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| Europe |
| Synagogue worker from U.K. shot in head in Antwerp |
| 2004-11-18 |
| A British secretary to a rabbi in Antwerp was shot in the head early Thursday and was in the hospital with life-threatening injuries, the prosecutor's office said. Spokeswoman Dominique Reniers said the man was shot once in front of his home in Antwerp's Jewish neighborhood. "We do not exclude any motive, but so far there are no indications that the motive was racist or extremist," she said. Yehuda Ceitlin, a local aide of Israel's Zaka rescue services, identified the victim as Moshe Naeh, a father of five. Ceitlin said Naeh was brought to an Antwerp hospital, where he was fighting for his life. Ceitlin said that, though racial harassment had increased in recent years in Antwerp, it was the first shooting of a Jewish victim in a long time. "It caught everyone by surprise," he said. Antwerp, some 50 kilometers north of the capital, has one of the biggest Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in western Europe. Reniers called the victim a "devout young man" of 24 who was shot once from close range. He slumped onto the road, where he was discovered by passers-by who initially thought he was a traffic victim. There were no witnesses to the shooting. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #11 Liberalhawk, In your post, when you said, "ultra-orthodox" did you mean "haradim"? |
| Posted by: mhw 2004-11-18 1:53:56 PM |
| #10 I'm sure the AEL will be sending its heartfelt condolences. |
| Posted by: Onionman 2004-11-18 12:14:08 PM |
| #9 Jer. post confirms the victim was Chasid (and a father of five) They also state that his wallet had NOT been taken, increasing the likelihood it was a hate crime. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-11-18 10:23:24 AM |
| #8 Thanks for that informative breakdown Liberalhawk |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-11-18 10:03:45 AM |
| #7 dot com - the jewish community in Antwerp is largely ultra-Orthodox, especially Hasidim, who dominate large sectors of the diamond cutting trade. Anyone in that community would have been instantly recognizable as a Jew. And no, odds are they will NEVER carry guns. These are a fatalistic people, who trust all to G-d. Re emigration. There is a considerable aliyah (migration to Israel) from the French Jewish community, which is Europes largest (and is a strongly Zionist community, esp among the Jews of North African origin) Its not flight for the exits, but its notably high for a Jewish community in a wealthy, western, democracy. Community in Belgian is mainly Hasidic, as i said, and probably wont leave their lucrative businesses till theres blood on the streets on a regular basis. German community isnt leaving and why should they? Germany doesnt have the emerging problems of France and Belgium. UK community has only modest aliyah. And thats pretty much it for the substantial communities in Europe. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-11-18 9:31:38 AM |
| #6 From Berlin-Judentum: Out of almost one million Jews that have left the USSR and the successor states since 1945, a large group of around 170,000 people have immigrated to Germany starting in 1990, as a consequence of an admission regulation within the framework of the "Law of refugees in groups." It is estimated that there are another 100,000 wanting to arrive. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-11-18 9:08:40 AM |
| #5 In recent years many Jews have emigrated from the former Soviet Union to Germany. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-11-18 9:04:51 AM |
| #4 not just european jews will emigrate. i'd bet that many non-jews, both christian and muslim (and post-christian, europe's largest confession) will leave during Europe's next civil war, the one that's already breaking out in holland. good for the US, bad for Europe. seen it a hundred times before. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-18 8:20:49 AM |
| #3 I'm not holding my breath that it was some random drive by. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2004-11-18 7:58:03 AM |
| #2 My opinion is, sooner of later the majority of European Jews, due to the revolting expansion of anti-Semitism, will be forced to emigrate to Israel, especially with the adverse combination of the rising Islamic population in many E.U. states, plus neo-nazis gaining new thugs to their memberships. Those which say it can't happen again are living in a dream world, such as many after World War One, saying the Great War ended all wars. |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-11-18 7:57:25 AM |
| #1 Was he wearing a yarmulke or some other external sign to indicate he is a Jew? I hope they start taking measures to protect themselves - like slinging an AK over the shoulder - and that this is not some Jooo-hatred murder. Down the road I hope it turns out I was a putz for the suggestion and that such measures were unnecessary and a great joke to be shared over coffee someday... But I fear it's otherwise. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-11-18 7:43:34 AM |