Wiesenthal Center Urges German Arrest Warrant for Islamist Cleric Who Called for Jews’ Annihilation

September 17, 2014

“Chancellor Merkel’s Welcomed Speech Against Anti-Semitism Must Be Followed By Action”

Berlin

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish Human Rights NGO has urged German officials that they should issue an arrest warrant for Sheik Abu Bilal Ismail, who called for Jews to be killed during a speech at a Berlin mosque earlier this summer.

“We commend Chancellor Merkel’s welcomed speech denouncing anti-Semitism, but those sentiments must be followed by action. It is intolerable that German authorities would fail to act when a podium is used in Berlin to call for the killing of Jews,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Wiesenthal Center told a Berlin press conference. “We urged Justice Minister Heiko Maas (pictured center with Dr. Samuels (L) and Rabbi Cooper (R)), to issue an arrest warrant for the Sheikh for what German officials now admit was genocidal hate speech.”

Rabbi Cooper and Dr. Shimon Samuels, the Center’s Paris-based Director for International relations, who attended Sunday’s solidarity rally against Anti-Semitism, also met with Ministry of Interior’s State Secretary Emily Haber.

“We expressed our concern that German police were often ineffective, passive, or worse, during extreme anti-Israel protests during the Hamas-Israel confrontation this summer. No action was taken against those who hoisted the flags of acknowledged terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah. Further, protesters chanted “Death to Jews”, “Jews to the Gas Chambers”, with impunity, as police stood by and did nothing. And for the first time since WWII a German Synagogue was targeted by demonstrators”, Cooper added.

Center officials discussed three areas fueling unprecedented anti-Semitism in Germany and Europe: Islamist Extremists’ hatred toward Jews, Neo-Nazis, and Mainstream anti-Israelism.

One German poll found 40% of Germans polled in 2011 believed Israel was conducting a war of extermination against Palestinians.

Michael Spaney, Director of the Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin, (pictured right at table) who organized the press conference stressed that "the anti-Semitism on German streets in the summer of 2014 was clearly Israel-related anti-Semitism. It was Israel’s defensive operation against the terror organization Hamas that triggered the worst anti-Semitic incidents on German soil in decades, including fire attacks on synagogues." Spaney thanked the Wiesenthal Center for presenting to the German administration a to-do list in the fight against anti-Semitism.

Wiesenthal Center officials also presented a powerpoint that underscored the use of Twitter to celebrate terrorist attacks against Jews in Europe and to recruit young Muslims in Germany to join the terrorist group ISIS. “The responsibility to degrade ISIS lies not only with governments but with the Social Networking giants like Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook.

For more information contact Rabbi Cooper acooper@wiesenthal.com, 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 feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights 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 of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).