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Old February 12th, 2008 #1
Alex Linder
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Spain Spain

Spanish Muslims at crossroads - integration or exclusion? - Feature

Posted : Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:10:03 GMT

Madrid - Will Spain have a liberal or conservative type of Islam? Could fundamentalism soar? Will Muslims blend in, or will there be youth riots like in Paris in 2005? Can Spain find a third way between French-style assimilation of immigrants and British multiculturalism?As the first modern generation of Spanish-born Muslims is coming of age, the country's Islamic communities stand at a crossroads.

The question of the integration of Muslims has come under a heated debate after the opposition conservatives announced they would ban Muslim headscarves in most schools if they win the March 9 elections.

The proposal sparked criticism from the governing Socialists and the far left, which slammed the conservatives as xenophobic racists.

"Immigrants should never become a cheap electoral merchandise," Kamal Rahmouni, president of the Moroccan immigrants' association Atime, said in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Spain needs to develop "solid elements" to deal with problems related to immigration when they arise, Rahmouni stressed, calling for a "state pact" between the two main parties.

Spain is estimated to have more than a million Muslims, making Islam the country's second biggest religion after Roman Catholicism.

The Muslims are usually spoken of as a group, but in reality, they include a wide variety of nationalities ranging from up to 800,000 Moroccans - the largest group - to Pakistanis, people from the Middle East and West Africa.

The Muslims also include about 80,000 people living in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the Moroccan coast, and up to 25,000 converts.

The currents of Islam present in Spain range from traditional Moroccan Malekite Islam to orthodox Saudi Wahabism and even some marginal fundamentalist movements. A part of the Muslims, of course, practise their religion only occasionally or not at all.

In relations with the government, Muslims are represented by two federations.

The Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities (Feeri) represents a liberal home-grown Islam embraced by many converts, while the bigger Union of Spanish Islamic Communities (Ucide) stands for a more conservative, social brand.

"Many Muslims do not feel represented by these organs, which were created in the late 1980s and early 1990s," Rahmouni says.

Internal divisions and rivalries have prevented Muslims from having a visible leader and a single voice, he observes.

That contributed to governments ignoring a pioneering 1992 agreement, which theoretically gives Muslims the same rights as Catholics, according to observers.

Critics of the 1996-2004 conservative governments say they had little enthusiasm for promoting Muslim rights because of their closeness to the Catholic Church.

As the number of Muslims has grown, the current Socialist government has timidly started reactivating cooperation with Islamic associations in the framework of a new foundation.

Madrid boasts what is billed as Europe's biggest mosque, the construction of which was financed by Saudi Arabia. Yet the vast majority of Spain's 700 mosques continue operating in garages, basements, former factories or warehouses.

With no national rules on the training of imams and hardly any state subsidies to mosques, they are often left dependent on money coming in from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Libya or Egypt.

That increases the danger of outside interference and of fundamentalism, according to Muslim analysts.

Spain currently has only about 30 teachers of Islam for more than 70,000 potential pupils at state schools.

Questions such as that of the headscarf are sorted out on the regional level, the tendency being to regard a girl's right to education as more important than criticism of a symbol which some see as denigrating women.

The Islamic communities and the government need to arrange for Muslims to have democratically-elected representatives in order to regulate the practice of Islam, Rahmouni says.

"Spain needs to find its own model of integration," based on the existence of 17 semi-autonomous regions some of which have their own languages alongside Spanish, he said.

"Spain's cultural diversity will facilitate the integration of immigrants," Rahmouni believes.

Spain is unique in Western Europe in that it was partly under Muslim rule for eight centuries until 1492. Spanish culture has numerous Arab-Berber influences including more than 4,000 Spanish words that are derivative from Arabic.

Few Spaniards, however, spare a thought for such links, and there have been dozens of cases of local people opposing the construction of mosques in regions such as north-eastern Catalonia.

The 2004 Islamist train bombings, which killed 191 people in Madrid, were followed by a slight increase in neo-Nazi attacks and threats against mosques, but on the whole, Rahmouni describes the reaction of Spanish society as "very mature" - at least so far.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...--feature.html
 
Old March 3rd, 2008 #2
Alex Linder
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Police teargas anti-racist rioters in Madrid

Fri Feb 29, 2008


By Andrea Comas

MADRID, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Spanish police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at anti-fascist protesters in central Madrid on Friday night as they tried to stop a right-wing rally near an immigrant area of the city.

Anti-fascists threw rocks behind burning barricades in narrow cobbled streets and at least one car was set alight. Some of hundreds of far-right activists, separated from left-wing protesters by lines of riot police, gave Nazi salutes.

According to a Reuters witness more than 1,000 anti-fascists gathered to protest the far-right meeting in Tirso de Molina, a few hundred metres from Madrid's main square, after local authorities sanctioned the rally.

The violence comes just over a week before Spaniards vote in a general election where immigration has become a major issue for the first time.

Posters had been pasted on walls in the area earlier in the week warning of a racist demonstration. Protesters, joined immigrants, blocked roads leading down into Lavapies, an area with a large African and Chinese populations.

Demonstrators chanted "You shall not pass," and "Brother Carlos, we will not forget you", referring to 16-year-old Carlos Javier Palomino, an anti-racist protester who was stabbed and killed during a confrontation with rival groups last November.

A spokesman for Madrid's ambulance service said nobody had been injured though left-wing media said one protester had been blinded in one eye.

Anti-fascist protesters also threw bricks through the windows of several banks and smashed up offices inside, eyewitnesses said.

The number of migrants living in Spain has increased fivefold in the last 10 years and now account for 9 percent of Spain's 45 million people.

The opposition Popular Party calls immigration a "problem" and proposes measures to compel immigrants to integrate, including restricting the use of Islamic headscarves. The ruling Socialist party has dismissed the Popular Party proposals as xenophobic.

http://www.reuters.com/article/lates.../idUSL29492025

[Indymedia report]

With just days to go before the Spanish general election, anti-rascist campaigners fought running battles with riot police in Central Madrid this Friday, building huge burning barricades and entirely gutting several banks, after the local PP (rightist) council allowed 'Combat Espana' and other fascist groups to gather in Tirso de Molina square, traditionally Madrid's most leftist area and now home to much of Madrids immigrant population.

Mule reporters were on the front lines with a camera and a bottle of beer to bring you this report....



With just days to go before the Spanish general election, anti-rascist campaigners fought running battles with riot police in Central Madrid this Friday, building huge burning barricades and entirely gutting several banks, after the local PP (rightist) council allowed 'Combat Espana' and other fascist groups to gather in Tirso de Molina square, traditionally Madrid's most leftist area and now home to much of Madrids immigrant population.

As a few hundred fascists met in Tirso de Molina at 8.30 (29th Feb), chanting various slogans relating to immigration and growing unemployment, waving Nazi flags and rather predictably making Nazi salutes, surrounded by several hundred police, 1000's of immigrants from the Lavapies district and anti-fascist campaigners gathered in protest. Emotions were running high both on account of an increasing number of fascist attacks against immigrants and leftists in Spain and what was seen as an act of total provocation by the cities right-wing council, in allowing fascist organisations to march and gather on the edges of Lavapies (a barrio in Madrid with the largest immigrant population, and most associated with left-wing politics), and specifically in Tirso de Molina a square with historic left-wing connotations, where anti-capitalists and anti-fascists gather every Sunday to man stalls, exchange campaigning materials and chat.

This is the latest provocation from Esperanza Aguirre, the Mayor of the Madrid region, and a high-ranking party member of the PP (conservative party), who is widely seen as sympathetic to far-right causes. Pre-Election debate has become increasing focused around immigration. With the Spanish economy slowing down and unemployment rising, the right-wing Partido Popular has been taking a noticably harder-line than previously, calling for much tougher immigration controls, and the ruling PSOE (socialists) responing with accusations of 'xenophobia'.

The fascists arrived early in Tirso de Molina to find their meeting point entirely covered with anti-rascist graffitti. After an hour or so of calm, police began to fire rubber bullets and tear gas to hold back the anti-fascists (blinding one campainer), then chaos ensued and huge burning barricades were built to block all the street entrances to the Lavapies district, as the anti-rascists fought running battles with riot police, in the La Latina area and near Plaza Mayor (the tourist district). While the two groups were successfully kept apart by police, several banks were destroyed inside and out and cars set alight, leading to a potential political headache for local politicians and questions being raised about the march being given the go-ahead.

More reports and pictures below...

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/spanish...29190409990009
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exer...6FDEDBDE46.htm
http://www.mapmagazine.com/madrid/Riots-in-Lavapies/
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L29492025.htm
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/bre.../breaking5.htm
http://www.lahaine.org/index.php?p=28349
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanza_Aguirre

Pictures:

http://www.elpais.com/fotogaleria/Di...5189-6/elpgal/
http://theplatform.nuevaradio.org/in...p?blog=4&p=652
 
Old March 24th, 2008 #3
Alex Linder
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MADRID: Until recently, Laurentiu Cuciureanu's story was a happily typical tale of immigrant life in Spain. The 34-year-old Romanian, who shares a tiny but spotless apartment in central Madrid with his wife and a family friend, earned around €16,000 a year as a construction worker. With a mortgage from a Spanish bank, he had bought a house in Iasi, his hometown.

But five weeks ago Cuciureanu lost his job, joining a growing number of immigrants thrown out of work as economic growth, driven by a once-booming construction industry, has slowed.

As politicians campaign for the general election on Sunday, people like Cuciureanu have become the focus of a debate about whether Spain can cope with the five million immigrants who have streamed across its borders over the past 10 years.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/04/europe/spain.php
 
Old July 21st, 2008 #4
Alex Linder
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Spain to try four alleged Nazi war criminals

Published: 19 Jul 08 10:06 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/13157/

Spain’s National Court will try four men accused of working worked as guards at Nazi concentration camps in Austria and Germany where thousands of Spaniards died, Spanish media reported Friday.

The court said it would proceed with the lawsuit brought against the four men who live in the United States by Brussels-based rights organization, Equipo Nizkor, under Spain’s principle of “universal jurisdiction”, daily newspaper El Mundo reported on its website.

Under this principle, adopted by the Spanish judiciary in 2005, crimes against humanity, war crimes, terrorism and other heinous offences can be prosecuted in Spain even if they were committed abroad.

The lawsuit names John Demjanjuk, an 88-year-old who is also being sought by Germany, as well as Anton Tittjung, Josias Kumpf and Johann Leprich, as suspects.

It demands that the four men be extradited to Spain to stand trial for the deaths of Spanish citizens at camps at Flossenberg and Sachsenhausen in Germany, and Mauthausen in Austria where they allegedly worked as guards.

More than 7,000 Spaniards were held prisoner at the Mauthausen camp and over 4,300 of them died, El Mundo reported.

Spanish judges have invoked the principle of “universal jurisdiction” to prosecute figures such as Chilean right-wing dictator Augusto Pinochet or generals from Argentina’s “dirty war” of the 1970s with limited success.

The hunt for Aribert Heim, the ageing concentration camp doctor who conducted inhumane experiments and torture on prisoners, seems to have heated up, with several alleged sightings of him in Argentina.

Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, Efraim Zuroff, was in Buenos Aires at the end of the week, and told a press conference his researchers were getting close. He said Heim, the most wanted Nazi criminal still alive, was physically delicate but able to walk.
 
Old July 21st, 2008 #5
Mike in Denver
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It is certainly not the Spain of my youth. I lived in Spain from March 1969, until March or April 1971. It was almost impossible for a Muslim in enter Spain legally, and pity the poor bastard who tried to enter illegally.

I'd like to paste an old post I made here 3 years ago. it is about Gypsies, but could have applied to any foreign trash.

"In the late summer of 1970 I went to a small Festival in Puerto De Santa Maria, Spain. I lived about fifteen miles away. It was a small Festival, maybe a large city block with stands, concessions, and a few cheesy rides. Like always, the Gypsies were making the rounds. Also there, were a few Guardia Civil, members of Franco’s personal police force. (Franco was alive then, I saw him twice.)

One of the Gypsies stole something, but the theft was noticed. Screams and shouts followed. The Guardia carried the famous German Maschinenpistole MP40s, the small submachine gun you see the Nazis carrying in old WWII movies. Unfortunately the Gypsy was running through the crowd and the Guardia couldn’t fire. Finally the thief broke open and stupidly ran toward the Gypsy encampment at the top of the hill to the West. The Guardia opened up, killing the one Gypsy, and also spraying the encampment with bullets. I never found out the exact number, but they killed several other Gypsies.

A very nice memory. I am smiling as I type.

Enkidu"

I made a mistake in the above post back in 2005. The Guardia Civil did not carry the German Maschinenpistole MP40. The carried a Spanish made machine pistol that looked identical to the German gun. I believe they had legally obtained permission from the German manufacturer. I think the gun was called a Z45.

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Last edited by Mike in Denver; July 21st, 2008 at 05:52 PM.
 
Old October 12th, 2008 #6
alex revision
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Simon Wiesenthal Centre protests Holocaust denier public appearance in Spain

http://www.ejpress.org/article/31053


12/Oct/2008


Holocaust denier Manfred Roeder was invited to speak at the extreme-rightist and racist Alianza Nacional party headquarters on the subject: "My Life for the Reich".


PARIS (EJP)---An International Jewish human rights organization has protested to Spain against the appearance on Friday in Valencia of convicted German Nazi sympathizer and Holocaust denier Manfred Roeder.

Roeder was invited to speak at the extreme-rightist and racist Alianza Nacional party headquarters on the subject: "My Life for the Reich".
In a letter to Spanish Interior Minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, the Paris-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre's director for international relations, Shimon Samuels,
noted that the event is billed as "Europe Arise – Manfred Roeder in Valencia... to awaken European youth from its forced lethargy since 1945".

The letter continued, "a young Hitler Youth defendant of Berlin in 1945, jailed in 1982 as a 'terrorist' for the attacks by his 'Deutsche Aktionsgruppen' neo-Nazi organization on asylum seekers' hostels, Roeder was released in 1990. Imprisoned once again in 2005 for incitement to hatred, he has been associated with the American Ku Klux Klan and, reportedly, with Iranian campaigns against the West."

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre called upon Spain’s Interior Minister "to abide by Spain's commitments under anti-racist provisions of the European Union, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe."

"The Pact of Moncloa, which ensured the return of democracy to Spain, is betrayed by the polluting presence of Manfred Roeder on Spanish soil. Neither should the youth of Spain be tainted by such voices of racist, anti-Semitic and anti-migrant incitement."
 
Old May 4th, 2009 #7
Tom McReen
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Default Basques set to vote marxist, 'historic' says media



Quote:

Basques set for 'historic' change

The Basque region of Spain is set to swear-in its first non-nationalist government in three decades.

The Socialist Party (PSE) and Popular Party (PP) - rivals at national level - agreed last week to govern together.

The PSE's Patxi Lopez is set to head the Basque government. The PP's Inaki Oyarzabal said it was a "historic day" opening a "new stage" for the region.

The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) lost office after failing to win an absolute majority in an election last month.

This enabled the PSE, which came second, and the conservative PP to lay aside their disagreements and put together an informal coalition.

Their deal will mean that the Basque region will be run by a government which fully supports it remaining part of Spain for the first time since the 1970s.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8032990.stm
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Old May 4th, 2009 #8
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Oops they already voted. My bad.
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Old June 3rd, 2009 #9
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Fundamentally Freund: Spain's Jewish problem

Jun. 2, 2009

Michael Freund

Ask Jews which country they consider to be the European hotbed of anti-Semitism, and you will probably get a variety of responses. Some will no doubt invoke Poland and Germany, in light of the Holocaust, while others will insist that France has become the home of modern anti-Jewish sentiment on the continent. Still others may argue that the Swiss or the Hungarians are competitive candidates for this dubious distinction.

And yet, if three recent studies and a host of nasty incidents are any indication, then the top spot, as it were, would belong to Spain, which is far and away the most rabidly anti-Semitic country in Europe.

Last fall, the Pew Global Attitudes Project published a wide-ranging study on how Jews and Muslims are viewed in various countries. It found that 46 percent of all Spaniards hold negative views of Jews - by far the highest percentage recorded in any non-Muslim country. The runners-up, Russia and Poland, trailed Spain by 10 or more percentage points.

Pew also found that Spain was the only country in Europe where the percentage of those holding negative opinions of Jews exceeded those with a positive view, with just 37% of Spaniards viewing Jews favorably. By contrast, 50% of Poles, 64% of Germans and 73% of Brits have positive views of Jews.

Ample evidence supporting Pew's findings could be found in a study released in February by the Anti-Defamation League on "Attitudes Toward Jews in Seven European Countries." It revealed that more than half of those surveyed in Spain embrace classical anti-Semitic stereotypes regarding Jewish power, loyalty and money.

And then there was a recent poll commissioned by Spain's Education Ministry, which found that more than 50% of students between 12 and 18 said they would not want to sit next to a Jew in school.

No matter how one looks at these figures, they are indisputably harsh, and signify that anti-Semitism in Spain is profound and deeply-rooted.

WHAT MAKES this phenomenon even more troubling is the fact that there are so few Jews in Spain. With just 20,000 out of a population of some 40 million, Jews constitute less than one-tenth of one percent of Spain's citizenry, and the community maintains a very low profile. Clearly, then, Spaniards' firsthand knowledge of Jews is extremely limited, if not nonexistent. And yet they seem to hate us with unbridled passion.

Events in recent months have unfortunately borne this out. In May, Israeli Ambassador Rafi Shotz was a victim of Spanish anti-Semitism. While walking home after attending a soccer game in Madrid, he was accosted by three men who hurled a torrent of anti-Semitic slurs his way, calling him a "Jewish dog" and "dirty Jew."

In mid-January, the windows of Barcelona's Chabad house were smashed by unknown perpetrators, who sprayed anti-Semitic graffiti on the building. Two weeks later, a man wielding a baseball bat was apprehended after striking a Barcelona synagogue and then attacking one of its employees.

And then, of course, there was the outrageous decision earlier this year by Judge Fernando Andreu of Spain's National Court to investigate senior Israeli defense officials for the 2002 assassination of senior Hamas terrorist Salah Shehadeh. The Spanish parliament later took steps to rein in this judicial adventurism.

Various reasons have been offered in an attempt to explain Spain's rising intolerance. These include deep-seated prejudices rooted in the medieval anti-Semitism of the Catholic Church, the rising political power of the far Left which is hostile to Israel, as well as the Spanish media's unbalanced and often biased coverage of the Middle East.

BUT MORE IMPORTANT, perhaps, than the causes behind this phenomenon is the perennial question: What can be done about it? A key part of the answer may lie with the Bnei Anousim (Hebrew for "those who were coerced") - the descendants of Jews who were forcibly converted to Catholicism centuries ago yet continued to cling to their Jewish identity.

Because of their personal background and historical connection with the Jewish people, many Bnei Anousim feel a strong affinity toward Israel. As citizens of Spain, they are perfectly positioned to serve as goodwill ambassadors for the Jewish state, and many of them are more than willing to do so.

Take, for example, Rafael Perez of Zaragoza. He launched a popular Web site in Spanish, Kolisraelorg.net, which promotes Israel and its cause in Spain's often hostile cyberspace. Others, such as Dr. Itzhak Kalafi and his wife Nuria Guash in Barcelona, blog about Israel and work to counter anti-Zionist propaganda in the local press.

Nevertheless, Israel has yet to make use of their talents and commitment. For reasons known only to itself, the Foreign Ministry has done little to reach out to Bnei Anousim, despite their readiness to help. This oversight is a grave mistake. It is simply unthinkable that Israel would fail to tap into this natural pool of support, especially when the overall atmosphere among the Spanish public is so dour.

Clearly, Spain's Jewish problem will not go away overnight. Indeed, 500 years may have passed since it expelled its Jews, but the country still seems to have trouble tolerating even a small Jewish presence.

But that doesn't mean that more cannot be done to improve the situation, and reaching out to the Bnei Anousim seems like a good place to start.

The writer serves as chairman of Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org), a Jerusalem-based group that reaches out to the Bnei Anousim in Spain, Portugal and South America.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1243872316732&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
 
Old July 5th, 2009 #10
Tom McReen
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Default Toledo's Jews mourn loss of grave heritage

Quote:
Published Date: 05 July 2009

By Victoria Burnett in Toledo, Spain

AS THE medieval hilltop city of Toledo baked in the afternoon heat, a group of Jewish leaders gathered beside a freshly dug grave and lowered into it small bundles of flaking, ancient bones. With prayers and a plea for forgiveness for disturbing more than 100 long-dead souls, they laid them to rest in the cool, reddish earth.

The quiet ceremony concluded months of delicate negotiations between Jewish groups and Spanish authorities over the remains of 103 Spanish Jews whose graves were excavated last year during the construction of a school building in a suburb of this historic city.

The exhumation drew international condemnation from Jewish representatives and became an important battleground in the quest to preserve Jewish cemeteries all over Spain, remnants of a thriving community that made Toledo its capital before being expelled by Spain's Roman Catholic monarchs in 1492.

The dispute pitted the demands of modern society against the rights of a scattered people for whom a permanent tomb is a crucial religious requirement.

"Toledo is central to Jewish history," said David Stoleru, a co-founder of the Centre of Studies Zakhor in Barcelona, a group dedicated to preserving Jewish heritage.

"The state has a duty to protect that legacy," he said. "This issue has international repercussions. It's not just affecting the Jewish community in Spain but the sensibility of an entire people."

The controversy began in September, when builders digging a new foundation at the Azarquiel High School discovered dozens of graves, believed to be part of a Jewish cemetery dating from around the 13th century. The cemetery may extend well beyond the grounds of the school; Stoleru said he recently saw bones in the ground at another nearby construction site.

The government of Castilla-La Mancha, the parched region of which Toledo is the tourist-mobbed capital, halted the digging and stored the remains at a museum pending discussions with the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, which represents 40,000 Jews.

Jewish representatives suggested building a raised foundation to sit above the graves but were told this would be difficult and expensive.

Maria Soledad Herrero, who runs the regional government's culture department, said the authorities had to balance the needs of history with those of students. "Nobody knows the importance of Spain's Jewish heritage better than we in Toledo," she said. "But we can't put 1,000 pupils on the street."

As talks dragged on, the economic pressure grew, and in February the authorities ordered construction to restart: by mid-June, a foundation had been laid and the skeleton of a two-storey building stood above the grave site.

Meanwhile, protests spread to New York, Israel and Canada. Rabbi David Niederman, president of the United Jewish Organisations of Williamsburg, visited Spain to protest the exhumation, which he said was tantamount to a second expulsion. Thousands of black-clad Orthodox Jews gathered in a Brooklyn hotel in May to mourn the desecration.

Finally, on 18 June, the parties agreed to rebury the remains close by, but clear of the construction site.

Dalia Levinsohn, secretary general of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, hailed the agreement and dismissed criticism from groups advocating a harder line. "We did what we could," she said. "If you kick up a big fuss, the next time someone finds remains they won't say a word to us."

However, Toledo's symbolism made it an important, and distressing, precedent, religious leaders said. "This is not an example we want to repeat," said Rabbi Moshe Bendahan, Spain's chief rabbi, who helped to broker the agreement. "The model would be to not excavate the remains in the first place."

Toledo, home to two of Spain's last three medieval synagogues though with virtually no practising Jews today, is not the first European city to face such controversy. Preservationists have battled exhumations from Prague to Vilnius. The remains of more than 150 people were exhumed from a medieval cemetery in Tarrega, in Catalonia, two years ago and reburied in Barcelona. In May, on the other hand,

Catalan authorities declared the Jewish cemetery on Mont Juic, in Barcelona, a cultural heritage site.

Levinsohn said the federation would seek protocols with Spain's 17 regional governments to safeguard Jewish cemeteries. Under Spanish law, when ancient human remains are found they are exhumed and stored for study. Jewish preservationists said Spain should also identify what they say could be hundreds of unmarked cemeteries.

For Stoleru, the issue raises questions about how Spain reconciles itself with dark chapters of its past. "We need to reflect much more deeply about the expulsion and use history to inform our daily actions," he said. "Jewish heritage should not be a museum piece. It should be a tool for teaching tolerance and diversity."
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Toled...-of.5430069.jp
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Old September 21st, 2009 #11
Robert Bandanza
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jewsign Report: "Anti-Semitism" on Rise in Spain

New York, NY, September 21, 2009 … Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Spain, with more public expressions and greater acceptance of virulent anti-Jewish attitudes, according to a newly issued report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Polluting the Public Square: Anti-Semitic Discourse in Spain examines recent trends in Spain, including anti-Semitic criticism during Israel's three-week military campaign in Gaza last winter; viciously anti-Semitic cartoons and articles in Spain's mainstream media; and opinion polls conducted over the last year showing an alarming rise in anti-Semitic attitudes.

"We are deeply concerned about the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism in Spain, with more public expressions and greater public acceptance of classic stereotypes," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "Among the major European countries, only in Spain have we seen viciously anti-Semitic cartoons in the mainstream media, and street protests where Israel is accused of genocide and Jews are vilified and compared to Nazis."

The report was formally presented by ADL to Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos at a meeting today at the Spanish Mission to the United Nations. Mr. Moratinos responded that the government will be conducting additional surveys and research on anti-Semitism in Spain and committed to facilitate meetings for ADL with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Justice, to enable the League to share with them its expertise in combating anti-Semitism, hatred, prejudice and bigotry of all kinds.

The League has regularly raised the issue of anti-Semitic discourse with Mr. Moratinos and other officials in the Spanish government.

One of the concerns raised in the report is how in Spain, what is presented as legitimate criticism of Israel often crosses the line into anti-Semitism.

"Opinion makers in Spain are crossing the line that separates legitimate criticism of Israeli actions from anti-Semitism, and the results are evident," said Mr. Foxman. "Our polling shows an alarming rise in anti-Semitic attitudes."

Among the report's findings:

• Spain's major newspapers, El País and El Mundo, have published viciously anti-Semitic cartoons, including a Hasidic Jew with barbed-wire sidelocks and Jews manipulating the world with money for nefarious ends. Opinion pieces in the mainstream press have explicitly compared Israel with the Nazi regime, an equation the European Union's anti-racism organization considers anti-Semitic.

• Since 2002, Spain has been among the countries with the most negative views of Jews. A 2009 ADL poll found that three-quarters of all Spaniards believe Jews have "too much power" in international financial markets; nearly two-thirds believe Jews are not loyal to Spain; and more than half think Jews have "too much power in business."

• Anti-Semitic placards were commonplace at anti-Israel demonstrations in Spain last January. In addition to open shows of support for the terrorist group Hamas and the burning of Israeli flags, anti-Semitic comparisons of Israel to the Nazi regime were all too common.

• While reports of anti-Semitic acts targeting Jews or Jewish institutions have been rare, the report notes three troubling incidents thus far in 2009: The vandalism of a Chabad House in Barcelona on January 11; a violet attack against an employee of a synagogue in Barcelona on January 30; and the harassment of Israel's ambassador to Spain, who was verbally assaulted on the street on May 5 by three men who shouted "dirty Jew," "Jew bastard" and "Jewish dog."

"While Spain's Jewish community has rarely come under physical attack in recent years, history tells us that incitement by some and indifference by many can create an atmosphere conducive to violence against Jews. Spain is not immune to this phenomenon," said Mr. Foxman. "Political and civic leaders, including the highest officials of the Spanish government, must act against the mainstreaming of hatred before it leads to the mainstreaming of violence.

"Spain has hate speech laws and the current government has formally committed to combating racism," he added. "We expect the government to shoulder their responsibilities, and we urge all opinion-makers in Spanish society to ensure that their public statements do not demonize Jews, the State of Israel, or include other expressions of anti-Semitism."

http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/5608_13.htm
 
Old September 22nd, 2009 #12
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jewsign Spain indicts 3 alleged Nazi guards

BARCELONA (JTA) -- A Spanish court indicted three alleged former Nazi death camp guards.

Judge Ismael Moreno of the Spanish National Court issued international arrest warrants Sept. 17 against Johann Leprich, Anton Tirrjung and Josias Kumpf on charges of being accessories to genocide and crimes against humanity.

The men are accused of having been members of the Nazis' Totenkopf SS and of serving in death camps, either Mauthausen in Nazi-occupied Austria or Sachenhausen in Germany, The Associated Press reported. Kumpf allegedly is living in Austria, while the others are living in the United States.

The principle of universal jurisdiction allows crimes such as genocide, torture or terrorism to be prosecuted in Spain even if the alleged crimes were committed elsewhere.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center lauded the indictment, saying it marked a huge change for a country that has been a refuge for Nazi war criminals both during Gen. Francisco Franco's rule, which lasted until 1975, as well as during its transition to democracy.

"This is obviously something completely different," said the center's chief Nazi hunter, Efraim Zuroff. "This is a really welcome development. We commend the Spanish court for making this decision."

The indictments came just days before the Anti-Defamation League released a report Monday showing that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Spain, with greater acceptance of virulent anti-Jewish attitudes.

“We are deeply concerned about the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism in Spain, with more public expressions and greater public acceptance of classic stereotypes,” said Abraham Foxman, ADL's national director. “Among the major European countries, only in Spain have we seen viciously anti-Semitic cartoons in the mainstream media, and street protests where Israel is accused of genocide and Jews are vilified and compared to Nazis.”

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/09/...ed-nazi-guards
 
Old September 22nd, 2009 #13
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Quote:

“Among the major European countries, only in Spain have we seen viciously anti-Semitic cartoons in the mainstream media, and street protests where Israel is accused of genocide and Jews are vilified and compared to Nazis.”

I trust the Spanish more than any people I have ever known. When I left Spain in 1971 I planned to someday go back and live out my life there.

Sadly, the 2500 Pesatas ($35) a month house I rented for two years in Rota probably rents for 2000 Euros, maybe 3000 Euros today. That plus the Dollar is tanking, so it will only get worse.

Incidentally, the house I lived in is still there. I can clearly see it in Google Earth.

Mike
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Old October 8th, 2009 #14
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Default La Audiencia de Barcelona condena a tres dirigentes neonazis a penas de hasta tres añ

La Audiencia de Barcelona condena a tres dirigentes neonazis a penas de hasta tres años y medio

http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa...guqMu67HaB9_Ig

Barcelona, 8 oct .- La Audiencia de Barcelona ha condenado a penas de hasta 3 años y medio de cárcel a tres dirigentes del disuelto grupo neonazi Círculo de Estudios Indoeuropeos (CEI), entre ellos el dueño de la librería "Kalki" de Barcelona, por asociación ilícita y difusión de ideas genocidas, entre otros delitos.

En su sentencia, la sección decena de la Audiencia condena a dos años y medio a un cuarto procesado, Juan Antonio Llopart, administrador de la editorial "Ediciones Nueva República", dedicada a publicar libros que justificaban el exterminio judío e incitaban a la discriminación y el odio racial, entre otros medios a través de la librería "Kalki", especializada en publicaciones de temática fascista.

A los cuatro acusados, que deberán pagar multas de hasta 6.000 euros, se les condena por los delitos de difusión de ideas genocidas y contra los derechos y libertades porque, en opinión de tribunal, a través de la librería, la editorial y artículos publicados en revistas incitaban al odio contra el pueblo judío y otras minorías y justificaban la violencia hacia esos colectivos.

El tribunal, además, imputa un delito de asociación ilícita al presidente de CEI, Ramon Bau, al delegado de la formación en Cataluña y dueño de "Kalki", Óscar Panadero, y al que fuera secretario de éste, Carlos García, por su pertenencia a una asociación paramilitar integrada en la organización neonazi.

Según la sentencia, la disuelta CEI comprendía un círculo interior, del que formaban parte los tres condenados, designado con las siglas CEI-SS o "La Orden", que pretendía emular la guardia personal de Adolf Hitler.

Esa "Orden", cuyos miembros debían llevar uniforme, tenía carácter paramilitar y sus objetivos eran la promoción del odio o la violencia contra los judíos o las persones de otras razas o etnias a las que el nazismo consideraba inferiores, así como contra los homosexuales.

El tribunal considera probado que dicha organización, como reconocían sus propios estatutos, tenía por objetivo "crear un Estado Mayor que en un futuro pudiera liderar, en cualquier territorio europeo en que sus miembros pudieran encontrarse, una resistencia activa contra el sistema (incluso armada si fuera necesario)".

Incorporarse a "La Orden", añade la sentencia glosando sus estatutos, "era concebido como formar parte de un férreo colectivo de monjes guerreros (hermanos y hermanas porteadores de la espada y la cruz gamada), un círculo interno de nacionalsocialistas y, por más decir, de hitleristas fieles, firmes, seguros e imperturbables".

De hecho, en el juramento para entrar en "La Orden", los candidatos debían comprometerse a "mantener y defender la memoria de Adolf Hitler" y a dedicar su vida "a la lucha por la supervivencia y supremacía de la raza aria y por la victoria del nacionalsocialismo".

El tribunal dedica gran parte de su sentencia a reproducir párrafos enteros de las publicaciones incautadas en la tienda "Kalki" o en el domicilio de los acusados, en los que se vilipendia al pueblo judío, se incita a la discriminación de las minorías étnicas y sexuales y se niega el holocausto nazi.

Respecto a la negación del exterminio, que el Tribunal Constitucional (TC) dictaminó que no es delito, la sala mantiene que "banalizar y ridiculizar el holocausto, como se hace en alguna de las publicaciones, es también una forma de justificar el genocidio".

Los libros y revistas incautados, añade el tribunal, contienen un "discurso del odio" con el que se procura "crear un estadio de opinión favorable a justificar, en aras a la defensa de la raza aria o indoeuropea considerada superior por los acusados, la discriminación, la violencia e incluso la eliminación de los judíos, los negros, los magrebíes, los homosexuales, los discapacitados o los enfermos mentales".

Tras su detención, los procesados entregaron 18.000 euros a las Comunidades Israelitas de Barcelona y España, SOS Racisme y Amical de Mauthausen, que ejercieron la acusación popular en esta causa.

No obstante, la entrega de esa cantidad, en opinión del tribunal, no puede justificar una rebaja de la pena por la atenuante de reparación, "por ser una suma ridícula en atención a la extrema gravedad de los hechos".
 
Old October 28th, 2009 #15
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[Spanish nationalist mobbed by dozens of communist scum on train, defends himself and gets 26 years.]

26 years for man found guilty of Madrid metro murder


Josué Estébanez in court - EFE

The court considered ideological hate motivated the killing of a young anti-fascist protestor

The soldier on trial for the murder of a young anti-fascist demonstrator at a Madrid metro station two years ago will spend the next 26 years in prison: 19 years for the fatal stabbing of 16 year old Carlos Palomino and another 7 years for the attempted murder of the teenager’s friend who came to his aid.

While the accused, Josué Estébanez, denied that he was a neo-Nazi during his trial, the provincial court in Madrid considered, as the prosecutor had argued in the case, that ideological hate was behind his motives for the stabbing, giving him a lengthier sentence for the murder.

Carlos Palomino died on 11th November 2007 when the train was stationed at Madrid’s Legazpi station. He was travelling with others to protest at a far right demonstration in Usera when he was stabbed, and there were reports that his killer gave a Nazi salute when he inflicted the fatal wound. The accused claimed when he was questioned in court that he was acting out of instinct and fear for his life when he saw himself surrounded, describing himself as just a patriot who likes to see the Spanish team win at football.

However, witnesses to what happened gave evidence in court that they saw him with his knife already prepared for use when they entered the stationary train at Legazpi. In addition to the lengthy prison term, he must now pay the victim’s family 100,000 € compensation.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news...le_23544.shtml



 
Old November 11th, 2009 #16
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Default Revisionismo al Holocausto



La Exterminacion en Masa Vista por los Jueces de Nuremberg por Carlos Porter y Vincent Reynouard
¿Se Puede Ser Judío y Revisionista? por Robert Faurisson
El Caso de Ana Frank por Pedro Varela
¿Murieron Realmente Seis Millones? por Richard Harwood
Estudios sobre el “Holocausto”: ‘La deportación de judios de Francia y Bélgica en 1942′ & ‘La resistencia polaca y las cámaras de gas de Auschwitz’por Enrique Aynat
La Mentira de Ulises por Paul Rassinier
La Mentira de Auschwitz por Thies Christophersen
La Fábula del Holocausto por Arthur R. Butz
Incólumes en el Juicio de Nuremberg. Los Argumentos de la Defensa por Carlos Whitlock Porter
El Holocausto por Juan Calderón
El Funcionamiento de la Cámara de Gas por Robert Faurisson
El Engaño de Ana Frank al Descubierto por el Dr. William L. Pierce
Video de David Cole en Auschwitz. Entrevista con el Dr. Franciszek Piper
El Caso del Obispo Richard Williamson por Richard A. Widmann
El Obispo Williamson y la Negación del Holocausto: ¿Cuál es el escándalo? por Mark Weber
La Oración de Juan XXIII por los Judíos es Falsa por Robert Faurisson
El Mito del Antifascismo Sionista por Roger Garaudy
El Mito de los Seis Millones por Roger Garaudy
Los Nuevos Historiadores en Israel
El Mito del Milagro Israelí: La Financiación Exterior de Israel por Roger Garaudy
La Utilización Política del Mito por Roger Garaudy
Breve Recuento de las Investigaciones Forenses en Auschwitz por Germar Rudolf
Mitos y Hechos Sobre Auschwitz por Mark Weber
El Presidente Iraní Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Discurriendo Sobre el Holocausto
¿Que Significa Realmente Negar el Holocausto? por Daniel McGowan
Víctimas de Sión: ¿Así Se Responde a los Argumentos Académicos Revisionistas?
Testimonio Condensado de Joseph Burg, Judío Alemán Sobreviviente de los Campos de Concentración en el Proceso de Ernst Zündel de 1988 por la ‘Información Falsa’ sobre el Holocausto
 
Old November 24th, 2009 #17
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Spain won't recognize Kosovo, FM tells EP

24 November 2009 | 16:17 | Source: Tanjug

BRUSSELS -- Madrid will not recognize the independence of Kosovo, Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has stated.

Speaking before a European parliament commission about his country's priorities during its upcoming EU presidency, Moratinos explained that Kosovo will still be allowed to attend meetings concerning the Balkans, but "in accordance with accepted international frameworks and mechanisms".

He also stated, according to the Spanish media, that the Spanish government would maintain contact with the authorities in Kosovo without recognizing its secession from Serbia.

"We will not obstruct development and institutional and political stability in Kosovo, but do not ask us to explain why Spain did something that was in accordance with international law," Moratinos remarked.

The minister did, however, allow for the possibility of Spain changing its view and recognizing Kosovo, "but only after the UN had done it or after Serbia had come to an agreement with the authorities in the breakaway province".

He said that the decision by the International Court of Justice on the legality of Kosovo's independence declaration would be important to Spain, but that Madrid had no intention of opening a diplomatic office in Priština.
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Old February 2nd, 2010 #18
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PEDRO VARELA DICE A LA JUEZ QUE EL HOLOCAUSTO FUE UN MITO

Febrero 2nd, 2010

“Aquí no juzgamos ideas, sino la difusión de la doctrina del odio”. El fiscal Miguel Ángel Aguilar intentó bloquear así la estrategia que ayer desplegó el librero neonazi Pedro Varela. Orador brillante, el popular dueño de la librería Europa se presentó al juicio -en el que afronta una petición de cuatro años de cárcel- como víctima de un sistema que persigue sus opiniones. Antes de entrar a la sala, se comparó con Jesucristo, Juana de Arco e Indira Gandhi. “A quien hace algo interesante, se le persigue”.

Varela declaró en el juicio como acusado de difundir ideas que justifican el genocidio y de incitar al odio racial. Para él y su defensa -que intentó llevar el foco al terreno de la libertad de opinión- no hay lo uno ni lo otro. En su declaración, Varela exploró distintas vías para defenderse.

Argumentó que su librería y su clientela son más plurales de lo que se dice y se presentó como un simple “editor de libros”. Explicó que no lee todos los libros que edita y vende y añadió que no necesariamente está de acuerdo con lo que dicen sus autores. Aun así, dejó caer algunas lindezas cuando le preguntaron por el Holocausto: “No digo que no hubo persecución [a los judíos], pero hasta ahora nadie ha hallado las pastillas de jabón. Y dudo que se alcanzara la cifra mítica de seis millones”. Según la doctrina del Tribunal Constitucional, negar el Holocausto no es delito; justificarlo, sí.

En 2006, los Mossos d’Esquadra registraron la librería, en la calle de Séneca de Barcelona, y se llevaron casi 5.000 libros. En la causa, que ayer quedó vista para sentencia, se examinan 16 títulos que incluyen, a juicio del fiscal, expresiones que tienden a justificar el genocidio cometido por el régimen nazi. Aguilar retó a Varela y le dijo si vendía, por ejemplo, libros de SOS Racismo. Los mossos que practicaron el registro ratificaron, como testigos: “la mayoría de libros están relacionados con ideas nacionalsocialistas”.

En un juicio que fue una mezcla de análisis literario, apuntes historicistas y razonamientos jurídicos, la defensa de Varela se centró en denunciar que se trataba de un juicio de opinión y que los párrafos seleccionados por el fiscal, que podrían constituir delito, están “sacados de contexto”. Y que algunos de los libros seleccionados (como Mi lucha, de Hitler) pueden comprarse también en grandes almacenes. “Una cosa es que él sea racista, y otra que incite a cometer hechos concretos”. Como ejemplo, el letrado dijo que defender el comunismo no presupone justificar los gulags.

El fiscal se esforzó en desmontar esas tesis y defendió que los libros fueron objeto de un análisis exhaustivo por parte de los Mossos. Aguilar pidió que, hasta que haya sentencia, Varela entregue el pasaporte por riesgo de fuga. Hace dos años, fue condenado a siete meses de cárcel por apología del genocidio. El fiscal recordó a la juez la reciente sentencia sobre la librería Kalki (sus responsables fueron condenados a tres años y medio de cárcel) y pidió contundencia para Varela. “Esto es odio lanzado a la línea de flotación de la convivencia. Y no basta con un reproche moral. Es necesario el derecho penal”.

In España, libros = carcel ?????

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/catal...30elpcat_8/Tes
 
Old May 12th, 2010 #20
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Default Spain clears way for super-judge's trial

Spain clears way for super-judge's trial

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...p7_3QD9FL9C600

MADRID — Spain's Supreme Court has removed the last potential obstacle to putting on trial the crusading judge who indicted Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden.

Judge Baltasar Garzon, who became world famous with cross-border justice cases, faces charges of knowingly overstepping his jurisdiction by launching a probe of Spanish Civil War atrocities that were covered by an amnesty.

The Supreme Court judge who indicted him last month, Luciano Varela, issued a ruling Wednesday that rejected an appeal by prosecutors on procedural grounds.

The prosecutors actually oppose trying Garzon. His indictment stems from a complaint that were filed by two civil groups and accepted by Varela.

An official with a judicial oversight board said Garzon's trial might start in two to three months, or perhaps as late as September.

On Tuesday Garzon asked for a leave of absence to accept a job offer at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

That might spare him the disgrace of being suspended from his post at the National Court, either when the trial starts or perhaps even earlier.

The oversight board, called the General Council of the Judiciary, was meeting Wednesday to discuss whether to grant Garzon a leave of absence.

In the event Garzon were suspended while waiting to transfer to The Hague, he would have to resign from his post at the National Court in order to take up that new job, the official with the oversight board said. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with board rules.

Garzon was charged last month with knowingly overstepping the bounds of his jurisdiction by launching in 2008 a probe of the execution or disappearance of more than 100,000 civilians at the hands of supporters of Gen. Francisco Franco during the 1936-39 war and in the early years of the Franco dictatorship.

Garzon denies any wrongdoing and says his probe was legitimate. If convicted, he faces removal from the National Court for up to 20 years.

Garzon is under investigation in two other cases as well: one involving money that a Spanish bank paid to sponsor human rights seminars he gave while on sabbatical in New York a few years ago, and another in connection with jailhouse wiretaps he ordered as part of a corruption probe.
 
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