AJC Discusses Attacks on Jews with U.S. Justice Department

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 25 October 2000

American Jewish Committee experts on anti-Semitism and terrorism met here yesterday with U.S. Department of Justice officials to discuss the recent increase in anti-Jewish incidents linked to the violence launched by the Palestinians against Israel.

"At pro-Palestinian rallies across the U.S., speakers are leading chants of 'slaughter the Jews' in Arabic," Yehudit Barsky, director of AJC's Division on International Terrorism, told the Justice Department officials.

Kenneth Stern, AJC's expert on anti-Semitism and extremism, observed that "there are people around the world who watch events in the Middle East and want to fight a 'war against the Jews' in their own backyards."

Though anti-Semitic incidents in France and elsewhere in Europe have been more severe, said Mr. Stern, hate crimes against Jews in the U.S. could increase if the situation in the Middle East remain unstable.

Also participating in the meeting were AJC consultants Steve Pomerantz, former FBI director on counterintelligence, and Paul Goldenberg, former chief of the New Jersey state office of bias crime and community relations.

The AJC delegation called for coordination between federal agencies, as well as between federal, state and local law enforcement.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee, Under Secretary for Enforcement at the Treasury Department James Johnson, and representatives of the FBI and ATF expressed their dismay after hearing of the direct calls for violence against Jews, and thanked the AJC staff for sharing their expertise.

Since the Palestinians launched their violent attacks against Israel nearly three weeks ago, more than a dozen incidents have occurred across the U.S., including attacks on synagogues in New York City; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; St. Paul, Minnesota; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Syracuse, New York.

In France dozens of Jewish synagogues, schools and other institutions have been attacked. In Germany, synagogues, as well as the memorial site at Buchenwald concentration camp, were damaged. In Britain, fliers were distributed in three cities exhorting Muslims to "kill the Jews." An Orthodox Jew was stabbed repeatedly on a bus in north London.

In Madrid, rocks were hurled at Jewish institutions, breaking windows. In Canberra, Australia, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue. Incidents also have occurred in Sweden, Belgium, Russia, Canada, the Netherlands, Mexico and Morocco.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org