The Danish MSM Wakes Up

Last weekend we posted Ted Ekeroth’s video of the appalling behavior of pro-Hamas demonstrators in Copenhagen. Were it not for the internet, the mainstream media in Denmark and elsewhere would almost certainly have ignored the incident and dropped it down the memory hole. But the dedicated efforts of Ted and other volunteers like him drew enough attention to force the MSM to address what happened.

Below are translations of two editorials from today’s Danish newspapers. One is from Jyllands-Posten, which is a sane and sensible paper that most of our readers are already familiar with. The other is from Politiken, which is another matter entirely. I’ll let our translator, Kepiblanc, explain:

The readers of GoV deserve some background information.

This weekend a pro-Israel demonstration attracted around 500 people in Copenhagen. They listened to speeches, sang the two nations’ national anthems and had some good conversations among themselves before taking the subway and bus home. During that time some Palestinian “youths” tried to disrupt the demonstration by shouting “Heil Hitler”, “Kill all Jews”, “Down with democracy” and “Down with Denmark”. The police took care of that.

Now — after initially ignoring this — our MSM “suddenly” discovered Ted Ekeroth’s video on Snaphanen, Uriasposten, Hodjas Blog, and others of the same ilk. The furor it caused all over the entire blogosphere couldn’t be ignored any longer, so they decided to print some op-eds on the matter.

The daily Jyllands-Posten is well known to the readers of GoV. Not only for printing the original Motoons, but for its overall reasonable stance on matters such as freedom of speech and its anti-lunatic position generally. (Although the paper lately has deteriorated markedly, for example being vehemently pro-EUSSR).

The daily Politiken — [Among Danes “Samarbejds-Politiken” — “Traitor-Politics” — due to its pro-Nazi stance during WWII] — is another matter entirely. Some would call it ‘left-wing’, but in my humble opinion a better label would be “The Congregational Treatise of All the World’s Do-Gooders, Tree-Huggers, Academicians, Nobles, Loonies, Drug-addicts, Winos, and The Holy, Infallible Nomenklatura”. — Just notice the toddler-lingo in its editorial.

Below is Kepiblanc’s translation of the Jyllands-Posten editorial:

Editorial: “Do not buy from Jews”

When someone uses the search engine Google to look up the words “Kauft nicht bei Juden” [German for “Do not buy from Jews”], it returns 5,650 text references and 569 image references.

Those images — all too well known from our history books — show Nazis with swastikas wearing big placards as well as Nazi bullies painting the walls and windowpanes of Jewish businessmen: “Do not buy from Jews”.

This message belongs to a distant and unpleasant time, and the consequences that it conveyed are one of history’s greatest nightmares. Despite its historical distance the message becomes frighteningly present when reading about the political mob “Boycott Israel”, which is so temptingly attractive to BUPL [Danish union of teachers for children and young people — translator].

Furthermore we see abhorrent images of young Palestinians rising their right arms in Nazi salutes and screaming that the Jews must be slaughtered. Not just in the Middle East, but actually during demonstrations in Denmark as well, where the seriousness of the situation is emphasized with stone-throwing and vandalism.

These scenes did not attract much attention in our domestic media and TV channels, but a quick tour of the Internet confirms that anti-Semitism alive and well.

Here in Denmark a confused Copenhagen professor came forward with some nonsense about Muslims being the Jews of our time” and thus suffering massive persecution and humiliation due to their religion and ethnicity.

The above information from the Internet proves fully that the Jews of our time are — the Jews! From that perspective, it is shameful to see who in the current Middle East crisis will end up in cahoots with “Boycott Israel”. The coupling “Kauft nicht bei Juden” is unavoidable.

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Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke [Danish foreign aid organization — translator], which likes to present itself as a neutral humanitarian organization, yesterday arranged afternoon and evening demonstrations against Israel in Copenhagen.

Secretary General Frans Mikael Jansen denied that MS had taken a position on the Israel-Hamas conflict, and he sees no problems in the fact that the President, Trine Pertou Mach, stood on Sunday as a co-signer of an advertisement in the newspaper Politiken, which criticized Israel for “escalating rather than ending the conflict”.

Trine Pertou Mach, who is running for parliament for SF [Socialist Party], besides being an employee of “Danish Institute for Human Rights” is evidently allowed to say and write precisely whatever she likes, but she can expect to be challenged in the same tone. As must Tue Magnussen, working as a press coordinator for “Center for Rehabilitation and Research on Torture Victims”.

It is however more than unusually naïve to think that their clear position does not affect public perception of the organizations and institutions they represent. “Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke” has not launched demonstrations against the Hamas terrorists’ constant missile attacks on Israel — ongoing for many years.

It looks like a number of parties, organizations and prominent individuals who unilaterally criticize Israel also have claimed a trademark on the good, the right, the humane.

Margrethe Vestager, chairwoman of “Det Radikale Venstre” [Center-Left Party], even boasts of having something as noble as a “human stance” — as opposed to those who disagree with her, of course. The domestic hatred towards the only democracy in the Middle East and its struggle for survival can be assigned to political naïveté and unctuous political correctness. Compared to violent Palestinian rhetoric, actual violence, and Nazi symbols, this brings back chilling memories of a dark past not to be forgotten, but to be learned from.

And from the progressive redoubts of Politiken:

Signs of racism disguised as criticism of Israel

Listen up: A couple of Danish school headmasters “advise” Jewish parents not to let their children enroll in the local primary school. Demonstrators at the City Hall Square in Copenhagen shout defaming words against Jews and democracy. Jews are reluctant to wear their skull caps in certain streets of Copenhagen. And sympathizers with Israel are met with anti-Semitic defamations.

Sadly, there is a pattern.

And it’s not just Denmark. Jewish communities in France, Britain and Germany have encountered anti-Semitism in conjunction with — or disguised as — criticism of Israel.

It is not only unpleasant. It is also a real challenge to the sustainability of our democratic society that we should not take lightly.

Danish Jews are not responsible for Israel’s policy. Period. Freedom of speech in this country does not contain freedom of racism. Period. And schools are for everyone. Period. Everything else is explaining things away.

That anti-Israeli demonstrators yell “down with democracy” in the streets of Copenhagen is foolish, but obviously not against the law. But shouting defamations against a religious minority is pure racism.

That Danish school headmasters in 2009 may have to advise a Jewish family against enrolling their children in the local school due to its many children with a Muslim background is perhaps kindly meant. But it is unacceptable. Public school is for everyone. And it is not something to be ‘balanced out’ with examples such as other minority children having been mobbed — quite the contrary. It only stresses that an effort must be made on insisting that the school is for everyone. And if someone is airing anti-Semitism or racism against children, the school’s job is to teach children about tolerance and to address disputes — even if fellow believers beyond of the horizon quarrel themselves.

Well, but the bombs are falling in Gaza and Israel….But No! There are no excuses for racism here.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is serious enough as it is. We help no one in Israel or Palestine by bending democracy and tolerance in this country. By doing so we risk destroying our own, open society. Anti-Semitism should not be ignored, nor met with a forgiving smile. It should be rejected.

Hat tip: TB.