10 January 2008
Kiwi Friends of Israel
Blog media releaseGroup concerned by Auckland protestA recently formed pro-Israel advocacy group, Kiwi Friends of Israel, says an Auckland protest against the situation in Gaza was hijacked by extremists.The protest's leaders led chants of "Support the Intifada!" and "Allahu Akhbar!", as well as some protesters brandishing signs with the Star of David alongside a Nazi Swastika. One protestor was also seen wearing a t-shirt with the slogan "9/11 was an inside job". Another sign described the biblical claim that Jews were the "chosen people" as "bullshit"
"This sort of hate speech does nothing to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians. It's the sort of extremism that undermines rational debate," says Kiwi Friends of Israel.
The word intifada means rebellion or uprising in English, and refers to the Second or al-Aqsa Intifada, referring to the wave of Palestinian terrorism since 2000.
Allahu Akhbar is an Arabic phrase meaning "God is Great" and has commonly been associated with Islamic extremism and terror. It features on the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and was chanted during the execution of American citizens Nick Berg and Daniel Perle.
"The organisers of the protest should front up and say whether or not they support this behaviour, and if they don't they should apologise and condemn it," says the group.
Ends
What an idiot (the man in the photograph). The linking of the Holocaust to the war going on right now between Israel and Hamas has absolutely nothing to do with mass extermination and Nazi ideology.
I blame the education system.
Well, no, it's more than just lack of education. It's a twisting of reality that makes people think that it is acceptable to link Nazism and Israel together.
There's more than just the physical battle at work here - this attack is spiritual, and most people are completely unaware and vulnerable.
UPDATE: It's very easy for anti-Israeli sentiments to escalate into violence against Jewish people. In Europe, there have already been a number of incidents. Let's hope and pray that anything like what is occurring overseas does not happen here.
Related link: Jews in Europe targeted as anger grows ~ MSNBC