. In the Chapel of Mercy, the pilgrims bring their diverse concerns. The 117-centimeter-high Madonna with the child in her left arm, came to the chapel in 1466. In accordance with the declaration of the monastery, the Jesus-child is naked. The Mother of God figure wears a strawberry red imitation damast fabric dress held by a belt under the breast and falls down in bright folds. The monastery fire of 1465, which broke out in the Holy Chapel, destroyed the old Madonna. Whether the image of a new image of mercy was commissioned or a statue already in the monastery was used is uncertain.

DOJ Orders DEA to Halt Airport Searches

 This article first appeared in New English Review.

This week, the Department of Justice ordered the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Anne Milgram, to discontinue a controversial enforcement program that had come under renewed scrutiny after a video surfaced of DEA agents attempting to obtain a consensual search of a traveler’s luggage at Cincinnati Airport.

As a retired DEA agent, I had some experience with this practice, which has been going on for many years. I retired from DEA in 1995, which gives you an idea how long the practice has been in effect. Some aspects may have changed over the years, but since it has come under scrutiny since the Cincinnati incident, I thought I would share my own personal knowledge.

Since drugs and the cash proceeds from drug trafficking are often transported through airports, train stations, and bus terminals, some DEA agents and task force officers have been trained to interdict the drugs and cash through approaches to certain travelers who raise suspicions.  The agents would approach the person in question, identify themselves, and ask for permission to search their luggage or person.

There are certain indicators that might raise the suspicion of a trained investigator. One that was reported in the Cincinnati case was the fact that the person in question had purchased his ticket shortly before departure. There are others that also pertain to the circumstances of the person’s travel and/or  behavior. Already, the reader might be thinking: ”profile”.  That is a tricky term and can quickly lead to charges of racial profiling, which by law, is not allowed, yet critics of the program have often made that accusation. On the contrary, it is the actions of the person in question that count, not their ethnicity.

Since I was also a US Customs agent prior to joining DEA in 1973, I would also like to point out that Customs agents and inspectors have what we call Customs search authority. That means that Customs personnel have the right to search any and all items entering the US from other countries. That right also extends to items suspected by Customs personnel to have crossed the border. Customs search authority also means that items that have entered the country can be searched at ports of entry or anywhere else. That authority does not extend to other law enforcement agencies.

Returning to the actions of DEA agents at US airports involving domestic flights, that means that DEA agents must obtain consent to search a traveler’s luggage or person. If consent is not granted, the agents only recourse is to obtain a search warrant based on probable cause that the person is carrying drugs or drug money. To develop that probable cause during an encounter requires specialized training that not all DEA agents have-or least had in my day. No consent, no probable cause, it’s “Have a nice day, Sir. Sorry to bother you.” If the agents decide they have probable cause to seek a search warrant, the traveler is free to leave but the luggage stays until the search warrant is signed or denied. As was shown in the Cincinnati video, a positive reaction by a detector dog adds to probable cause.

It is also true that money that has been seized can be subject to civil administrative forfeiture. The person from whom the money is seized has the right to petition for its return, but it is his or her own burden to prove the money was not proceeds or instruments of drug traffic. In practice, many of those truly involved in the drug trade choose not to petition for return of the money for obvious reasons. There is also a procedure for criminal forfeiture in cases where people are actually charged with drug trafficking, and in these cases, the standard of proof is greater as opposed to civil procedures. In civil forfeitures, an arrest and/or conviction is not necessary.

To be honest, I was never comfortable on the handful of occasions I participated in this kind of enforcement action although on occasion, I was present when drugs or money were found. While I did not receive the requisite training, I always accompanied an agent or agents who did.

Through the retired agents’ grapevine, I have seen mixed reactions to this decision. Some say it should have been abandoned a long time ago. Others point out that it was Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, a liberal activist, who issued the order, and predicted that when President Trump returns to office, it will be resumed. After all, the practice has been challenged in the courts and (when conducted properly and with probable cause) has been upheld.

I myself have mixed reactions. Conducted properly, it was legal.  I always felt that this was a program that required the highest degree of professionalism and skill. One bad incident and we risked losing the authority altogether. While I am not judging the Cincinnati incident, it seems to reinforce the knowledge we always possessed that if you abuse a power, you will lose that power.

And let’s be honest: No matter how diplomatically an agent conducts himself/herself, any innocent traveler who experiences this will leave with a bad taste in their mouth. At any rate, considering the publicity this case has caused, I wanted to present as accurate a picture of the practice as I could given the fact that I am now three decades removed from being in drug law enforcement. This enforcement practice has led to countless seizures of drugs and money linked to the drug traffic, but all it takes is one unfortunate encounter to put it at risk of being shut down.

 

 

 

Hamas Takes Over Sarah Lawrence College

Hat tip Eyal Yakoby and College Professors United for Jews and Israel.

Another campus taken over by the Hamas-supporting mob. This time, Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where a building has been occupied by Students for Justice in Palestine brownshirts, pro-Hamas pamphlets are being handed out featuring the image of Yahyah Sinwar, and celebrating the October 7 massacres.

All this while the administrators of Sarah Lawrence wring their hands figuring out what to do next.

It is shameful.

Legal Insurrection has all you need to know with a link to Minding the Campus . From College Professors United for Jews and Israel, there is a Facebook page (Eyal Yakoby) showing the Sinwar pamphlets.

And look what is heading the current issue of the campus newspaper opinion page.

Sarah Lawrence is a private liberal arts college in Yonkers, NYC. Yet, to the extent that the federal or state of New York governments are providing funding or grants to this school, they should be ceased immediately. I would also encourage sensible students and their families who pay the tuition to seek out a more suitable institution to pursue a college education.

Italy: Riots in Milan (Video)

 Yesterday, we reported on rioting in Milan after a 19-year-old Egyptian was killed when the motor scooter he was riding crashed during a police pursuit over the weekend. Riots in the crime-ridden Corvetto quarter of Milan, largely inhabited by immigrants, ensued.  Above is a video from RAI news which we have subtitled into English. Hat tip to Vlad Tepes and Gates of Vienna for the subtitling. Translation by Fousesquawk and HeHa. 

Italy: Riots in Milan

-RAI

On Saturday evening, a young Egyptian man (19) was killed when the scooter he was riding on during a police chase crashed into a wall in Milan. The operator of the scooter, a young Tunisian man (22), was also injured. According to police, the two young men were seen riding the scooter in the wrong direction and refused to stop for the Carabinieri. That's when the fatal chase ensued.

Subsequent to the accident, young residents of the neighborhood of Corvetto took to the streets and have rioted for two nights.

-Il Giornale

Center: Ramy Elgaml

-Corriere della Sera

Other Italian news reports say both of the young men had police records and may have been involved in recent robberies in the area though this is not confirmed. Reportedly, a stolen chain and 1,000 euros in cash were recovered.

The below article from RAI News is translated by Fousesquawk. The video in the article is in the process of being translated with English subtitles.

Corvetto

Night of tension in Milan after the death of Ramy: Fires and charges. 21-year-old arrested.

The protests continue for the young man who died on a scooter in a street accident during the night between Saturday and Sunday during a chase by the Carabinieri.

A night of tension in Corvetto, a quarter on the periphery of Milan, where some 100 youths protested the death of Rami Elgaml (who) died on a scooter in a street accident during the night between Saturday and Sunday during a chase by the Carabinieri.

Since 22:30, there have been fires, vandalism, and throwing of bottles and fireworks at police, who responded with charges and tear gas. One of the participants, who were all very young, was a 21-year-old person from Montenegro, who, according to the police headquarters, is accused of "throwing fireworks and objects, and resisting a public official (police)." The young man, who participated in the protests along with dozens of boys, was taken to San Vittore (prison) pending (initial examination).

The protests follow those that occurred over two days in a nearby street artery.

According to the reconstruction of events by police headquarters, around 22:30, some 70 persons (later perhaps over 100), began to protest at the corner of via Cinquecento and via dei Panigarola, hurling insults at law enforcement personnel (who were) present from the afternoon (when some other moments of tension occurred with the emptying of fire extinguishers and throwing of bottles) and then more throwing of bottles and firecrackers.

The demonstrators, (residents) of the quarter, especially the young and very young of the second generation, displayed some banners bearing the phrases, "Truth for Ramy" and "Don't condemn the innocent". On via Omero, around 11:30, the throwing of fireworks continued, and the tension became so high that police threw tear gas, advancing to disperse those present, who, in the meantime, also set small fires on household items on the street. In particular, an ATM shelter and a Line 93 bus stopped on via Omero were vandalized.

For years, the Corvetto quarter has been a problematic area in the city for degradation, illegal construction, and the concentration of poverty, and there have been demonstrations against the police in the past.

Austria: Afghan Convicted of Triple Murder

Ebdullah A. in court

Heute (Austria)

Austrian media is reporting that a 27-year-old Afghan man has been convicted of stabbing three  women to death in Vienna on February 23, 2024 in an Asian "sex studio". The man is (partially) identified as Ebdullah A.. 

The stabber was arrested (video) in a park by police shortly after the act.

The court ruled, however, that the man was mentally ill and sentenced him to an indefinite term in a mental hospital for the criminally insane. He apparently will not be deported back to Afghanistan.

According to earlier reports in the media, the man stabbed the three women a total of 96 times nearly beheading two of them. He reportedly had just come out of a mosque for Friday prayers and also reportedly told police that prostitutes were "under the cloak of Satan," and that he had read in the Koran that he must go on a jihad.

Chalk up three more innocent victims on the altar of a government's misguided-insane actually- immigration and refugee policy.

The below article from Heute (Austria) is translated by Fousesquawk.

Killed three sex workers

Guilty! Triple murderer in Vienna convicted

The Afghan was convicted of murdering three women in a sex studio, however, he doesn't have to go to prison. Here are all the details.

From Newsdesk Heute

November 25, 2024 at 16:01

Caption: Here is the alleged killer being led into court.

The verdict is in! The 27-year-old refugee, Ebdullah A., will be committed to an institution for his brutal knife murder in an Asian (sex) studio in Vienna Brigittenau. The jurors found him guilty by an 8-0 vote of having committed the bloody crime. Seven of the eight found him legally incompetent. So he will be in a (hospital) for the criminally insane for an undetermined amount of time.

They followed the strong recommendation of the court (appointed) psychiatrist. In his 65-page expert report, he drew a dark prognosis for the 27-year-old. For the severely schizophrenic, there is assumed "a significant danger", (and) he remains in a religious delusion.

To Sex Studio after prayers

In court, Ebdullagh A. defended himself in a disturbing manner. Despite the heavy weight of the evidence, he did not admit his crimes. Instead, he blamed a lack of memory. He insisted that he did not come to Austria to commit these terrible crimes. "But I really can't remember anything," he claimed. He said he bought the knife for his kitchen though the refugee came to Vienna from Carinthia illegally with no fixed abode in the capital city. 

He only went to the sex studio after Friday prayers in a mosque because "voices ordered me to". He reportedly learned a lot through his "traumatic flight", and had "to get through a lot".  We reported that he really remembered nothing more" about the crime of February 23 that he was accused of. Only that afterward, "my hands were injured and my jacket was bloodstained". He surmised to the astonished judge that possibly his memory was erased by the taser when he was arrested.

Caption: Philipp Springer defended the Afghan in court.

"We are glad that the expert and the jurors recognized that this is a sick person. We pointed that out from the beginning," said defense attorney Philipp Springer after the trial. A return to Afghanistan for the convicted man is ruled out.

One Fine Evening in Canada

 

Trudeau fiddles while Montreal burns.

Latest update: Police arrested three rioters.

3!

"Good news, mein Fuehrer. We have arrested three Russians."

Sweden: Iraqi Teacher in Gothenburg Threatens Sweden and its Children (Additional Video)

 

Yesterday, we posted a video of an Iraqi woman in Sweden, a substitute teacher, who was fired from her school after Tiktok videos of herself surfaced in which she was talking about destroying Sweden. We have additional video material of the same woman speaking at a separate demonstration in which she tells Swedes to go to Hell, F-you, and wishes that Swedish children would suffer worse than Palestinian children are suffering. Many thanks to RAIR USA, Vlad Tepes, and Gates of Vienna for the subtitling. The translation is by Fousesquawk. Note that in this video there are two separate video clips we joined together. The first incident runs the first 25 seconds, and the second incident, which is the same incident we posted earlier, runs the second half of the video. You can tell that in the second video, the woman, who is identified as Tara Mohammed Saleh, is wearing a different-colored hijab.

Sweden: Teacher Fired for Threatening Posts on Tiktok

Threats directed at Sweden and the schoolchildren  by a substitute teacher

About two weeks ago, a secondary school in the Gothenburg area of Sweden fired a substitute teacher after one of her Tiktok videos showed her threatening to destroy Swedn including the children at her school.

Apparently, it was school pupils themselves who discovered that the unidentified teacher was making threats against Sweden and the school on her Tiktok account. The video showed the female teacher, wearing a hijab, saying she and others would return to their home country after destroying Sweden. She also said she wished that Swedish children and those Swedes who voted for the Sweden Democrat (SD) and Liberal (L) parties would suffer the same fate as Palestinians.

The below article from Expressen (Sweden) dated November 8 is translated by Fousesquawk. We are also in the process of translating a video clip of some of the teacher's comments that appeared in a Norwegian news source (Dokument.no) on November 18 (with Swedish subtitles).

Investigating threat against school in Gothenburg-Substitute fired after Tiktok posting

Published November 8 2024 at 12:59

Updated at 15:40

When pupils discovered that a substitute teacher posted on Tiktok with "strong threats" she was fired from the private school in Gothenburg.

The substitute was reported to the police, and on Friday, police were on the scene at the school.

"It's awfully nasty," says one parent.

On Monday of last week, a substitute teacher was fired from her job at Ebba Pettersson School in Gothenburg after pupils discovered the teacher's Tiktok account.

"To all of you who voted for the disgusting Swedish government, and especially SD (Sweden Democrat) and L (Liberal), I wish that your children and grandchildren suffer worse than the Palestinians," the substitute wrote among other things in a posting.

"It has come to our attention in the past weeks that the person has a Tiktok account where she expressed very strong views regarding Sweden's democracy and basic law. Even more, it was directed against a certain (ethnic) group of people," says principal Ulrika Kragner.

Threatened school

"After that, this person laid out a direct threat against Ebba Pettersson School," says Principal Ulrika Kragner.

On Friday, the principal considered the situation so threatening that she contacted the police. On  Friday a police patrol was at the scene.

"During the morning, there was a school in West Frölunda that notified us as to a possible unlawful threat. So we went there, and after talking with school administrators, we filed a report on unlawful threats. At this time there is no suspect in the case," says Jens Andersson, spokesperson for Police Region West.

School: "Serious threat directed at (ethnic) groups".

On Friday, guardians at the school received several messages from school administrators.

"Last week, a substitute teacher at the junior high school was terminated. The reason was that the teacher expressed several strong views on Tiktok. The teacher also directed serious threats against (ethnic) groups of people. This means that we have an increased security risk against our school with threats now also directed to the school," they write in one of these (messages) and add that they are (implementing) all security measures recommended by police.

One parent at the school says that there is great concern.

"This is disgusting, and we are in panic as parents. What kind of consequences are there for the school and how safe are our children? These are the questions I ask myself," says the parent.

The pupils and guardians who wanted were able to leave school earlier on Friday.

"There were many pupils who chose to do so. 80-90% had already gone home for lunch," says Ultika Kragner.

*Update: Here is the above referenced video clip. Translation by Fousesquawk. Thanks to Gates of Vienna and Vlad Tepes for subtitling.

*Update: There is more video to come. Samnytt has a video containing the above clip and a separate clip filmed at a different demonstration. We are presently working on adding English subtitles to that video as well. Samnytt identifies the woman as Tara Mohammed Saleh, a Kurd from Iraq.

Four Students Charged in Univ. of Rochester "Wanted Poster" Case

-CNN

Earlier this month, the University of Rochester awoke to find wanted posters all over campus walls referring to Jewish faculty who, according to the poster children, were guilty of supporting Israeli war crimes- or some such rot. The university condemned the action and launched an investigation. 

It appears the investigation is bearing fruit. Four persons are now facing felony charges, and a 5th is still considered a person of interest. The four students have pled not guilty.

Legal Insurrection has the report here. The names of the four students are included in a link from Rochester First.

It appears the campus newspaper, Campus Times, has yet to report this update. That is understandable if it is published weekly. I'll check for updates.

Standing up to Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP)

Subsequent to the horrific attacks by Hamas upon Jewish civilians in Israel on October 7, 2023, US campuses exploded in support, not of Israel, which has suffered the most hideous and catastrophic attack upon the Jewish people since the Holocaust, but in support of Hamas. Naturally, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a despicable, anti-Semitic organization, which for years, has engaged in tactics of disruption, bullying, and intimidation on college campuses in the name of  attacking the Jewish state of  Israel.

As SJP took the lead in setting up obnoxious encampments on university campuses across the nation this year, at last, several university administrators got up off their duffs and called in the police to break them up and restore order and safety, especially for Jewish students. 

During all this mess that we observed here in the US earlier this year, a bunch of university professors across the nation established campus chapters of Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) to support SJP and pressure their schools to join the BDS movement against Israel (Boycott, Divest, and Sanction) including boycotts of Israel universities and the cutting off of joint projects and exchanges with Israeli universities. This would also shut down student exchange programs with Israeli universities.

Let me be clear: Like SJP, FJP is made up of Jew-haters and misfits (including misfit Jews) who detest not only Israel but America and Western civilization in general. In a way, they are worse than SJP in that they are older than SJP members and supposedly wiser. Yet they are the very ones egging on the SJP brownshirts. They and their leftist brethren in academia have literally corrupted the culture of American universities.

The AMCHA Initiative is a California-based organization dedicated to exposing and combatting campus anti-Semitism. I am proud to call them my friends and colleagues. I highly recommend you visit their website and follow what they do. For example, they have an extensive database of anti-Semitic incidents on university campuses over the past several years. They also collaborate with other organizations to put pressure on universities to protect their Jewish students. This week, they have put out a press release announcing their program to stand up to FJP. I am cross-posting it here. It includes two videos which I encourage you to watch. (They are both under 3 minutes in length.)

The press release can be accessed here.

Austria: Police Seek Public Help Finding Chechen Knife Attackers

-Heute

Like many other Western European countries, Austria is plagued by gang warfare and other crimes involving so-called Chechen "refugees", largely military-age young men. Back in 2016, we reported on the problem of gang warfare in Austria between Chechens and Afghans.

 Back in July of this year, a group of young Afghan males was attacked by a gang of young males later identified as Chechens at the train station in Meidling (Vienna). The victims were chased and attacked with knives, brass knuckles, and other objects. Three Afghans received stab wounds and one other a serious head injury.

Since then, some of the attackers have been identified, and this week, police released images of several suspects still unidentified in the attacks to the public asking for help. The below article from Heute (Austria) is translated by Fousesquawk. The lead photo can be expanded to show individual closeups of the suspects.

So I guess that the war between the Chechens and Afghans continues. As for these mopes, who knows? They could already be in the US by now!

Attack at Meidling train station

Gang war in Vienna- New photos of the suspects

After the bloody battle at the Meidling train station in the summer, the Vienna police have published new photos of the brutal young suspects.

-By Newsdesk Heute

November 18, 2024

Caption: These unidentified young men are being sought by Vienna police since the bloody gang war at the Meidling train station in the summer of 2024.

July 7, 2024 at 9:20 pm. Screams, blood, then flashing blue lights at the Meidlin train station. Young Chechens, some of them still unidentified, surprised their victims from Afghanistan (15, 18, 23 years of age). During a chase, they caught them at different locations and attacked them with knives, hammers, telescopic (expandable) batons, and brass knuckles.

When the first blue lights (police) appeared on the horizon after a short time, the suspects quickly fled. The WEGA* was there in 39 seconds, thereby preventing the worst. The bloody result of the alleged gang war, several were seriously injured! Three victims suffered stab wounds and another a serious head injury.

On August 4, through examination and publication of photo material, some of the suspects were successfully identified. This morning, Monday, 18 November, follows another group of photos (see photo gallery above) of other, still unidentified alleged participants.

Witnesses who know the identities of the suspects are asked to contact the police. Tips are requested (also anonymous) by the Vienna State Police at telephone number 01-31310-33800.

*Translator's note: WEGA is a special operations police unit in Vienna under the Vienna State Police.

Netherlands: Blunt Words for the Dutch Muslim Community

Ronald Plasterk

Ronald Plasterk is a Dutch scientist and retired politician (Labour Party). In the wake of the recent anti-Jewish riots in Amsterdam, he has written an op-ed in the Dutch daily,  De Telegraaf, in which he bluntly advises the Dutch Muslim community to emulate the successes of the Jewish community instead of attacking it. The above op-ed in the De Telegraaf is subject to a subscriber block, but his words have drawn praise from the conservative Dutch news outlet, Dageljkse Standaard. That article is translated by Fousesquawk.

Ronald Plasterk: "Dutch Muslims should follow the example of the Jewish community!"

Opinion-15 November at 16:00

What a relief it would have been if Ronald Plasterk, with his clear view of society, had become the minister-president of this cabinet. In his recent column in De Teklegraaf, Plasterk puts his finger right on the sore spot. He states that Dutch Muslims would be better off following the example of Jewish society. And to be honest, who can be against that? Plasterk at least dares to tell it like it is.

In a world where anti-semitism, unfortunately, is flaring up again, Plasterk points out an uncomfortable truth: There seems to be a form of jealousy at play. Jews form only 0.2% of the world's population but are responsible for an overwhelming 20% of the Nobel prizes in the exact sciences.  That is no accident, it is the result of hard work and dedication. And that is precisely what Plasterk points out to Muslims: Work hard, be proud of your roots, and follow the example of the success stories of the Jewish community.

Plasterk makes short work of the victimhood that is currently so often embraced. He advises Dutch Muslims to focus less on the endless discussions about Gaza, Hamas, and Hezbollah. It is time to look beyond the eternal role of victim. As Plasterk correctly notes, the Dutch media are often pro-Gaza and anti-Israel, but this same "good community" will not choose the side of Hamas and Hezbollah if it involves the destruction of Israel. 

It would be much more sensible to learn from the Jewish society. Arabs and Jews belong to the same stock, as Plasterk makes clear in a conversation with Professor Peter de Knijff, professor of Anthropogeny at the University of Leiden. They are two societies that are genetically and culturally closer to each other than one might think. And still, there is a world of difference in approach. While the Jewish community is proud of its achievements and contributions to science, parts of the Muslim community engage in destructive rhetoric.

Frankly, it is a shame that Plasterk doesn't get the chance to proclaim his sort of wisdom from the tower at NSC*. His call to Dutch Muslims to emulate the successes of the Jewish community is not only justified, but it is also a message that is desperately needed in this time of polarization and mutual distrust. Instead of endless complaints over alleged inequality, it is time to show your worth, just as the Jewish community has been doing for decades.

* NSC- New Social Contract political party

Riot in Turin (Video)

 

Two days ago, students and other activists staged protests in major cities all over Italy against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and various other grievances. The pro-Palestinians were also out in force as previously reported.

The above video from RAI-TV1 in Italy shows some of the violence in Turin (the city that suffered the most), but also some of the protests in Milan and Rome. Hat tip to Vlad Tepes and Gates of Vienna for subtitling. Translation by Fousesquawk and HeHa.

*Note that the social centers mentioned in the video are radical independent social centers dedicated to protesting this or that.

Italy: Students Across Italy Protest Meloni, the Government and Israel

Turin taken over by violent demonstrators and pro-Palestinians

"No Meloni Day"

Yesterday, thousands of students and young activists took to the streets of major Italian cities against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other ministers, particularly the Minister of Education, Giuseppe Valditara. In addition to all that, the pro-Palestinians were out in force with their flags and keffiyas.

The worst violence occurred in Turin, where thousands pushed past police cordons, and occupied principal buildings in Turin, including the iconic Mole Antonelliana building, the symbol of the city. To add insult to injury, they took down the flags of Italy and the European Union and replaced them with a Palestinian flag. 

Some 15-20 police officers were hospitalized when someone threw a rudimentary explosive device, and the officers were overcome with smoke and fumes.  

We are working on translating a news video of the disgusting display of violence, particularly in Turin.

Turin 

-La Stampa

Turin

-RAI

Turin

-Il Giornale

Turin

-RAI

Turin

-La Stampa

Turin

Protesters pull down Italian flag and replace it with Palestinian flag

-Il Giornale

Belgium: Municipal Worker Fired for Defaming Graves in a Cemetery

Hat tip Francois DeSouche and Vlad Tepes

Auderghem, Belgium

The mayor and municipal council of the municipality of Auderghem, Belgium have fired a municipal worker after he allegedly put up a video of himself walking through the local cemetery and insulting the dead there as "kuffirs" (unbelievers) and "people who stink".

The below article from the Belgian daily, 7 sur 7, is translated from French by Fousesquawk. It includes the video in question.

In addition, the French blog, Francois DeSouche, has the video with the individual's face clearly shown.

"Cemetery of Kuffirs": A municipal worker in Auderghem fired for having insulted the dead in a video.

A municipal worker in Auderghem has been fired for serious misconduct as a result of a video in which he is seen insulting the graves of the dead in a cemetery in the Brussels municipality, DH (news) reports.

-Editorial staff, November 15, 2024 at 12:37

"Cemetery of Kuffirs (Unbelievers), cemetery of (people who stink)", says, in particular, the man in work clothes in this video disseminated about 10 days ago by an X account claiming to be "a whistleblower against Islamism". The images provoked numerous indignant reactions on social media.

Calling the incident, "totally unacceptable", the mayor of Auderghem, Sophie de Vos (DeFI party), and her municipal council unanimously decided on Tuesday, November 12 to fire the individual for serious misconduct, effective immediately. A judicial procedure is also in progress since a complaint was filed by the municipality. The man has since been interviewed by police.

UC Berkeley Blames Trump Win on Racism

I am cross-posting a piece in Campus Reform regarding an article in the University of California at 

Berkeley official news website, UC Berkeley News, in which a collection of UCB professors, you 

know the type, claim that Trump's victory was mostly a result of white resentment and refusal to vote for a 

black, South Asian woman for president (Kamala Harris). The article was hyperlinked in the Campus 

Reform report and may also be accessed here.

What I find striking is that this is not the student newspaper, The Daily Californian, rather the official UCB

website for news. Where are the opposing viewpoints? So here you have the usual collection of academic,

leftwing misfits railing against Trump and those who voted for him (in this case, more than 50% of the

voters). This is so emblematic of how far our universities have sunk.



 Harris did not lose because she was black, South Asian, or a woman. She lost because the Biden-Harris

administration has been a colossal failure by any measure. Inflation, cost of gas, food, and a wide-open

border that has literally cost the lives of Americans fully disqualified either Biden or Harris from winning

this election. Biden was senile, a point Harris studiously denied, and the media ignored, and Harris herself

was a joke who ran a horrible campaign and couldn't articulate a single reason why she should be president

other than calling Trump a horrible person.



What the learned professors fail to grasp is that Trump just didn't win white male votes. Women,

Hispanics and blacks increasingly decided that Harris was an empty vessel and that the Dems have

not delivered on their promises to make their lives better. Much like our news media, academia cannot

face the fact that most Americans are rejecting their propaganda and their world view.



Netherlands: Geert Wilders Speaks out on Anti-Jewish Pogroms

Hat tip RAIR Foundation USA, Gates of Vienna, Vlad Tepes for subtitling. Translation of videos by Henk.

Geert Wilders

I am cross-posting an article from Gates of Vienna with two videos featuring remarks by Dutch politician Geert Wilders in the wake of last week's attacks on Israeli and Dutch Jews in Amsterdam at the hands of Muslims who reside in the Netherlands.

In the first video, Wilders tells reporters what he thinks needs to be done: Arrests, imprisonment, stripping of citizenship for offenders with dual nationality, and deportation.

In the second video, Wilders expresses his outrage over these anti-Jewish attacks. I feel it is important to help spread his remarks. He is spot on.

(Jewish) Wanted Posters at University of Rochester

University of Rochester

Another incident of campus anti-Semitism has broken out, this time, at the University of Rochester where unidentified pro-Palestinian activists plastered wanted posters of numerous faculty on campus, most of whom, if not all, are reportedly Jewish. PJ Media has a report here.

In addition, the University of Rochester Campus Times is reporting the story here. Interestingly, their headline identifies the targets of the posters as "university affiliates".

I find it astounding that putting up posters of Jewish faculty members on campus who are perceived as pro-Israel can be dismissed as not being anti-Semitic. Of course, nobody is going to claim credit for this cowardly act, no doubt carried out in the dead of night, but the despicable Jewish Voice for Peace denies that it is anti-Semitic.

Matt Gaetz for Attorney General?

Matt Gaetz

Of all of President-elect Trump's picks for cabinet positions, the choice of Matt Gaetz for attorney general is raising the most eyebrows, including mine.

Being a retiree from the Justice Department (DEA), I take this position very seriously. In my view, it is the most important cabinet position there is, at least on the domestic front. I have seen too many bad AGs in my lifetime. I have seen the effect they have had on DOJ and its agencies.

I'm not an expert on Gaetz. I understand that he has a total of two years of experience as an attorney. As a member of Congress, representing a district in Florida, he has been controversial and has made enemies not only among Democrats but among some Republicans as well. More seriously, was the subject of a criminal investigation involving alleged sexual offenses and alleged bribes. Though prosecutors ultimately declined to file charges, the House of Representatives had been investigating him for ethics violations until he resigned from Congress after being nominated by Trump.

For all I know, Gaetz could turn out to be a good attorney general. He has been one of those in Congress fighting the weaponization of the criminal justice system to go after political opponents. The Justice Department is in serious need of reform, and it will take a strong leader to take the necessary steps. Is Gaetz that person? I don't know, but I have doubts.

I strongly believe that the attorney general should be a person of unquestioned reputation and stature within the legal world. Over the years and decades, we have had too many who did not fill that bill. Political appointees tend not to fill that bill. And we don't need people leading the Department of Justice who are or have been under suspicion of committing illegal acts. I don't know if Gaetz is guilty of the allegations against him, and I repeat that the prosecutor decided not to file charges. Thus, he enjoys the presumption of innocence. I hope I am proved wrong, but right now, I do not like this choice.  DOJ needs to be reformed but without added turmoil and controversy.

Netherlands: More Pro-Palestinian Violence at Amsterdam's Dam Square

On Wednesday night, about 100 pro-Palestinian activists showed up to protest on Amsterdam's Dam Square in spite of a city-imposed ban on protests at that location. Violence broke out, and police made numerous detentions.

The below video from Algemeen Dagblad shows part of what occurred. Hat tip to Vlad Tepes and Gates of Vienna for subtitling. Translation by Fousesquawk.

The Puinhoop in the Netherlands

 This article first appeared in New English Review.

Last week, pro-Palestinian thugs in Amsterdam viciously attacked Israeli soccer fans and other Jews on the streets of that city following a soccer match between a Dutch team and a team from Israel. Five people had to be hospitalized, dozens were arrested, and Israelis had to be escorted to the airport by police. While it is undeniable that some of the Israeli fans behaved badly before and during the match (as soccer fans around the world are prone to do), nothing justified what happened after the match when roaming gangs of thugs, many on motorbikes, hunted down and attacked Israeli fans and other Jews on the streets.

The incident has shocked the nation and is forcing the Dutch government to consider stronger measures against anti-Jewish violence. With a more conservative government now in place, hopefully, the country (and the rest of the world) will finally say enough is enough. Yet, as I write, on Wednesday evening, hundreds of pro-Palestinians gathered on Amsterdam’s Dam Square to protest in spite of a ban imposed on protests by the city’s mayor. Predictably, it turned violent and police removed 265 people from the square. Their custodial situation is as yet not clear.

One of the measures being considered by the Dutch government is stripping away Dutch passports from perpetrators with dual nationality. That would be a positive first step. Mass deportations of these criminals, who are overwhelmingly of immigrant backgrounds, would be the best step of all.

But back to the question of what to do now. I am hesitant to lecture the Europeans what to do about their problem when we have a similar problem here in the US. Nevertheless, let me share my ideas.

Obviously, more severe prosecution is in order. Offenses like these need to be met with stiff prison sentences that would serve as a deterrent, at least for some.

Once a foreign suspect goes through the judicial process and is released from custody, they should be promptly deported. If certain countries, most notably Morocco, refuse to accept them back, countries like the Netherlands should cut off any foreign aid or trade with that country. Morocco is actually a prime example with the Netherlands-based Moroccan Maffia, a particularly vicious organization that largely controls the illicit drug trade in the Netherlands. Morocco generally refuses to accept convicted Moroccan criminals back. There should be consequences for that.

The deportation question obviously will involve opposition from liberal political parties, social associations, and likely the courts. That is also true in the US, and we are about to see this played out with the return to power of Donald Trump and his promise to deport illegal aliens. Unquestionably, that will begin with the identified criminal elements and suspected terrorists.

Returning to the Netherlands, they and their European neighbors first need to stop the bleeding. That means putting a halt to mass Muslim migration into Europe. To be fair, this migration began decades ago and largely involved needed workers for European countries with a low birth rate. Now that has turned into a flood of millions of people, largely stemming from the Syrian civil war in 2015.  In addition, Western Europe now has a young generation of people, largely from Islamic backgrounds, born in Europe, and who speak the language. Yet, they are clearly not fully assimilated. Worse yet, they have not adopted Western norms and values, preferring those from countries from which their families immigrated. Still, I don’t favor deporting some law-abiding restaurant owner who has been in the country for an extended time and done nothing wrong. I am talking about people like the Moroccan Maffia, those who attacked Jews in Amserdam last week, radical Islamists, and those who refuse to respect the values and laws of their adopted country.

Many European countries have a different citizenship system than the US. That means in some countries, full citizenship is not automatically granted to someone born in that country to immigrant parents. In the Netherlands, there are many with dual nationality, thus, the discussion now in Dutch political circles about stripping those people of their Dutch nationality if they engage in criminal behavior.

At the end of the day, it comes down to this: Are we going to protect our Jewish communities from lawless young thugs who want to attack Jews because they are angry about Israel, and aside from Israel, have been taught to hate Jews in general as part of their belief system? Are we going to protect ourselves-all of us- from this Islamist way of thinking that has invaded the West? Or do we throw up our hands and say, “It’s too late.  We now have millions of them, Europe is already lost”?

I hate to disappoint the Pollyannas out there who say the answer is sensitivity training, interfaith cooperation with Islamic leaders, and trying to encourage assimilation. It’s too late for that. This week, the Dutch government leaders have met with both Jewish and Muslim community leaders trying to find an answer. I have no objection with reaching out to true Muslim moderates and imams who are against this anti-Jewish, anti-Western hate and violence. The problem is that there are many imams and many mosques who are a part of the problem. If certain imams in certain mosques are giving sermons, damning Israel, Jews, the West, and anything that is not Islamic while calling for violence, there is no point in asking them for cooperation. These mosques must be closed and offending imams (who largely come from other countries) should be sent home. In some cases in Europe, this has happened as in France and Italy among others. But it is a long and difficult process. Laws need to be changed in many of our countries. In many cases, existing laws simply need to be enforced.

Let me be clear: I am not calling for countries like the Netherlands and ours to deport every last Muslim, only the bad apples. At the same time, we have to recognize that the Netherlands and other Western European countries have allowed so many millions of Muslims into their countries, many not fully vetted, who now threaten to demographically change the face of Europe forever. I am not talking about whether Europeans are all brown 50 years from now. I am worried that Europe will actually become Eurabia with a whole new culture and set of values hostile to our own.

I speak Dutch fairly well (The reason why I learned it is a long story), and there is a word that describes the situation the Dutch find themselves in. It is a “puinhoop” literally a pile of rubbish, but often used to describe something as a “mess”. Another term, “bende”, usually meaning “gang”, can also be used for  a “mess”.  Take your pick. The Netherlands, like many of its European neighbors, has a mess on its hands. Fixing the problem, if it can be fixed, will also be a mess. Far be it for me to tell the Europeans how to fix their mess when we have our own mess here in the US, like Europe, largely of our own creation. Historically, immigration has been great for the US, but it has gone off the rails.

The Dutch people have a long history of welcoming true refugees and for their tolerance. Centuries ago, they welcomed Jewish refugees from Iberia fleeing persecution. In the 1930s, they welcomed Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, mostly notably Anne Frank and her family, German Jews from Frankfurt. Of course, that all ended with the German occupation in World War 2. Today, Dutch tolerance and hospitality has been abused, not by all, but by far too many. The Dutch people themselves are not anti-Semites, but anti-Semitism has been imported into their country and to the detriment of the Dutch people as a whole. As a side note, the country is faced with a severe housing shortage. Yet, Dutch citizens have to wait years for housing because the so-called asylum-seekers go to the top of the list.

To me, the dilemma in the Netherlands is somewhat similar to the one they faced during the German occupation. Are they going to surrender their Jewish citizens to the new invaders?  Either direction will be a puinhoop, but I hope the answer is a resounding, “No”.