Schumer, Bloomberg Warn N.Y. Gathering That Anti-Semitism Is Rampant in Europe
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Senator Schumer and Mayor Bloomberg warned of anti-Semitism in Europe as they gave speeches yesterday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II on the European continent and the lives of the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
Messrs. Schumer and Bloomberg, joined by the Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, and the Israeli consul general in New York, Arye Mekel, spoke at a Gathering of Remembrance organized by the Warsaw Ghetto Resistance Organization and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. It was held at Hunter College on the Upper East Side.
Speaking to an audience that included Holocaust survivors, Messrs. Schumer and Bloomberg gave sober assessments of the European progress in relations with Jews since World War II.
“Europeans are engaged in anti-Semitism and virulent anti-Israel activities,” Mr. Schumer said. “It’s a disgrace, an outrage.”
Organizations that track anti-Semitism, such as the Anti-Defamation League, have warned of an increase in anti-Israeli hatred in Europe, particularly since the breakout of the Palestinian Arab intifada against Israel in 2000, that has led to violent acts such as bombings of synagogues and desecration of cemeteries.
Mr. Bloomberg, speaking after the senior senator from New York, said: “Anti-Semitism hasn’t disappeared from Europe.” A dangerous turn of events in Europe, he warned, “is never unfortunately that far away.” The mayor also mentioned that he had made four trips to Israel since taking office in 2002.
He concluded by honoring Mr. Morgenthau with a proclamation from the city on a day of Holocaust remembrance for having “made a difference,” citing the district attorney’s service as chairman of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park.
Mr. Mekel described a recent trip he made to Auschwitz. “The truth difference” between the time of the Holocaust and the present, he said, “is the state of Israel.”
In Berlin, about 3,000 extreme right-wing protesters staged a rally against the “cult of guilt” purportedly imposed on Germany after World War II, the Associated Press reported. They attempted to march through downtown Berlin, but thousands of counter demonstrators blocked their marching route.
