European Jews Speak Out
The Jerusalem Post | February 24, 2005 | Sam Ser
 

Representatives of Jewish communities in three European countries this past week not only leveled unusually harsh criticism against their governments but risked a backlash by making their complaints public.

In recent days, the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities decried Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey's visit to Yasser Arafat's grave during her state visit to the region two weeks ago; the Norwegian-Israel Center against anti-Semitism upbraided Norway for discrimination against Israel; and the Committee Representing Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) lambasted the French government for doing too little to quash anti-Semitism there, and for actually encouraging anti-Semitism through its diplomatic policies.

Spokesman Thomas Lyssy said the Swiss Federation spoke out because it felt that an anti-Israel bias in Swiss society had become a danger to the Jewish community.

"There has been more anti-Israel media coverage here in recent years, and that kind of coverage has a negative impact on the Jewish community," he told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. "[The portrayal] that Israel is always wrong and the Palestinians are always right has created a tense atmosphere."

The federation's uncharacteristic decision to release its complaints to the media, rather than refer them privately to officials, "has put more pressure on the government" because of widespread attention paid to the issue by the national media, Lyssy added.

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