24 June 2010

Jewish Dance Group Stoned in Germany


This news item from Germany is particularly disturbing, as reported by the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/10406344.stm

A Jewish dance group was the target of stoning and racist slurs by a group of youths described as Muslim immigrants.

This is particularly of concern as this type of attack is quite similar to an attack that happened to a Macedonian dance group that my brother and sister were part of. At a performance in Port Willunga, south of Adelaide, Australia, in 1995, the local Macedonian dance group performed at a multicultural festival. This dance group consisted of children and teenagers performing folk dances of the culture of their Macedonian ancestors. However, the dance group was as multicultural as the festival, with many of the children of mixed ethnic background, some of whom were half-Greek, half-Macedonian, and even some children of Korean and Thai background who had been adopted and raised by ethnic Macedonian parents. Above all, they were all Aussie kids. However, Greek spectators in the crowd started hurling racist slurs at the innocent children, shouting in Greek and English and calling them 'filthy Gypsies'. What is most disgraceful was that it were Greek parents who instigated this vile display of racism. Totally speechless that people could stoop down to such low levels. OK, so many Greeks have a problem with Macedonia and Macedonians, but that does not give any reason to behave like they did towards children.

What makes the attack on the Jewish group far worse was that the performers were actually attacked by stones and were injured. It brings into question what were the motives for such an attack? Furthermore, it would be interesting what sort of connection these attackers have regarding the conflict in the Middle East. No doubt these attackers have absolutely no personal connection to the conflict in Israel and more than likely were born, raised and have never even left Germany in all their lives. They are much like the idiot Aussie kids of Croatian, Greek, Lebanese, Serbian etc. background who are more interested in proving their fragile masculinity by starting riots in the guise of their supposed support for tennis players hailing from the country of their grandparents at the Australian Open each year. Often they are more talk than action in the end, but it does make you wonder what environment are they being raised in. My advice to these kids - give it up! Your actions reveal more about your weaknesses than your self-delusional strengths.

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