We must never forget...

'Never again': Anti-Semitism surges as memories of Holocaust fade: “Young people are the ones that have to carry the memory of our loved ones forever,” said Auschwitz survivor Sonia Klein, 94.

History should never be forgotten, especially the most disturbing aspects of history

A century after Jewish man's lynching, Georgia town unsettled

Down past the Big Chicken, the 56-foot-high, steel-beaked beacon of extra crispy that may be this town's most prized landmark, the wedge of dirt hard by Interstate 75 is notable only for its lack of notability. Stopping here, Rabbi Steven Lebow leaves the engine running and car door open.

Nearly ever since the South Florida native came to this Atlanta suburb three decades ago, this spot - or, more specifically, the tale of murder and vengeance that has stained its ground and local history for 100 years - has weighed on him.

But with transportation crews readying to build over the place where Marietta's leading citizens lynched a Jewish factory superintendent named Leo Frank a century ago, Lebow talks only of what's worth preserving.

"There's nothing to see here," Lebow says. "That's why we need to be the memory."

This is so very disturbing...

Leaflet tells Jews to register in East Ukraine

World leaders and Jewish groups condemned a leaflet handed out in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk in which Jews were told to "register" with the pro-Russian militants who have taken over a government office in an attempt to make Ukraine part of Russia, according to Ukrainian and Israeli media.

Jews emerging from a synagogue say they were handed leaflets that ordered the city's Jews to provide a list of property they own and pay a registration fee "or else have their citizenship revoked, face deportation and see their assets confiscated," reported Ynet News, Israel's largest news website, and Ukraine's Donbass news agency.

Secretary of State John Kerry said the language of the leaflets "is beyond unacceptable" and condemned whomever is responsible.

"In the year 2014, after all of the miles traveled and all of the journey of history, this is not just intolerable — it's grotesque," he said. "And any of the people who engage in these kinds of activities — from whatever party or whatever ideology or whatever place they crawl out of — there is no place for that."

It's scary that here at the time of Passover (Pesach), anti-Semites are rearing their ugly heads by trying to bully Jews in the Ukraine in a move reminiscent of 1930s Germany. Although the leader of the pro-Russian faction in Donetsk did say they were distributed under his organisation's name, he denied responsibility for them. But even if they were meant to scare the Jewish community and were not backed up with force, it is still disturbing. And if it is ever made policy, we could have a very serious situation on our hands. Anyone with an ounce of understanding of history should be concerned. As the anti-Semitic shootings in Kansas recently show, hatred for Jews is still quite alive and well here in the United States in 2014. For Eastern Europe, the history of anti-Semitism and pogroms is far longer. I hope nothing comes of the Ukrainian story, but I fear there will be more like this if the region destabilises. And may there be justice in the case in Kansas.

Thanks to my friend Jody for posting the Ukrainian story on Facebook.

A despicable act

Gunman Kills 4 at a Jewish School in France

The same gunman is suspected of killing several French soldiers, all of whom were black or Arabic. Killed were a rabbi who taught at the school, his two sons, and the daughter of the principal. A teen was injured. It happened while kids were being dropped off at the school by their parents. I cannot imagine the horror they felt as this played out, and I feel for those who lost loved ones, especially the rabbi's wife, who has lost three at once. I hope they can catch this person before there are more deaths.

Is this a shameless attempt to shake off the anti-Semite image?

What Is Happening? Mel Gibson To Make Jewish Historical Epic With Joe Eszterhas

We’ve heard about actors or filmmakers trying to do some course correction to rejuvenate or repair their ailing career, but this is ridiculous. Deadline is reporting that Mel Gibson has teamed up with Joe Eszterhas to produce and potentially direct a script about revolutionary Jewish historical figure Judah Maccabee, to be produced under his Icon shingle and released by Warner Bros. Huh?

The story of Maccabee does fit within the Gibson wheelhouse, with its wide historical scope, morally outraged warrior protagonist and bloody battle sequences. Maccabee led a Jewish revolt against the Greek-Syrian armies that conquered Judea in the second century B.C. The sticking point for most, though, will be the hero’s religion, especially after Gibson the filmmaker was lambasted for the palpable anti-Semitism in “The Passion of the Christ,” not to mention his drunk rants which included such memorable gems as “Fucking Jews… The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.” The question remains: is Gibson trying to get back in the game or just recover some of the luster from his tarnished image?

Count me as an unbeliever. Gibson has proved over and over again to be an ranting anti-Semite. I shudder to think what he'll do with the Maccabeean story.

An interesting look at the persistence of anti-Semitism in Germany from the Middle Ages to the Nazi era

The Persistence of Hate: German communities that murdered Jews in the Middle Ages were more likely to support the Nazis 600 years later

An important, if terrible, document

Landmark Hitler letter on Jews unveiled in New York

Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said that the organisation bought the letter for $150,000 (£90,000) from a private dealer last month.

He said the letter - the existence of which has long been known to scholars - was a critical document from World War II because it "ties Hitler directly to the destruction of the Jews".

"In 1919, when he was a nobody he writes a letter... we need not emotional pogroms, we need legislation, we need a national government that would be ruthless enough, to do what? Total removal of the Jews from society," he told the BBC.

When it was written, Hitler was serving in the German army, and had had a tendency to stir up troops with his anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Dear Gods, what stupidity (not to mention anti-Semitic and just plain wrong)

US high school ends 'Beat the Jew' game

Seven seniors at a Southern California high school were facing disciplinary action for participating in a game called "Beat the Jew" in which losers were subjected to "incineration" or "enslavement," a school administrator said Friday.

The game involved some students playing the role of Nazis who blindfolded and dropped off other students playing Jews who must find their way back to the campus, said Sherry Johnstone, assistant superintendent of personnel for Desert Sands Unified School District.

It was not immediately clear exactly if or how losing players were punished, she said.

That is it...gloves off

I'm not Catholic, hey, I'm not even Christian, so when the Cardinals voted someone with Nazi ties to the papacy, I said nothing here. It was an 'internal matter', after all. When the latest sex abuse scandal broke with papal ties to a coverup and the same Pope made it seem like poor him and isn't that awful, and who cares about the victims anyway, I didn't say anything on this forum, either, because I'm not anti-Catholic and didn't want to seem to be. I actually liked the last Pope pretty well.

Then this, on Good Friday, during Pesach, no less:

Pope's preacher compares abuse row to anti-Semitism

Pope Benedict's personal preacher has compared criticism of the pontiff and Church over child abuse to "collective violence" suffered by the Jews.

Say what????

So this case--in which, incidentally, the victims are people who were abused as boys and girls whose trust of priests led them to betrayal and exploitation, and not the pontiff or the offending priests, at all, let us remember--the pope's personal preacher believes that the Church's suffering is equal to the millions upon millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust, in pogroms, in various anti-Semitic attacks over the ages, often from a mistaken Christian belief that Jews killed Jesus?

Granted, the Pope was not sitting in his infalliable chair putting this forth as doctrine. But it was a comment from someone in his entourage, who was no doubt picked for that position and will probably not be reassigned or censured for his offensive remarks, so he might as well be talking for the Church.

The Vatican is out of touch with many of its Western adherents, and it's out of touch with good marketing/crisis control. It should welcome the prosecution of predatory priests, not cover their activities up--because what they're doing is unholy. Just yesterday I read that the Pope himself, as a head of state in Vatican City, need not testify about the cover ups because he has immunity. How absolutely fortunate for him. And it may hinder the prosecution. But you know what? If I were Catholic (and fortunately I never was, as the indoctrination of Catholicism is harder to escape that that of any other Christian sect, I believe), this would really rock my faith in the Church terribly, if there were any faith left at all to have.

Is there any way to recall a Pope? Weren't there ways in the Middle Ages, or did they just poison them? I should know but papal history rather bored me--so many Roman numbers. Can the College of Cardinals go back and say, sorry, Satan showed up that day and made us do it?

They're going to have to do something to deal with this disease from within the Church to reassure their followers that they still have the ticket to God's plan, or suffer schism or flat out emigration from the ranks to other faiths (if any). And so far, they've been ineffective, clueless, and offensive. If they were an individual they could just go into rehab and apologise, but they are the premiere institution of faith in all of Christendom, celebrating their holiest time of the year, and failing miserably to inspire anyone to the goodness of the message. And that's rather sad.

Okay, enough ranting, my pizza is here.

Conspiracy-riddled right-wing anti-Semitic lunatics and guns--a horrible combination

Guard dies after Holocaust museum shooting: Authorities say they're investigating a white supremacist as the suspect

A couple of thousand people were inside the building at the time. The guard who was killed gave his life defending them, and he is a hero. People tend to give security officers short shrift, but any place can be a target, and their actions are important. It's sad that a crackpot like this would be so driven by intolerance that he would shoot indiscriminately in a place that teaches tolerance and commemorates those who died from the systematic slaughter of a people in an effort to prevent such horrors again.

Here's a video where they discuss the role the assailant has played in Holocaust denial, white supremecy, etc. and whether the fringe, less empowered in the era of Obama, is more likely to pursue violence in hate crimes. There have been three high-profile shootings recently--a Muslim gunman who killed a soldier outside a recruiting office, the killing of an abortion provider in a church, and now this.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

For the Administration's reaction, see the White House Blog's On the Holocaust Museum Shooting, which is actually where I first heard the story.

A very odd man--a genius when it came to chess, but misguided as well

Chess legend Bobby Fischer, dead at 64, was an outspoken anti-Semite

despite the fact that his mother was Jewish of German origin, and therefore by Jewish definition, he was a Jew. Of course, he was an American who was, well, apparently anti-American in many ways. He renounced his citizenship. He called the terrorist attacks of September 11th 'wonderful news'. Granted, I agree with him that our policies do encourage extremists in the world to hate America, but still, what a thing to say.