Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, made a well-publicised declaration against anti-semitism last week, see...

 http://www.europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/04/85|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=

Prodi says the treatment of Jews in Europe is a litmus test for its civilisation. He praises the Jewish community for its multiple allegiances - to nation and Jewish community. He says that cultural diversity is Europe’s strength.

Prodi wants Jews to be respected. He wants their culture to be respected. He want Jews to live in a diverse Europe that welcomes them.

But two days later another member of the European Commission, Frits Bolkestein, had a totally different message. Not about the Jews, but about Moroccans, Turks, Ghanaians and other immigrant minorities in the Netherlands. Bolkestein was present at the launch of his party’s new hardline policy on immigration, which is directly and explicitly inspired by his own hardline policies, when he lead the VVD party 10 years ago. (Like most EU Commission members, Bolkestein is a former politician). The Dutch media spoke of the party’s ‘return to the Bolkestein line’. Download the VVD proposal here:  http://www.vvd.nl/nieuws/p_ni_li.asp?ItemID=40&ID=5135&hp=true

Compare the proposals by Bolkestein and his party for the treatment of for instance Somali’s, with the treatment of Jews in Europe. And think of what Prodi would say, about a party which proposed the same for Jews.

No acceptance of Somali culture: full cultural and political assimilation in the Netherlands.

Compulsory lessons in Dutch values for Somali children. Legal enforcement of Dutch values on Somali’s.

All Somali immigrants must assimilate to Dutch culture before leaving Somalia. If they arrive as a refugee, they must assimilate on arrival.

Complete assimilation into Dutch culture a condition for citizenship.

No subsidies for Somali groups or institutions.

Somali’s will be excluded from the social security system, and will not receive unemployment benefit, disability benefit, sickness benefit, health care, or pensions, for the first 10 years in the Netherlands.

If anyone marries a Somali, they must support that person for 10 years.

Somalis who marry a legal resident will not themselves be granted legal residence. If they divorce they will be expelled from the country.

Somali’s may not marry a Somali, unless they prove they have adequate housing for a family.

Somali refugees must live at a government-designated address for their first 5 years in the country.

The four largest cities (Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Hague) can refuse to house Somali’s, in all or part of the city.

Similar proposals would apply to other non-EU immigrants. But Bolkestein’s most racist proposal is the compulsory genital inspections specifically for Somali girls (and probably also for Sudanese, Eritrean, and Egyptian girls). Parents who failed to bring their daughter to the annual genital inspection, would be jailed for up to 8 years.

Here is a member of the European Commission proposing something that not even Hitler introduced. How would the World Jewish Council react if a European Commissioner proposed annual genital inspections for Jews? How would the Israeli government react? How would President Bush react? How would the US media react? But in the face of the same proposal for Somali’s there is total silence.

Complaints about anti-semitism are pure hypocrisy, when the same people are complicit in the abuse and discrimination of immigrant minorities.