Communiqués de presse 2015
Vatican City, 2 December 2015
Ambassadors from 20 nations joined Rome's Chief Rabbi, Cardinal Kurt Koch, academics and students at Vatican City's Pontifical Urbaniana University for the launch of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's historical exhibition, People. Book. Land. The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People With The Holy Land.
The exhibition, which was authored by the late Professor Robert Wistrich, is the first to have the formal endorsement of a UN agency — UNESCO. It's initial opening at UNESCO headquarters in January 2014 was blocked after the formal protest of 22 Arab states. Six months later, it was opened at UNESCO world headquarters in Paris by its Director General Irina Bokova. It has subsequently been presented at UN headquarters in New York, U.S. Congress, and earlier this week at Israel's Knesset in Jerusalem.
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UNESCO responded: "In light of the information provided by the Wiesenthal Centre, we have brought this to the attention of the Permanent Delegation of Egypt.”
Paris, 30 November 2015
In a letter to Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels expressed shock at the 28 November so-called, "Model of UNESCO Simulation" held at the Conference Centre of Cairo University, where an announced member of your delegation to UNESCO, Dr. Ramy Ashour, reportedly stated, 'Israel was behind the Paris terrorist attacks, to destroy the image of Islam and so that French Jews leave France for Israel'."
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Éditorial de Shimon Samuels paru en anglais dans The Jerusalem Post
le 16 novembre 2015
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/What-began-with-the-Jews-has-crossed-a-new-threshold-for-Europe-434290
L'antisémitisme, l'antisionisme, l'antiisraélisme qui sévissent en Europe ne servent que les ennemis mutuels d'Israël et de l'Europe.
Une femme tient une bougie en honneur des victimes d'un attentat.
Paris, 15 novembre 2015 (photo Reuters).
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“Rapid measures are vital... Muslim leaders must publicly condemn antisemitism in their mosques, schools and media... Italy cannot allow Jihadism on its soil.”
Paris, 13 November 2015
In a letter to Italian Interior Minister, Angelino Alfano, the Simon Wiesenthal Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, expressed shock that, “the so-called 'Intifada of Knives' has arrived to Italy in yesterday's attack on a Jewish man outside a kosher restaurant in Milan. The hooded attacker reportedly shouted, 'I will kill you'.”
The letter called on Alfano as “Italy's responsible official for counter-terrorism, to immediately draw the lessons of this assault by following the measures of your French counter-part, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, in posting armed military at every Jewish synagogue, school and other vulnerable institutions across Italy.”
Samuels stressed, “nor will the copy-cat transfer of an Intifada to Europe be limited to the Jewish community – present in Italy since the early Roman period... As we have seen in the Charlie Hebdo and Jewish supermarket incidents in Paris, though Jews may be the primary victim, the terrorist's strategic target is democracy itself.”
The Centre called on the Minister for immediate action, “prosecution of the perpetrator, in this case, must demonstrate the firm will of Italy to counter such outrage,” adding, “rapid measures are vital on the ground and in the air – regarding Internet/social media. Muslim leaders must be prevailed upon to condemn antisemitism, focussing on this stabbing, in their mosques, and the media.”
“Mr. Minister, Italy cannot allow Jihadism on its soil,” concluded Samuels.
Paris, le 10 novembre 2015
Dans une lettre adressée à la ministre de la Culture, Fleur Pellerin, le directeur des Relations internationales du Centre Simon Wiesenthal, Shimon Samuels, lui exprimait « sa vive préoccupation face au partenariat récemment signé entre l'Institut du monde arabe (IMA)et le délégué palestinien à l'Unesco, Elias Sanbar, pour créer ''un musée national d'art moderne et contemporain de Palestine''. Selon les dires de M. Jack Lang, président de l'IMA, ce musée ''lui a rappelé le Musée de la résistance Salvador Allende'' ».
« Établir un tel parallèle équivaut à comparer la démocratie israélienne à une dictature militaire fasciste de type Pinochet », alertait M. Samuels.