Communiqués de presse 2012
"School, police and government's inaction is tantamount to complicity."
Paris, 13 June 2012
In a letter to Norwegian Minister of Justice, Grete Faremo, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels expressed shock "at the firebanding of a Jewish boy at an Oslo secondary school barbecue on Monday.
The letter pointed out that "apparently, this child has been the subject of antisemitic bullying and violence for the past two years, reportedly, because his father is Israeli", continuing "what is even more astonishing is that, despite the mother's report of assaults on her son to NRK radio evening news in 2010, there has been no reaction by the school, the police or governmental authorities."
Samuels noted that "the boy has stated that he must stay clear of Norwegian and Muslim children and hide his parentage to avoid continued
antisemitic attacks", adding that "these young school hatemongers point to a new generation of Breivik-style racists for Norway's future. You
have a responsability to protect every threatened child and, especially, this victim targetted simply for being Jewish."
The Centre stressed that "the silence of the school, the police and your government is too reminiscent of another Norway, under the WWII Nazi collaborator, Quisling."
"Our Centre urges your immediate investigation of this case and protective and judicial action, as continued silence is tantamount to complicity" concluded Samuels.
Paris, 6 June 2012
In a letter to the European Commission Vice-President, Viviane Reding, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, urged her condemnation of the "odious presence in the European Parliament (EP) yesterday of the owner and broadcaster of the racist Radio Marya. 'Father' Tadeusz Rydzyk not only dishonours the Polish Church, he has now tainted the European Union in its own headquarters."
Samuels called on the Commission "to censure Rydzik's hosts, the MEP's of Poland's Law and Justice Party for their abuse of the EP's democratic values by introducing a notorious hatemonger into its chamber."
The letter pointed out that "the European, Conservative and Reformist (ECR) club in the European Parliament, to which the Law and Justice Party (LJP) is affiliated must be warned. It is especially disquieting to discover the British Conservative Party's alliance with the Polish LJP."
"Ces trois jours au siège parisien de l'UNESCO rappelèrent le déchaînement de haine antisémite que fut la Conférence mondiale contre le racisme de Durban en 2001."
Paris, le 5 juin 2012
Dans une lettre au Secrétaire générale des Nations Unies, Ban Ki-Moon, Le Directeur des relations internationales du Centre Simon Wiesenthal, Dr. Shimon Samuels fait part de son "profond dégoût après la Réunion internationale des Nations Unies sur la question de Palestine intitulée 'Le rôle des jeunes et des femmes dans le règlement pacifique de la question palestinienne' et qui s'est tenue au siège de l'UNESCO à Paris, jusqu'au 1er juin." "Je fus enthousiasmé par votre message d'ouverture encourageant 'les jeunesses palestinienne et israélienne à construire un avenir de paix' et appelant à 'un engagement plus important des femmes dans le processus de paix' continue la lettre.
Lire la suite : Le Centre Simon Wiesenthal au Secrétaire général...
Paris, le 7 mai 2012
Le Dr. Shimon Samuels, Directeur des relations internationales du Centre Simon Wiesenthal, a félicité le nouveau Président de la République française, François Hollande, au nom des 400,000 membres du Centre et de son Doyen et Fondateur, le Rabbin Marvin Hier.
Lui souhaitant beaucoup de succès pour les défis à venir, Shimon Samuels a ajouté que "depuis l'élection de François Mitterrand en 1981, notre Centre coopère étroitement avec vos prédécesseurs. Nous sommes impatients de poursuivre cette coopération sous votre présidence en particulier pour combattre les appels à la haine, le racisme et l'antisémitisme."
Paris, 10 April 2012
In a letter to French Presidential candidates, incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Party leader François Hollande, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre - France President, Richard Odier and its Director for International Relations Dr. Shimon Samuels, pointed out that "for over thirty-one years, every President of France has voiced his steadfast commitment to bring to justice the perpetrator of the October 1980 bombing of the Rue Copernic Synagogue of Paris."
The letter continued, "despite our doubts, for years we were told that this was an act of neo-Nazis. Three years ago, the French authorities requested the extradition from Canada of Hassan Diab, a Lebanese-Palestinian alleged member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who was charged with the atrocity. Diab was later to become an Adjunct Sociology Professor at Ottawa University in Canada".