Anti-Semitism is Rearing its Ugly Head Again

Anti-Antisemitism is firmly rooted in the minds of young Muslims. A whopping 80% of them state that Jews (mind you, not just Israelis but all Jews!) cannot be trusted.

The Youth Research Platform (JOP), an initiative of the Flemish government, conducted a poll under the supervision of Professor of Sociology Mr. Marck Elchardus of the Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel). 

The conclusions are upsetting to say the least. The level of anti-Antisemitism is staggering. According to the poll results, around 10% of non-Muslims and 45%-50% of Muslim youth is anti-Semitic.

This means that half of the Flemish Muslim youngsters are anti-Semitic. This estimation is even on the low side, considering that many of the polled youngsters did not even “partly agree” with negative statements about Jews in the poll. The real number of anti-Semitic Flemish youngsters is therefore closer to 75%. In the beautiful city of Antwerp, this number is even 85%.

Some examples:

• Half (50%) of the Muslim youngsters do fully agree and another quarter(25%) partly agree with the statement that Jews instigate war and then blame others.
• Two thirds of the polled Muslim youngsters think that the Jews want dominance over everything.
• 80% of polled Muslim youth is of the opinion that you should pay extra attention when you do business with Jews.
• Close to 75% of the respondents state that Jews have too much influence in Flanders, Belgium. The same percentage states that they are of the opinion that Jews consider themselves to be superior to everybody else.

The poll also included two positive statements: “Jews are industrious” and “Jews can be trusted to the same degree as non-Jews”. Less than 30% agreed with the statement that Jews are industrious. Only 20% think that Jews can be trusted to the same degree as non-Jews.

Countless tweets and reactions in online articles contain blatant hate statements. Councilman Ali Özyürek (City of Arnhem, the Netherlands) thinks that it is not as bad as it looks, and politicians of Moroccan decent such as AhmedMarcouch point out that the widespread anti-Semitism under Dutch Muslims is just “fear mongering”. 

As the poll illustrates, Muslims in Western Europe are anti-Semitic regardless of their personal traits, education level of their parents, educations, language skills, media use, income level per household or the city they reside in.

Conclusion: Anti-Semitism among young Muslims is a fundamental, deep rooted and universal problem. So how will we deal with it? Let's not repeat the mistakes of the 1930s!

(Source used: the excellent opinion piece by Bart Schut in Paris for the VK, image courtesy of www.sanfranciscosentenial.com) 

89-year old man returns library book after 76 years

Mark McKee kept his favorite library book for 76 years. before he finally plucked up the courage to send it back to the library. He also sent a letter along with it, in which he wrote: “My conscience took over. I was entranced by the book and kept it with my prized possessions, intending to return it forthwith.”

Mr. McKee borrowed “A Dog of Flanders” written by English author Marie Louise de la Ramee, when he was 13 years old from the public library in Mount Clemens, MI. When he sent back the book, he was convinced that he owed the library thousands of dollars in fines.

But the library director, Donald Worrell Jr., not only waived the late fee, but also sent Mr. McKee a new copy of the book stating “we figure the story is better than the money”.
This is certainly true – the story went viral after being picked up by the local media, giving the library a nice PR boost.

In case you wonder what captivated young master McKee for so many years, read on.

The story of “A Dog of Flanders” takes place in 19th century Belgium. Orphan Nello went to live with his grandfather in a small village near the city of Antwerp. One day, the boy found a dog (Patrasche) that was almost beaten to death. The two became close friends. Nello helped his grandfather selling milk with Patrasche shackled to a dogcart to get the milk into town each morning. Nello fell in love with Aloise, the daughter of a well-off man in the village. Nello entered a junior drawing contest in Antwerp in order to win first prize (200 francs annually). He lost and then his grandfather passed away. After being accused of arson, Nello went to the cathedral of Antwerp to see Rubens' The Elevation of the Cross, but he could not pay the entrance fee. On the night of Christmas Eve, he and Patrasche found the cathedral open and went in. The next morning, the boy and his dog are found frozen to death in front of the triptych.