"Herein hangs a question: If there had only been the kosher supermarketattack, would millions have marched and over fifty world leaders convened in Paris? Surely not, it would remain one more in the litany of Toulouse, Brussels and so many more Jewishtargets in the last five years," argued the Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels.
On 11 January, 2015, millions marched and we joined them under a Simon Wiesenthal Center ballooninscribed, "We are all Charlie, Police, Jews," in tribute to all the victims, hoping that this demonstrations would mean a sea-change in solidarity against anti-Semitism. \
Samuels added, 'We called on France to "Stop the culture of excuse: Not all alienated, frustrated, or unemployed young people,born in France or migrants, commit atrocities. There is nosocial welfare reason for slaughtering journalists. Indeed, Charlie Hebdo cartoons are often anti-Semitic. Jews counter-attack through the law courts, not with Kalashnikovs.
"We obtained for him a French passport, so that he could be honoured at the Wiesenthal Centre's Hollywood dinner...When askedwould you do it again?...he replied, "I did not think... people were in danger... My mother taught me, that is my Islam," declared the Centre
"We hope that this trial of declared Jihadists, as long as it may take, will bring justice and closure for the families of thevictims. It must not end in acquittal on psychiatric grounds... or a release, as in the case of Hassan Diab – the main suspect in the 1980 Copernic synagogue bombing – who, afterextradition from Canada managed to return there in the midst of ongoing appeal litigation in Paris.
"Finally, Stop the disconnect: Al-Qaeda, Isis, Hamas,Hezbollah, etc. are branches of the same tree. Western countries that reject this will never expunge terrorism on their own soil," concluded Samuels.
For further information, contact Dr. Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish humanrights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council ofEurope and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).
