A r b i t r a r i n e s s
Friends of Dima Perelmuter consider him an incorrigible idealist. All the more so for after having lived in Germany for a few years, after settling down and standing on his own two feet, abandoning everything and coming to Israel. But even before that, the thought of making aliyah had often crossed his mind. He finally made the decision when the El-Aqsa intifada broke out, hearing the constant news summaries about Israel in the media. He came because the country, his country, was in a difficult situation… Some time after coming here Dima found himself at a grocer’s in Hulon. Suddenly, something flashed in his sight: on the plastic shop-window he saw black burnt-in words “Kinder Nazi.” Dima could hardly believe his eyes and came nearer. No doubt about it - the writing was in German, in Gothic letters like the ones used by the Nazis. There had been reports in Germany for a long time regarding this neo-nazi youth organization, but this was the first time Dima had come across the results of its activities. Having recovered from his shock he addressed the shop assistant.
“Do you know what’s written there?”
“I have to ask you since it’s written in Russian,” the shop assistant answered ingeniously, a man with an Oriental appearance.
Dima’s feeling of psychic alienation became even stronger, when a few days later, at the central bus station in Tel Aviv, he saw a Russian inscription to the following effect: “The Jews are a nation of freaks. Degenerates! Bitches! Mongoloids!” Later, at the Information and Support Center for Victims of anti-Semitism, Dima shared his thoughts: “You see, thousands of people see those inscriptions, understand what they mean, and nobody feels annoyed. A few days later, I decided to photograph what I had seen, although I was almost convinced that the inscriptions would have been erased long ago. Nothing of the kind - nobody cared a bit about it. I think that they are untouched until today.” Dima said that he had never come across any manifestations of anti-Semitism in Germany. According to him, the wave of anti-Semitic actions that has recently swept across Europe is mainly due to the Arabs and other Muslims and is part and parcel of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said. Jew-hatred in the repatriate community testifies to the fact that the aim of Zionism has failed; Israel does not save the Jews from anti-Semitic excesses.
Akim Gabay, an inhabitant of Bat Yam, said something to the same effect. Near the entrance of a municipal school he saw a swastika spray-painted on the wall.
The repatriate Z. said that he came to a mall in Ashdod at the moment when there was a football match showing of Korea against Germany. “The Germans scored a goal and a few Russian-looking youths unanimously started to roar: ‘Heil!’ It seemed an incongruous childish escapade, but against the background of recent communications we must see in it an alarming tendency.” What is more, we must say that if it was Israel’s team taking part in the match, Z. would have also heard: “Beat the Jews!” Several times we received communications about similar outbursts from some “repatriate” football fans.
Today, the Law of Return, enacted to increase the number of Jews in the State of Israel, is in reality not only increasing the non-Jewish part of the population, but is also “repatriating” to this country European anti-Semitism. The so-called representatives of the repatriate community in the Government and in the Keneset boisterously protest against any attempt to amend the law. Moreover, they maintain that this repatriation is healthy for Israel. Not one of them makes mention of the Zionist treatise about a Jewish homeland. The very word “Jew” and its derivatives have been removed from the terminology of the Jewish Agency’s suppliers of new repatriates, and have been replaced by the tediously slow formulation “a person entitled to repatriation in accordance with the Law of Return.” The Israeli establishment sees any review of the Law of Return only in their nightmares – their sinecure would be in danger! The “emissaries of the repatriation” feel more nervous than most because their electorate is running away as a natural course and requires constant replenishment. The authorities are not at all happy about our center’s existence, which stands in the way of sweeping the problem of anti-Semitism in Israel completely under the carpet. The attitude adopted towards us by the Israeli police in connection to an anti-fascist meeting in Jerusalem on May 12th, 2002 was very revealing. It is worth while to take a close look at the circumstances surrounding that event.
Two weeks before, on April 27, in Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Armon haNatsiv, on the walls of houses, appeared swastikas and pictures of a big-nosed Jew, along with (illiterate) inscriptions like “Heil Hitler” and “Dead Jew.” According to the inhabitants of the neighborhood, a group of Russian-speaking juveniles, repatriates from the CIS, known for their aggressive behavior, had carried out this action. A complaint was filed with the police. In the context of this and other Jew-hating instances, the Center’s activists decided to hold a meeting in Jerusalem on Victory Day, May 9. In accordance with the established manner of proceeding, the Center’s activists submitted a corresponding request to the local police office at Migrash haRusim. The police officer that received our request but refused to give us a written confirmation of receiving it, telling us only that we had to address “Kobi” on the following day to obtain an authorization for the meeting. Throughout the next day, we phoned Kobi several times, and each time he told us that he had not received our request. In the morning, the activists went to the police office again to submit the request. Upon seeing us, Kobi “forgot” about not receiving our request and told us instead that it had been turned down. The reason stated was that May 9th was Jerusalem Day and dozens of events had already been scheduled for that date. We tried to explain that it was important for the meeting to take place precisely on the 9th of May, the day of victory over Nazi Germany. All the explanations and persuasion were to no avail. We then turned to Kobi’s superior, Rami Kotlyarevski. In reply to our question: according to what principle is priority given to one event over the other, Rami said that State events are given priority. We then asked him, whether parades and veterans’ meetings earmarked for May 9 belonged to the category of State events. Showing signs of nervousness the above-mentioned officer said: “Your event is political, that is why you have been turned down” (???) Having been once again convinced of the steadfastness of “Israeli democracy,” we asked to be allowed to hold the meeting on Sunday, May 12th. This date was confirmed to us, although not through a written authorization. On May 12th, in the center of Jerusalem, an anti-fascist meeting took place under the slogan: “No to Russian Nazism in Israel.” Many new repatriates and old-timer victims of anti-Semitism in Israel, along with people concerned about this problem, took part in the meeting. They spoke about the more frequent cases of swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans on the walls of houses in Israel, the aggressive gatherings of Russian-speaking juveniles who adorn themselves in Nazi symbols, the desecration of Jewish tombs in the State of Israel, the uninhibited importation and circulation of neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic literature, and the hushing up of this problem by Israeli officials. Demonstrators collected hundreds of signatures of Jerusalemites for a petition that demanded action on the issue. At the height of the meeting, a policeman sowed up with the name Nisim Yerushalmi on his nametag.
“Your meeting is provocative, so I’m stopping it,” he declared.
“Who gave the orders for this?” we wanted to know.
“There have been complaints against you.”
“May we see these complaints?”
“No, these complaints were received orally.”
“And is that enough to stop the meeting?”
“Yes. It’s even enough to detain you.”
The meeting participants began to roll up the posters, to fold up the table for signing the petitions. The whole time the policeman hovered over us shouting, “Faster! Still faster! You better not get on my nerves!”
Just like in the Soviet Union during the period of stagnation, the “inconvenient” problem almost does not to exist. Official authorities give answers in the spirit of the Communist Party district committee; the police that cannot cope with the wave of anti-Semitic activities is heroically silencing those who are protesting against this phenomenon.
Zalman Gilichenski- project manager
èì. 054-691955
