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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 08:47 12/11/2006 Neo-Nazi party holds convention in Berlin amid protests By Assaf Uni, Haaretz Correspondent FRANKFURT AN DER ODER - The neo-Nazi National Democratic Party is holding its biennial convention this weekend in Berlin, with 600 delegates participating in an event seen as a show of force in the German capital. Hundreds of thousands of people protested in the pouring rain Saturday against the two-day convention, whose slogan is "the political center of the people." "The dream of normal Jewish life in Germany still clashes with anti-Semitism in the country, and with the large number of violent attacks by the extreme right," German President Horst Kohler warned Friday. Advertisement "The attacks of the extreme right in Germany are so aggressive and significant that today's situation is reminiscent of 1933, when Hitler rose to power," Charlotte Knobloch, the head of the German Jewish Council, the German-Jewish umbrella organization, said. The NDP had representatives elected to local parliaments in two federal states. The convention, which began on Saturday, will close later on Sunday. Report: German anti-Semitism on the rise A comprehensive report the Friedrich Ebert Foundation released last week shows that anti-Semitic feelings still exist in Germany, and that hatred of immigrants is growing. In recent years, Germany's neo-fascist movement has grown significantly in places like Frankfurt an der Oder. An hour from Berlin by train, the town on the Oder River has an unemployment rate of 20 percent - double that of West Germany. More than 20,000 people have left since reunification with the west. In East German cities like this, the extreme right takes advantage of the disappointment and despair to draft additional supporters. Representatives of the 230-person Jewish community in this small town on the German-Polish border spoke of increasing feelings of insecurity. The community felt fairly safe until last weekend, according to community leader Yosef Weisblatt: "There was only one case of anti-Semitic graffiti in the town, and it was six years ago," he said. But after a group of neo-Nazis desecrated a Kristallnacht monument Thursday night, things changed. "Yesterday we met with the authorities and asked that police be stationed at all Jewish events in the city, and the mayor agreed," Weisblatt said. The number of anti-Semitic incidents doubled during the Lebanon war, and official reports show the number of attacks by right-wing extremists has risen 20 percent. At Frankdurt an der Oder's recently renovated Jewish community center, Weisblatt described last week's attack. "We came together last Thursday, on the 68th anniversary of Kristallnacht, to lay wreaths and light candles to commemorate the destruction of our ancient synagogue by the Nazis," he said. "Like every year, the ceremony took place by the memorial stone marking the site of the synagogue. After the ceremony, hundreds of people, including senior city officials, marched to the Jewish center." A few hours after the ceremony, while participants were still at the center, several members of extreme-right organizations destroyed the wreaths, crushed the candles, shouted "Sieg Heil" and tried to destroy the memorial stone, police said. Sixteen youths ages 16 to 24 were arrested. Although concerned over additional clashes, Weisblatt said he is pleased with the support the Jewish community received from some of the city's 60,000 residents. The day after the attack, Weisblatt says the mayor held another ceremony to lay new wreaths, and even invited the city's residents to attend. Weisblatt said a number of citizens came to the center with wreaths. Victor Hazanovich, a young man who assists Weisblatt and leads Friday-night prayers when the rabbis from Berlin or Leipzeig cannot come, is not very worried: "There's no danger walking in the streets," he says. "Everybody thinks we're Russian." Bookmark to del.icio.us Steering her destiny Haaretz.com TV feature: Nabila is Israel's first female Muslim bus driver. Support the troops Former chief rabbi of U.S. Navy urges American Jews to help Jewish troops.   1.   Correction, please 10:12  |  Shual 12/11/06   2.   hundreds of thousands?no 600! 11:07  |  Chani 12/11/06   3.   Neo nazi 11:15  |  Dr D 12/11/06   4.   Haaretz, what a bad piece of journalism! 11:59  |  Jonathan S 12/11/06   5.   what a fake article 12:08  |  Julie 12/11/06   6.   Why 12:14  |  David King 12/11/06   7.   It`s not journalism 12:37  |  Julie 12/11/06   8.   to David King 12:49  |  Marcelo 12/11/06   9.   #4 12:58  |  Shual 12/11/06   10.   #6 13:15  |  Shual 12/11/06   11.   Why are there still Jews living in Germany?? 13:22  |  Sifeena Sarahanin 12/11/06   12.   lessons to be learnt 13:47  |  Wolfgang 12/11/06   13.   I don`t see any prolem in it 13:48  |  Ignacio 12/11/06   14.   Haaretz, the last sentence is most revealing 13:52  |  Jonathan S 12/11/06   15.   "audibly a Russian" 13:57  |  christoph 12/11/06   16.   to #11 14:28  |  Wolfgang 12/11/06   17.   Im a Tamil 16:37  |  Lavz 14/11/06   18.   this is a great article and true as hell, i respect Haaretz 04:18  |  ray 02/11/07

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