Posted on 12/11/2003 10:10:49 AM PST by anotherview
Dec. 11, 2003
German lawmakers: anti-Semitism spreading toward mainstream
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERLIN
Germany's parliament unanimously condemned all forms of anti-Semitism on Thursday, expressing concern that anti-Jewish sentiment is seeping into the mainstream of society.
The measure, coming against a backdrop of worries about rising anti-Semitism in Europe, responded to a German lawmaker's speech that likened Jews to Nazis and led to his expulsion from the lower house's conservative caucus.
"We Germans in particular must never let up in rejecting anti-Semitic prejudice," Parliament President Wolfgang Thierse said during a two-hour debate on anti-Semitism in the lower house.
The measure reflected worries that the scandal surrounding expelled lawmaker Martin Hohmann, a member of the main opposition Christian Democratic party, could taint parliament.
It also expressed dismay about a foiled neo-Nazi plot against last month's groundbreaking for a new synagogue in Munich.
Germany's parliament "observes with great concern that anti-Semitic resentment are palpable not only among fringe groups but far into society," the resolution said, though it emphasized that the majority of people in Germany reject anti-Semitism.
"Anti-Semitic thought, talk and action have no place in Germany," said the resolution. "We have a special responsibility to keep memories of the Holocaust and of the victims alive. Remembering what happened is part of our national identity."
Last month, the Christian Democratic group in parliament voted 195-28 to boot out Hohmann.
He was widely accused of anti-Semitic stereotyping for an Oct. 3 speech marking German Unity Day in which he compared Jews and Nazis, citing an allegedly prominent role of Jews in Russia's 1917 communist revolution.
The scandal grew when the government fired Germany's special forces commander for writing a letter to Hohmann praising his "courage" for making the speech.
Of course with its clear siding with terrorists and their sympathizers against Israel the left has made antisemitism fashionable again. Especially in Europe.
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