In Wake of Belgium Terrorist Attack Wiesenthal Center Urges European Leaders to Act Against Spike in Anti-Semitism

May 24, 2014

May 24, 2014

 
Read related Wall Street Journal article....

Terror Alert at Level 4; Skilled Shoot-to-Kill Terrorist Still on the Loose

 

“The Simon Wiesenthal Center condemns the murderous terrorist attack today at the Jewish Museum in Brussels that left four innocents dead and a community in shock,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper associate Dean of the leading Jewish human rights NGO, adding, “While Belgian authorities have raised the terror alert to level 4 (highest), the fact is that a terrorist, who shot-to-kill all too accurately, remains on the loose, leaving a shocked Jewish community deeply shaken.”

Cooper spoke from Israel today with Joel Rubinfeld who heads up the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism and asked him to express the condolences to the victims’ families and the Jewish community on behalf of the 400,000 members of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

 

“At this point, it is not know if the terrorist is tied to an organized group, or like the Toulouse French Jewish School murders or the Passover Eve attack on the Jewish Community Center in Kansas City, carried out by a lone-wolf who may have honed his skills online,” Cooper said. “Either way, this clinical, cold-blooded attack takes place against the backdrop of a massive spike in anti-Semitic attitudes and acts across much of Europe,” he added.

 

“Of course we expect Belgian authorities to take all necessary measures to protect Jewish lives and Jewish life in their nation but it is time for them and all the European leaders to also take measures to reverse the extreme anti-Israel and anti-Jewish attitudes held by as many as 150 million European citizens,” Rabbi Cooper concluded.

 

Rabbi Cooper is in Jerusalem where he will be addressing an international Conference on anti-Semitism on Sunday at Hebrew University. He can be reached at +1-310-210-9750 or +972-524-316-446

 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 members. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament.

 

For more information, contact the Center’s Public Relations Department, 310-553-9036, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.