What about Malmö's Jews?

Malmö is Sweden's third largest city, and it has been suffering a continuous increasing of hate crimes for the last years. These hate crimes have been suffered both by Jews and inmigrants from African and Asian countries.

Jew-hatred in Malmö increased to the extent that approximately a half of the city's Jewish population decided to leave their place of origin, having emigrated to other Swedish locations or to the State of Israel. As reported early this year, they're less than 700, and for the last years they suffered not only vandalism, harassment and threats, but also at least two bomb attacks: one at a burial site and other at the city's only synagogue.

These attacks are being committed mostly by extremist muslims and radical left-wingers, and to a lesser extent, by radical right-wingers. And Malmö's mayor Ilmar Reepalu's response to this problem was inappropriate and shameful.

At the same time, a series of shootings against people with dark skin and non-Swedish appearance have been happening in Malmö at least since 2009, but the authorities consider now that the case could date back as far as 2003. The multiple shootings have resulted in at least one person killed and many more people injured. A man has been arrested recently but the case is still far from being solved and closed. This case coincides with the Sverigedemokraterna's (Sweden Democrats) entry into the Riksdag (Sweden's legislature).

This political party proposes strict regulations concerning inmigration, especially from muslim countries. It is supported especially in southern Sweden, where Malmö is located. This city comprises a large inmigrant population frequently associated not only with the aforementioned Jew-hatred, but also with violence in general, especially in the district of Rosengård, so the Sweden Democrats' political rise is considered to be partly responsible for the shootings.

Once a man has been arrested in connection with the racist shootings in Malmö, laSexta Noticias has broadcasted a report on them on Sunday, November 7, 2010. The report can be watched here, from the minute 19:39 to the minute 20:08. Meanwhile, the Jew-hatred which affects Sweden's third largest city is still ignored by laSexta Noticias.

Ironically, the aforementioned report is followed by another about racism, while for laSexta Noticias, Malmö's Jews are not important enough to be mentioned.

Manuel Tapial's activities on Facebook (II).

As explained before, Manuel Tapial was one of the three Spanish activists who were on board the Mavi Marmara, and he runs his own Facebook account. There we can find multiple examples of his political ideology, and now I'll provide eight of them. Click on the images below to watch them in high resolution. Translations are available, made as accurate as possible and between quotation marks.

1.- Manuel Tapial writes about an Israeli politician, Avi Dichter, who refused to travel to Spain due to his concerns about the possibility of being arrested or interrogated. Manuel Tapial's friend Pedro Luis Ruiz Sanchez comments below, among other things (comment marked as #1):

"... if he is guilty of serious crimes he should be hanged as Sad[d]am [Hussein] before and his vice-president Tarek Aziz now were, or can't the Jews be hanged? because if they kill and they're not tried it's normal that terrorism does exist in that occupied zone, and well, it was told in the past and it still prevails, even God doesn't want the Jews."

This anti-Semitic remarks, liked by Manuel Tapial's friend Farid Hach, haven't been erased by the activist.

2 & 3.- Manuel Tapial links from the wall of his own Facebook account to a Facebook page titled Demand Egypt let the Road to Hope convoy through (the link is marked as #2). If we follow the link and read the information of this Facebook page we will be able to read (the text is marked as #3):

"The Road to Hope convoy has been sitting on the Libyan/Egyptian border for over one week now.

We demand the inmediate and safe passage so the Road to Hope convoy can deliver humanitarian cargo to the people of Gaza."

This demand seems to be supported by Manuel Tapial since he has joined this Facebook page. I'd like to ask him why would be right to send humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by land through Egypt, while sending humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by land through Israel is not. After all, when the Gaza flotilla was en route to the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities gave the activists a chance to do it, which was rejected by them.

4 & 5.- The map marked as #4 was found by the Tzahal during the Operation Cast Lead. It was made by Hamas and shows Hamas' tactics during the aforementioned clash, which included the use of civilian population and infrastructures as shields. Much more complete and detailed information on Hamas' tactics during the Operation Cast Lead is available here.

Regarding to the map, it was uploaded by Jorge Casas Bermúdez (not a Manuel Tapial's friend) to a Facebook page titled Rumbo a Gaza (On the road to Gaza), the name given to an initiative which pretends to send another flotilla to the Gaza Strip. This Facebook page was created by Manuel Tapial.

Jorge Casas Bermúdez claims to have received the map through an anonymous e-mail by which he was also told that it's important to the aforementioned initiative, so the map, which is in Arabic, should be translated (presumably into Spanish or English). Manuel Tapial, unable to translate the map, asks Jorge Casas Bermúdez who has been received the map from. Amar Hachemi (not a Manuel Tapial's friend) writes in Arabic, but later makes the translation into Spanish (marked as #5) as follows:

"it's palastine's flag and the girl [who made it also] made a drawing begging peace and love".

Well, the truth is that, as explained before, it's a map (not a Palestinian flag with a drawing) made by Hamas (not by a girl) which shows its criminal tactics, so this evidence against Hamas and in favour of Israel is available on the wall of this pro-Palestinian Facebook page.

It's curious, isn't it? Let's see how much time will the map still be available there without them having realized it!

6.- As reported before as a rare example of an unbiased report on Israel, an Israeli rabbi has allowed female Mossad agents to engage in sexual intercourse when necessary to achieve a mission. According to this ruling, such activity wouldn't constitute a sin according to the Jewish religious laws.

On the wall of his own Facebook account, Manuel Tapial warns (statement marked as #6) his friends against being lured by female Mossad agents. This warning is followed by some blue jokes and a comment by Manuel Tapial himself (not shown here but still available there) defending Mordechai Vanunu, who was lured by a female Mossad agent, apprehended and smuggled into Israel. Vanunu revealed nuclear secrets to the British press.

Does Manuel Tapial really think he is important enough to attract Mossad's attention upon him? Well, he probably does think so. After all, he claimed his last cell phone was probably hacked by Israel, warning his friends to erase his cell phone number from their datebooks (read here, at point #1).

7.- Pilar Rahola, a Spanish journalist and former politician from Catalonia, was awarded the Daniel Pearl Award for her defense of Israel. Here, Manuel Tapial writes his disagreement with the Award being given to Pilar Rahola. Manuel Tapial's friends Amparo Amparito and Wadi Nasrallah-Daghestani also disagree (marked as #7). The first one demands Pilar Rahola to be censored while the second one describes the Catalonian journalist as human scum.

Other comment (not captured here but still available there) by Pedro Luis Ruiz Sanchez (already mentioned in this same article at point #1) calls her to search for psychological and psychiatric treatment and to hit the Western Wall with her head in order to hurt herself.

Other insults against Rahola are still available on his wall and haven't been erased by Manuel Tapial.

8.- Manuel Tapial claims here (marked as #8) that the police took a Palestinian acquaintance of his own during two hours in the city of Almería. He also claims that this Palestinian individual was interrogated about the reasons of his trip to the city and whether he had the intention to attend a conference by Manuel Tapial there.

Manuel Tapial is thus accusing the Spanish authorities of intimidating those related to his cause.

The Jerusalem Post on Casa Sefarad-Israel's study about anti-Semitism in Spain.

The Pew Research Center published a report about anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Spain, Poland, Russia, Germany, France, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The report dates from 2008 and showed that 46% of the Spaniards had unfavourable views towards the Jews; concerned about this fact, the Spanish Government made Casa Sefarad-Israel to study the problem, releasing the data contained here.

The Jerusalem Post's response to the report can be read here (in English).

Público on others' double standard, but not on its own double standard.

Público has published an article by Daniel Basteiro, correspondent in Brussels, on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, under the title El doble rasero de Bruselas (Brussels' double standard). The article deals with what Público perceives as a double standard by the European Union regarding its human rights policies, which are not as harsh with China, Myanmar, Honduras, Morroco, the United States, Russia and Mexico as with Cuba. The article relies on statements made by left-wing Members of the European Parliament and an Amnesty International official, who attribute E.U.'s attitudes to the economic ties with countries like Morroco and China and the fact that the right-wing parties hold a majority in the European Parliament.

Maybe this Público's denounce is correct, but the reality is that it fails to denounce its own double standard when it comes to one country: the State of Israel. Just read here, here, here, here and here to understand what I'm referring to.

Eugenio García Gascón on Israel's nuclear capabilities.

Público has published an article by Eugenio García Gascón on Friday, October 15, 2010, under the title Israel y la bomba (Israel and the bomb). Excerpt from the article below (translated as accurate as possible, between quotation marks):

"Of course, to allow Iran to build the bomb must be avoided (although to obtain nuclear energy for commercial purposes should be allowed). And the same should be told about Israel. There are trigger-happy politicians in the Israeli cabinet, like the Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman has expressed himself recently in an aggresive and bellicose manner, even regarding those Arab countries which signed peace with Israel. It would be right to take the bomb away from him and the West shoud be working to achieve it."

What I think is that there are trigger-happy Arabs and muslims who prompted Israel to arm itself. Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stated publicly that Israel must be destroyed, and Arab countries attacked Israel in the past with the purpose of achieving such a mission. Iran and Syria also supply Hezbollah and Hamas with rockets. Egypt tried to achieve nuclear capabilities during Nasser's regime, employing nuclear scientists who had worked for the nazi regime before.

The question here is: would Israel have armed itself with nuclear weapons if its enemies hadn't attacked and threatened Israel before?

An example of an unbiased report on Israel.

Incredibly, it has happened. It's the first time since weeks or even months that I have watched a Spanish TV report on Israel which can't be considered biased. And the most extraordinary fact is that the report was broadcasted by laSexta Noticias and that it was made by Sal Emergui. In spite of this fact, Israel is neither criticized nor denounced in the report.

The report focuses on a rabbinical ruling regarding female Mossad agents engaging in sexual intercourse when necessary to achieve a mission. According to the ruling, such activity doesn't constitute a sin according to the Jewish religious laws.

More information in English about the issue, here.

Was Spanish activist Manuel Tapial shot?

According to an article published in ideal.es: El cooperante tiroteado Manuel Tapia[l] presentará la película 'Vals con Bashir' (The shot activist Manuel Tapia[l] will present the film 'Waltz with Bashir'). The truth is that Manuel Tapial was not shot when the Mavi Marmara was raided by the Tzahal.

Again, the Gaza flotilla has been defined as a "humanitarian aid flotilla for the Palestinians", in spite of the proofs against the activists and the lack of evidence against the Israeli soldiers who assaulted the vessels.