Anti-Semitism in Swedish Schools

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


The below article appeared as an op-ed in Aftonbladet, one of Sweden's oldest and largest news outlets. It was sent to me by my friend, Kronans Martell in Sweden. I have translated it into English. This is written by a school teacher who teaches children from other countries, mostly Africa, and the Middle East. She has discovered that these children not only have a negative opinion of Jews, but very little to no knowledge of the Holocaust.

https://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/a/0EREjJ/mina-nyanlanda-elever-tror-att-judar-ar-farliga

My Newly Arrived Students Think that Jews Are Dangerous

Teacher: We have a duty to do something about ignorance

This is a debate article. It is the writer who stands for the opinions expressed in the text, not Aftonbladet.

During more than four years in teaching newly-arrived (in Sweden) pupils, mostly from the Middle East, Afghanistan, Yemen, Ethiopia and Somalia, I have noticed a large ignorance  about Jews, the state of Israel, and the Holocaust.

This ignorance can lead to fear and in the worst case hate. Many pupils have become brainwashed  in their home countries that Jews are dangerous and that they should beware of them.

Comments such as "they are terrorists and we have a right to throw rocks at them", and that "they burn children alive" are some of the stories  that come up in discussions with pupils and during lectures in school.

During a series of lectures, we talked about the Nazis' genocide, and it was shown that none of our newly-arrived pupils knew about the Holocaust and its background, where over 6 million Jews were put to death.

The question over Jews and Israel is controversial, and we have had a hard time talking about the subject even though only 20,000 Jews live in Sweden, and they have protection as a Swedish minority.

Tolerance, co-existence, justice and love for fellow humans are born of knowledge, discussion, and analysis based on each person's right to freedom and to be able to feel safe in their society. Together we must punch through this darkness and this ignorance which can have terrible consequences for the Jews who live in Sweden and the rest of Europe-often behind armour, forced security, and not daring to even acknowledge their existence, religion, or their origin.

The numbers from the EU's Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) say it in its clear language. In the report, 16,000 Jews were queried in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Great Britain. Countries where around 96% of Europe's  Jews reside.

About 90% of those queried say that anti-semitism is growing in their home countries, and as many as 75% say it is evident in the public space.

The kinds of harassment and anti-semitism revealed by FRA include, for example, destruction of Jewish burial sites, vandalism of Jewish buildings or institutions, and open hostility towards Jews.

The report also points out  that Sweden is one of the countries where the most are of the opinion that anti-semitism has increased. More that 8 out of 10 respondents in Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and Sweden believe that anti-semitism is a "very big" or "rather big" problem.

We can not betray the Jews through passivity and silence. Anti-semitism must be fought, and our responsibility for this must be clear-through enlightenment, knowledge by various authorities and in the school.

Those who attack Jews in Malmo and Gothenburg must be condemned  clearly, and political unity on the issue is required. Jewish and Muslim congregations need to continue to meet for cooperation. The forces for good must receive support.

More than four years (worth of) knowledge from my work with the newly-arrived has made me convinced that we must act. My pupils, for example, want to have all the information they can get about the Holocaust, Jews, and Israel in their native language.

They want to understand and they want to know so they can form their view based on knowledge from different sources. It doesn't work if the knowledge fails-first in their home countries and also here in Sweden.

It requires several conversations and discussions with our pupils  to create an understanding of the basis for the Holocaust even being possible and what mechanisms began the process. A single lecture that quickly disappears from memory is not sufficient.

We have a duty to dare to take on these issues even if difficult and thought of as controversial and politically "dangerous". It is so easy to end up in a discussion about right or wrong concerning Israel's policy, but the question is that people should be able to live side by side in Sweden and respect each other.

Otherwise, dark forces take over the empty space we leave behind.. Maybe 2019 will be the year that we take joint action against anti-semitism and its darkness-not just today on Holocaust Memorial Day but all other days of the year.

Annelie Danling Brash, head teacher for newly-arrived (pupils) and learning at Nyköping High School with help from Jonathan Brash, teacher, grades 4-6
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I applaud the article, but what is missing here is the fact that these children have learned their negative opinions of Jews in their homes and most likely from their religion. I suppose in politically correct Sweden, the writer couldn't go that far. I hope education in a Swedish school will turn their attitudes around, but I am sceptical. Their religion (Islam) teaches them a different message about Jews. Hopefully, some can be turned around.

I must also shake my head at Aftonbladet's disclaimer that this is an opinion piece and only reflects the opinions of the writer and not Aftonbladet. I am sure this disclaimer is routine when they publish an opinion piece, but my God-the optics are terrible. 

The Insanity in Sacramento

Hat tip Daily Wire

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Out here in the one-party state of California, it's one big bhong party in Sacramento. The latest is the bit of insanity from Hannah-Beth Jackson, Democrat (what else?) from Santa Barbara. She (excuse the pronoun) has decided that only gender-neutral pronouns will be used during committee hearings.


https://www.dailywire.com/news/42389/watch-democrat-state-senator-announces-politically-amanda-prestigiacomo?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=062316-news&utm_campaign=dwbrand



                                                                                                             


 

Not only do our legislators have to take a Berlitz course in the New English, imagine the extra work for the stenographers (whoever they may be) who have to record every mistake in language and subsequent correction from people like Hannah-Beth Jackson.

Asia Bibi and Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun: The World Is Watching

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


This article first appeared in New English Review.



As I write this piece, there are two dramas playing out in Pakistan and Thailand. Both involve two young women, one a Pakistani Christian, the other a Saudi woman of 18 who has fled her family and renounced Islam. At this point, their fates are yet to be decided as Western nations debate offering them asylum.

Asia Bibi was arrested in Pakistan and accused of blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Mohammad. Blasphemy against Islam is a capital offense in Pakistan-as it is in Islamic law. Sentenced to death, she languished in prison for several years until her conviction was recently overturned by the Pakistani Supreme Court. She is now in hiding, living under security at an undisclosed location until a country can be found to give her asylum. All the while, mobs roam door to door in an effort to find and lynch her. Great Britain, a country that never ceases to prostrate itself to radical Islamic forces, has already refused. Further complicating her situation is that the Pakistani government has now ruled that it will not let her leave the country until the prosecutor's appeals are fully resolved.

Then this week, an 18-year-old Saudi girl named Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, fled her family residing in Kuwait and wound up at Bangkok Airport with an Australian visa. It appeared initially that she was going to be put on a flight back home until the Thais turned the matter over to the UN refugee officials. They have now determined that she is a legitimate refugee. At this writing, she is still in Bangkok and awaiting a decision by the Australians.

Any sensible observer would immediately conclude that by any humanitarian measure, both of these women should already be relocated to a country where they can live in freedom and security from vengeful Islamic law. But consider that another Saudi woman, Dina Ali Lasloom 24, who was trying to flee a forced marriage, was forcefully put on a plane back home from Manila where she was seeking asylum in 2017. Her fate remains unknown.

These cases deserve the widest possible publicity for several reasons beyond even human decency and considerations of human rights. The world needs to confront the basic severity of Islamic law as practiced by countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The death penalty for apostates is affirmed by every leading school of Islamic thought and is enforced throughout Islamic societies either by national courts, tribal councils, or the families involved. It stands in stark contrast not only to our laws in the West, but also against basic principles of human rights. Laws against apostasy and blasphemy have no place in the West or any other civilized society.

Hopefully, Alquhun will be on the next flight from Thailand to Australia. If the Pakistani government insists on keeping Bibi in country until her case is finally "resolved", I would hope the US government and others will inform the Pakistanis that good diplomatic relations and foreign aid will hinge on justice for Asia Bibi.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia stand in shame before the world. If the West doesn't step up and provide refuge for Asia Bibi and Rahaf Mohammed Alquhun, we will stand in shame as well. Our governments and other "human rights" organizations bend over backwards to grant refuge and asylum to hundreds of thousands of people migrating around the world who should not qualify for refugee status. Many of these so-called refugees are Muslims. That we would turn our backs on Bibi and Alquhun would be a disgrace and would signal that we are submitting to Islam. After all, Islam in Arabic means "submission".

The time has come for the US and the West to re-evaluate their relationships with these two countries that still live in the Middle Ages. As for Britain, over history, enemies from Napoleon to Hitler have reportedly called them "a nation of shop keepers". If so, they proved both wrong, but the phrase sure fits now. Winston Churchill must be spinning in his grave.