CENTRE SIMON WIESENTHAL - EUROPE
Tel:+33(0)1 47 23 76 37
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Paris - 18 January, 2012 

A December ski vacation in the Alps, organized by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), apparently degenerated into a Nazi-theme party at which a Jewish student was assaulted.

Though the college announced that it would take disciplinary action, an LSE spokesman now argues that "these are disturbing allegations relating to events which took place on a foreign trip organized by the Student Union."

That incident has now reportedly been repeated with another Jewish student assaulted for protesting a game in which cards had to be formed into a swastika, and participants had to salute the Führer.

In letters to LSE Director, Judith Rees, and National Union of Students President, Liam Burns, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, expressed his shame as a postgraduate alumnus of LSE, that, once a training incubator for world leaders, has strayed so far from the social welfare and egalitarian
values of its Fabian founders.

"According to the Guardian newspaper, the so-called 'Ring of Fire' Nazi card game has 12,000 followers on Facebook. I wonder how many are students at LSE?", suggested the letter.

Samuels pointed to the NUS website, which pays tribute to Martin Luther King Day by noting 'racist attacks on campus' and the need 'to ensure our voices are heard.'

"What more appropriate moment is there for the NUS to raise its voice in solidarity with the Jewish victims and against the Nazification of British campuses, beginning with one of its most prestigious - the London School of Economics and Political Science" argued the Centre.

"Madam Director, this Friday, we mark the 70th anniversary of the notorious Wannsee conference in Berlin, that included 330,000 British Jews on its list for extermination. The late Simon Wiesenthal's maxim was 'what starts with the Jews ends as a scourge for all'. LSE's inaction in response to these cases can only encourage further racism on
your campus," concluded Samuels.

For further information, contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at +336 09770158, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.

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.