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Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
January 5, 2005
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/40258.htm

Anti-Semitism was a widely dispersed problem in the region, although the severity and scope of abuses varied significantly among individual countries. During the reporting period, the most serious incidents of anti-Semitism—beatings and other physical abuses—occurred in 12 countries. Verbal harassment was reported in 28 countries, while desecration of cemeteries and synagogues was reported in 30 countries. The recent rise in anti-Jewish acts and sentiments in Western Europe was often influenced by Middle Eastern events or conflated with anti-Israeli views.

In 16 countries in the Europe and Eurasia region, there were few or no reported anti-Semitic incidents in recent years. This report is not intended as a comprehensive description of all incidents, but focuses on illustrative or particularly egregious cases. In the European context, the number of incidents reported in some countries reflects not only the depth of the problem, but also the thorough reporting on anti-Semitism by active civil societies, religious representatives, and governments themselves. As a result, there is sometimes an imbalance in the scope of reporting in the country narratives below.

Government responses have varied as well. Many European governments effectively prosecute those who perpetrate or incite anti-Semitic attacks or harassment, while others include officials who themselves make anti-Semitic statements or discriminate against Jews. Many European leaders have condemned anti-Semitism and called for tolerance, and several countries have joined the Council of Europe in declaring a Holocaust Memorial Day. In a June 2003 anti-Semitism conference, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) called on member states to reaffirm their commitments to condemn racial and ethnic hatred, including anti-Semitism, and to undertake effective follow-up plans of action to demonstrate these commitments in practice. In response, some countries have already implemented action plans.

Armenia

The Jewish community reported several incidents of verbal harassment during the reporting period. The director of ALM TV frequently made anti-Semitic remarks on the air, and the Union of Armenian Aryans, a small, ultranationalist group, called for the country to be "purified" of Jews and Yezidis.

On September 17, offices of the Jewish community in Yerevan received a message that vandals had damaged the local memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Several photographs of the memorial were taken and the vandalism was immediately reported to the local police, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the government-owned television channel. A television crew arrived at the site together with an official from the Jewish community in Yerevan and to their surprise discovered that the memorial had been wiped clean, apparently by the park guard.

In May, Jewish groups complained to several government authorities about the distribution and importation of hate literature. Each government agency they contacted responded that the literature was in apparent violation of the "Law on Distributing Literature Inflaming National Hatred" and suggested they press formal charges with the Prosecutor General's office. Jewish leaders have not yet decided whether to press charges.

Austria

The Austrian NGO Forum gegen Antisemitismus (the Forum against Anti-Semitism, FGA) reported five physical attacks during the reporting period and eight in 2003. On July 30, 2003, according to the Coordination Forum, several unidentified persons beat an Orthodox Jew. The man was attacked from behind and beaten with belts. The assailants fled the scene and have not been arrested or identified. The victim was hospitalized suffering from bruises but was fully conscious. In a separate incident, an unknown assailant attacked two Orthodox Jews, one of whom was injured. In another incident, skinheads attacked the vice-director of a Jewish school in Vienna with a beer bottle, leaving the victim with injuries.

FGA also recorded 122 anti-Semitic incidents in the first 11 months of the year and 134 in 2003. The incidents included name-calling, graffiti/defacement, threatening letters, anti-Semitic Internet postings, property damage, vilifying letters and telephone calls, and physical attacks. The European Union's Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia declared that anti-Semitism in the country is characterized by diffuse and traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes rather than by acts of physical aggression.

On May 24, the Coordination Forum reported that a letter with anti-Semitic and xenophobic contents was received at the Jewish Community Building in Vienna.

On June 1, in Villach, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), vandals smashed a memorial honoring Holocaust victims in southern Austria. The memorial consisted of 17 glass plates engraved with the names of 108 local Holocaust victims. Vandals previously damaged the memorial in March 2003.

On October 24, the Coordination Forum reported that anti-Semitic comments were made at a neo-Nazi convention in the Province of Klagenfurt. Local authorities are examining whether holding the convention was a violation of the law.

On November 25, 2003, according to the Coordination Forum, an anonymous telephone call was received at the Jewish school in Vienna; the caller said: "There is a bomb in the school." He repeated the announcement and hung up. The school was evacuated and police conducted a search of the premises, but found nothing.

The law prohibits any racially motivated or anti-Semitic propaganda, and as a result, anti-Jewish propaganda does not exist in government publications. Nongovernmental media that seek to promote anti-Semitism cannot do so openly, but attempt to use veiled language that is nevertheless clearly understood by most citizens. Such groups are under close observation by the Government (especially the Bureau for Protection of the Constitution) and by private anti-discrimination groups. The Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance (DOEW) monitors the activities and publications of extreme right-wing groups and considers the following to contain revisionist and extremist viewpoints: Aula, Kommentare zur Zeitgeschehen, Arbeitsgemeinschaft fuer demokratische Politik (AFP), Huttenbriefe-Deutsches Kulturwerk Europaeischen Geistes (DKEG)/Deutsche Kulturgemeinschaft (DKG), Die Kameradschaft (Kameradschaft IV (K IV)), Fakten (published by "Die Kritischen Demokraten"), Der Eckart (Oesterreichische Landsmannschaft (OELM)), PNO-Nachrichten (Partei Neue Ordnung (PNO)), Top Secret – Phoenix, Die Umwelt, and Halt.

The 1947 Law Against Neo-Nazi Activity ("Verbotsgesetz") prohibits any form of neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism and any type of activity in the spirit of National Socialism. In particular, it bans National Socialist or neo-Nazi organizations, and prohibits incitement to neo-Nazi activity, as well as the glorification or praise of National Socialist ideology. It also prohibits public denial, belittlement, approval, or justification of National Socialist crimes, including the Holocaust. The Criminal Code prohibits public incitement to hostile acts, insult, or contempt against a church or religious society, or public incitement against a group based on race, nationality, or ethnicity, if that incitement could pose a danger to the public order. The Government strictly enforces its anti-neo-Nazi legislation and provides police protection for Jewish community institutions. During the reporting period, the country implemented the EU anti-discrimination guidelines.

The Ministry of the Interior's Internet hotline for reporting National Socialist activity received 140 reports of right-wing extremist activity, particularly in connection with the Internet.

The FGA reported that cooperation with the police and federal and regional authorities is very good. The FGA also stated that leading newspapers have been very responsive to requests to remove anti-Semitic postings on their online forum pages.

The Government recognized the Jewish faith community as one of 13 religious societies under an 1874 law. This had wide-ranging implications, such as providing the authority to participate in the mandatory church contributions program, to provide religious instruction in public schools, and to bring religious workers into the country to act as ministers, missionaries, or teachers. The Government also provided financial support to religious teachers affiliated with religious societies at both public and private schools.

Holocaust education was generally taught as part of history instruction, but also was featured in other subjects under the heading "political education (civics)." Religious education classes were another forum for teaching the tenets of different religions and overall tolerance.

Special teacher training seminars were available on the subject of Holocaust education. The Education Ministry also ran a program through which Holocaust survivors talked to school classes about National Socialism and the Holocaust.

One example of a large-scale Holocaust education project was the "Letters to the Stars" in 2003, in which more than 15,000 students participated. Students chose a Holocaust victim who had lived in their neighborhood, did research on the person's life, and then wrote a letter to that victim. The letters were released on balloons during a ceremony on May 5.

Azerbaijan

The Mountain Jewish Community has resided in the country for 2,700 years; the Ashkenazi Jews have been present for more than 100 years.

Cases of prejudice and discrimination against Jews in the country were very limited, and in the few instances of anti-Semitic activity the Government has been quick to respond. There was only one reported incident during the period covered by this report. In April, the Lubavitch community received an anonymous letter containing threats during the observance of Passover. The police and military responded by blocking and securing Jewish places of worship to ensure the peaceful observance of the Passover holiday. The subsequent investigation revealed that a member of a small radical Islamic group wrote the letter, resulting in his conviction and imprisonment.

The Government does not condone or tolerate persecution of Jews by any party. No laws specifically address anti-Semitism.

Belarus

According to the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union (UCSJ), in 2003 memorials in Minsk and Lida commemorating victims of genocide were vandalized. During the reporting period, vandalism at Jewish cemeteries occurred in Bobruisk and Tcherven and at a Holocaust memorial in Brest. The local authorities refused to react to these incidents. The Prosecutor's office and the Committee for State Security (KGB) did nothing to investigate groups of skinheads and Russian National Unity (RNE), which functioned openly in Minsk, Grodno, Gomel, Vitebsk, and Polotsk. The RNE was banned in the country.

According to Jewish leaders, cases of vandalism decreased during the reporting period. Authorities initiated investigations, but in the past 15 years no vandals have been fined or jailed. The police failed to prosecute suspects to the fullest extent of the law. The Government restored monuments and memorials that were vandalized. The Government also allowed the erection of a memorial to Jews killed by Soviet security forces at Kurapaty.

On August 18, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified the local chapter of the UCSJ that it would not be reregistered, because the chapter submitted some documents late. The UCSJ is one of the primary Jewish human rights organizations in the country and previously worked with the Ministry of Education to provide material on the Holocaust.

Despite a May 2003 order by the Prosecutor General and the Ministry of Information to terminate distribution of the anti-Semitic and xenophobic newspaper Russki Vestnik, distribution of the newspaper resumed in February through the government-distribution agency Belzoyuzprechat. Sales of similar literature continued throughout the year in government-owned buildings, in stores, and at events affiliated with the Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC). Anti-Semitic and Russian ultranationalistic literature continued to be sold at Pravoslavnaya Kniga (Orthodox Bookstore), a store operated by Orthodox Initiative that sells Orthodox literature and religious paraphernalia. The head of the BOC, Metropolitan Filaret, promised to stop such sales; however, no action has been taken.

In January, the RNE distributed anti-Semitic leaflets in Gomel, which stated: "The Jews are trying to destroy Christianity," "Now hostile activities against the Jews will begin," "The Jews are the forces of evil," and "The fighters against God must be exterminated." In addition, the letters RNE were sprayed on the walls of the Jewish Community building in Gomel. No suspects were arrested.

There were reports of anti-Semitic statements made by public officials. In September 2003, Sergei Kostyan, Deputy Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Lower House of Parliament, rejected criticism regarding the installation of a gas pipeline near a Jewish cemetery in Maozyr. Kostyan accused Jews of sowing "ethnic discord." During an October press conference, Information Minister Vladimir Rusakevich said the country should live with Russia like brothers, but to bargain with Russia "like a Yid."

The Committee of Religious and Nationalities Affairs of the Council of Ministers (CRNA) reported that it regularly responded to all public expressions of xenophobia by notifying the government agencies responsible for pursuing legal action against the perpetrators; however, no such legal actions were observed during the period covered by this report.

Belgium

In November, the quasi-governmental Anti-Racism Center (Center for Equal Opportunity and the Struggle against Racism and Other Forms of Discrimination) reported an increase in anti-Semitism in recent years. The Center reported that the annual number of complaints rose to 30 between 2000 and 2003; prior to 1999, an average of 4 anti-Semitic incidents were registered per year. There were 40 complaints filed in the first 11 months of the year. The most serious incident was the stabbing of a Jewish youth in Antwerp. Most complaints concerned anti-Semitism in the media, on the Internet, graffiti, and verbal abuse. An Anti-Racism Center spokesperson pointed out that the increase in the number of incidents is partially due to increased reporting resulting from greater public awareness.

On January 28, during an indoor Belgium-Israel soccer match in the city of Hasselt, spectators with Hamas and Hizballah banners heckled the Israelis and shouted anti-Semitic slogans, some in Arabic. The city of Hasselt, the Anti-Racism Center, and a local Jewish organization filed a criminal complaint over the incident a few days later, which the police continued to pursue actively. No arrests were made during the reporting period. In February, a group of students at a Jewish school in Brussels were assaulted by youths from the neighborhood, which is inhabited primarily by Muslim immigrants.

In late June, there were several incidents of physical attacks on Jewish citizens. These incidents were prominently covered in the national media. On June 24, a number of allegedly North African youths assaulted four Jewish students as they departed their Jewish school in an Antwerp suburb; one fleeing student was stabbed and seriously injured. Jewish students at the school previously had been subjected to verbal insult and harassment from these youths. On June 26, three Jewish students from the same school were harassed by four youths in a car. One fired what is believed to be a toy gun at the students before driving away; there were no injuries. Later that evening, elsewhere in the Antwerp suburbs, a 13-year-old Jewish boy was beaten by three youths. An 11-year-old Moroccan and two Belgians, ages 8 and 16, were arrested and charged with racially motivated assault and battery by a court for youthful offenders; they were required to apologize to the victim and pay damages. Also that evening, several immigrant youths reportedly kicked a Jewish youth repeatedly on the main street of Antwerp, before escaping.

On October 30, at a youth soccer match involving Maccabi Soccer Club, an Antwerp-based team composed mainly of Jewish players, members of the opposite team shouted "Heil Hitler" and other abusive language. The referee reported the incident in writing to the Belgian Soccer Federation. On November 18, the Federation suspended the offending team for a year and fined it $335 (250 euro), a considerable sum for an amateur club. The Anti-Racism Center indicated that prosecution was a possibility.

The Jewish community was increasingly concerned about anti-Semitism. Community representatives expressed concern that criticism of Israel, particularly from the left, was increasingly being transferred to the Jewish community. Senior representatives of the Muslim community have vocally condemned anti-Semitic acts and have participated in events organized by the Jewish community.

There continued to be a few cases of anti-Semitic speech generated from extreme right, neo-Nazi groups. These were pursued by the Anti-Racism Center, which won a conviction in September 2003 against two Holocaust deniers, such denial being illegal in the country; the two were sentenced to a year in prison, a $670 (500 euro) fine, and the costs of the trial.

The politically resurgent far right has not only renounced anti-Semitism, but as part of an effort to appeal for Jewish community votes in Antwerp, became a strong supporter of the Jewish community and of stronger Belgian-Israeli relations.

Anti-Semitic acts or speech are illegal. Several lawsuits were filed by government entities or by the Anti-Racism Center, and there already were a few cases of courts issuing guilty verdicts. The Government so far has had limited success in apprehending and convicting (partly as a result of the very slow place of the judicial processes) perpetrators of anti-Semitic acts. In one example of strong government enforcement responsiveness, the police rapidly deployed a heavily armed unit to a Jewish school in reaction to a possible threat.

The Government investigated web sites containing anti-Semitic language with the intent of filing cases under antiracism legislation.

The Government continued to move forward with its action plan against anti-Semitism, which was approved by the Council of Ministers in July. In response to the anti-Semitic incidents of the past year, protection for the Jewish community and its institutions was strengthened. Ministerial changes over the summer may have slowed implementation, but the commitment remained firm and effort continued.

The Minister of Social Integration convoked a working group that included the Ministers of Justice and Interior, enforcement agencies, the Anti-Racism Center, and representatives of the Jewish community. In May, she also mandated the compilation of research on the problem and perceptions of it. Promotion of tolerance education is a major element of the Government's action plan against anti-Semitism.

Government officials at all levels, including the Prime Minister, promptly condemned anti-Semitic incidents and remained in close touch with the Jewish community. On June 26, the federal Minister of Justice announced that she would require investigating magistrates to prosecute those engaged in anti-Semitic acts, whether verbal, physical, or on the Internet. On June 28, at a demonstration to protest growing anti-Semitism, the mayor of Antwerp promised the city's Jewish community that the police would make the problem their highest priority. On June 29, the federal Minister of Interior announced increased police protection at places such as schools and synagogues and said that the federal government would investigate other measures. On June 30, Prime Minister Verhofstadt met Jewish community leaders, expressed the Government's concern regarding recent attacks, and noted the increased police protection. The following day, he told Parliament that such incidents were attacks on the country's fundamental values and institutions and would not be tolerated. The judicial system has been tasked with giving such attacks full priority. For example, in Brussels, 61 investigations and an indictment were underway, with similar efforts in Antwerp. The Prime Minister also pledged to urge the regions to intensify educational efforts to counter anti-Semitism and racism. Jewish community leaders have indicated to foreign diplomatic observers that they were reassured by government efforts, but they remained apprehensive regarding new outbreaks of violence.

Investigations revealed that some recent attacks on Jews had criminal or personal, not anti-Semitic origins.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

The small Jewish community membership was estimated to be between 500 and 1000 persons. The community maintained a special place in society by virtue of its long history of coexistence with other religious communities, and its active role in mediating among those communities. However, isolated acts of vandalism were reported. For example, in September, several tombstones in the Jewish cemetery in Sarajevo were vandalized. Jewish leaders state that there was a growing tendency in the country to mix anti-Israeli sentiment with acts of anti-Semitism, as the general public and media often fail to distinguish between criticism of Israeli policy and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Following the terrorist attack against a mosque in Turkey during the reporting period, the Jewish community was quickly granted police security at its synagogues and no incidents were reported.

Bulgaria

The Jewish population is estimated to total 3,000 persons. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), in cooperation with Shalom, the primary Jewish organization in the country, conducted a survey of all print media from December 2002 through December 2003 for instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli articles and comments. The project examined 2,162 Jewish/Israeli-related articles and found only around 7 percent to be anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli, or pro-extremist; of these, over 50 percent were anti-Israeli. Of these negative articles, 74 percent were concentrated in two publications (52 percent in Monitor and 22 percent in Sega), which combined make up a small segment of the national mass media; the articles in Sega tended to be exclusively critical of Israel and its policies.

Croatia

The Croatian Jewish community has approximately 2,000 members and had generally good relations with the police and other governmental institutions. In June, a member of the municipal council in Dubrovnik commented on a potential Jewish hotel investor that when, "choosing between Serbs and Jews, Jews were still a greater evil." Local authorities and the Government condemned the comments; the local branch of the ruling party took no disciplinary action against its member.

The Croatia Working Group of the ITF focused on the implementation of Holocaust-related educational programs, dissemination of academic knowledge on the Holocaust, and preservation of the memory of the victims.

Czech Republic

A small, but persistent and fairly well organized, extreme right-wing movement with anti-Semitic views exists in the country.

In August, unknown vandals toppled approximately 80 tombstones at a Jewish cemetery in the eastern town of Hranice. In October, vandals damaged a memorial to victims of the Holocaust for the second time since it was erected in July in the town of Bohumin. According to local Jewish leader, the memorial was covered in brown paint. The memorial was built on the site of a former synagogue, which was destroyed by fire during World War II. In November, a swastika was daubed on a wall of the ancient Altneu Synagogue in Prague, and two youths were arrested in a pub in Sumerk after they shouted "Heil Hitler." They continued giving the Nazi salute even after police removed them from the pub.

In October and November 2003, unknown vandals damaged gravestones at Jewish cemeteries in eastern Bohemia. In November 2003, police in the northern Bohemian town of Krupka apprehended two youths painting Nazi symbols on a monument to the victims of a World War II death march.

On January 30, police arrested Denis Gerasimov, member of the Russian Neo-Nazi band Kolovkrat, and charged him with supporting and propagating a movement aimed at suppressing human rights. Gerasimov was detained at Prague's Ruzyne International Airport after police found large amounts of Nazi propaganda in his luggage. His case was pending at year's end.

The Ministry of Interior continued its efforts to counter the neo-Nazis, which included monitoring their activities, close cooperation with police units in neighboring countries, and concentrated efforts to shut down unauthorized concerts and gatherings of neo-Nazi groups.

Denmark

From January through June, there were five incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism, primarily graffiti, and one incident of an anti-Semitic mailing, which the Government criticized and investigated. Reported incidents also involved theft and racist Internet and written messages. Minority group members were sometimes the perpetrators of the incidents. The Government effectively investigated and dealt with cases of racially motivated violence.

The law prohibits publicly disseminated statements that threaten, insult, or degrade persons based on their religion. In November 2003, the Government launched an action plan to Promote Equal Treatment and Diversity and Combat Racism (Equal Treatment Plan). Although not exclusively aimed at anti-Semitism, the goal of the Equal Treatment Plan was to ensure protection for all citizens, regardless of their beliefs. Under the Equal Treatment Plan, the Government allocated $416,000 (2.5 million DKK) for education and integration programs to combat religious discrimination.

Estonia

During the reporting period, a number of World War II veterans groups held commemorations for Estonians who fought in German uniform (including that of the Waffen SS) against the Soviet occupation. In one case a monument was erected depicting a soldier in Waffen SS uniform, absent Nazi insignia. The Government had the monument removed in September. There were reports that participants made anti-Semitic remarks in response to international criticism of these events. The commemorations generated considerable public commentary on how Estonia could appropriately honor its war dead. The Government subsequently tasked the Ministry of Population and Ethnic Affairs with creating a plan for an appropriate memorial, and a nonpartisan parliamentary commission has been established for that purpose.

In March, two persons were arrested in the northeastern town of Sillamae for painting anti-Semitic slogans and swastikas on the walls of a building. They were charged with incitement. On April 16, the rabbi of a synagogue in Tallinn found a swastika painted on the building.

In June 2003, three skinheads were sentenced to conditional imprisonment for activities that publicly incited hatred on the basis of national origin and race. They were convicted for having drawn swastikas and anti-Semitic inscriptions on buildings in Sillamae. There are two pending investigations related to the posting of anti-Semitic remarks on the Internet.

The country introduced an annual Holocaust and Other Crimes against Humanity Memorial Day in January 2003. Members of the parliament and ambassadors attended the ceremony marking the first observation of this day in Tallinn.

Following a July meeting with the President of the Jewish Community of Estonia, the Prime Minister said that the Government "was determined to condemn any signs of anti-Semitism and racism." He also said that the Government needed to continue raising awareness of the country's recent history.

At the Berlin OSCE Anti-Semitism Conference in April, the Minister of Population and Ethnic Affairs said that government preparation of law enforcement officers would have to include sensitivity training so the country could more effectively act against manifestations of intolerance, xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism.

Finland

There were a few reports of anti-Semitic activity, chiefly graffiti such as swastikas with anti-Semitic slogans being spray-painted in public locales. Support for the Palestinians was strong, and critiques of Israeli policy occasionally took on anti-Semitic features. The Helsingin Sanomat, the country's largest newspaper, ran a political cartoon in a magazine supplement that was interpreted by members of the Jewish community and others as anti-Semitic. The newspaper subsequently apologized.

The Government condemned the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe. In June, the Justice Ministry ruled that the distributor of an anti-Semitic book was liable under the country's "hate speech" provisions; the distributor was ordered to pay a fine and the book was removed from circulation. The Parliament and a local NGO cosponsored a conference in Helsinki on anti-Semitism, and officials played an active role in international conferences and fora on anti-Semitism. The Government sponsored a visit of a Holocaust survivor to the country to speak with schoolchildren about the Jewish experience during World War II.

France

The Government reports that there were 510 anti-Semitic incidents (both actions and threats) in the first 6 months of the year, as compared to 593 for all of 2003 and 932 for 2002. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin announced in August that there were 160 attacks against persons or property in the first 7 months of 2004 versus 75 during the same period in 2003. More recently, Justice Minister Dominique Perben stated that there were 298 anti-Semitic acts between January 1 and August 20, of which 162 were attacks against property, 67 were assaults against individuals, and 69 were press violations. This compares, according to Perben, with 108 for all of 2003.

The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (NCCHR) released an extensive analysis of anti-Semitic incidents reported by the police in 2003. Such incidents ranged from graffiti and desecration (256) and verbal or written harassment (166) to the diffusion of written tracts (31) and bomb threats (10). There were 21 persons injured in anti-Semitic attacks in 2003. Based on investigations of the attacks, the NCCHR stated its conclusions that disaffected French-North African youths were responsible for many of the incidents, which French officials linked to tensions in Israel and the Palestinian territories. A small number of incidents were also attributed to extreme-right and extreme-left organizations.

In its report on anti-Semitic attacks in 2003, the NCCHR focused on an increase in the proportion of anti-Semitic incidents that took place in schools. In 2003, 22 of 125 attacks (18 percent) and 73 of 463 threats (16 percent) occurred in schools; the report shows this to be the highest proportion of incidents in schools since 1997, the oldest data in the report.

On May 30, in Boulogne-Billancourt, a 17-year-old Jewish youth was attacked outside his home by a group of young men yelling anti-Semitic slogans. The youth is the son of a local rabbi.

In June, an individual shouting "Allah Akbar" stabbed a Jewish student and assaulted two other Jewish students in the city of Epinay-sur-Seine. This same person is believed to be responsible for similar knife attacks on five other victims, including those of Haitian and Algerian origin. A suspect, reportedly identified by several of the victims, was in custody at the end of the period covered by this report. The varied and random nature of the victims made the true motive of the attacks hard to discern.

In 2003, some Jewish groups were outraged when a court ordered that--in the case of two 11-year-old Muslim youths expelled for accusations of physical and verbal attacks against a Jewish student--the two students be readmitted to school, and also ordered the Government to reimburse the families $1,340 (1,000 euro) each for court costs. The courts found that, while the behavior of the Muslim students merited action, the age of the students and the circumstances did not justify expulsion.

On March 23, in Toulon, a Jewish synagogue and community center was set on fire. According to media reports, the arsonist broke a window and threw a Molotov cocktail into the building. There was minor damage and no injuries.

On May 7, in Villier-le-Bel, a small explosive device was discovered outside a synagogue north of Paris. According to media reports, the bomb was in a bag with the writing "Boom anti-Jews" and a swastika. On May 14, an 18-year-old man was found guilty of putting the fake bombs on the grounds of the synagogue and was sentenced to 2 months in prison.

On October 29-30, close to 100 gravestones were desecrated at a Jewish cemetery in Brumath, just outside Strasbourg. The vandals painted swastikas and "SS" symbols on 92 Jewish gravestones.

In November 2003, Hizballah's Al-Manar satellite television channel broadcast an anti-Semitic, Egyptian pseudo-documentary called "Ash Shatat" (The Diaspora). The Government and Jewish organizations strongly criticized Al-Manar for the blatant anti-Semitism of this series and for the incendiary intent of some of Al-Manar's news coverage. These complaints against Al-Manar prompted the Audio Visual Superior Council (CSA) to seek to cut off Al-Manar's dissemination via its France-based satellite operator, Eutelsat. France's highest appeals court for regulatory matters, the Conseil d'Etat, ruled in August that Al-Manar could continue satellite broadcasting pending application for a broadcast license from the CSA. The CSA then entered into negotiations with Al-Manar that resulted in the agreement and temporary license. The CSA signed a 1-year, limited license with Al-Manar on November 19 that included provisions banning anti-Semitic broadcasts, propaganda in favor of suicide bombings, and the diffusion of hate. The CSA's reversal of its decision to cut off Al-Manar was vigorously protested by Jewish organizations. Shortly thereafter, the CSA petitioned the Conseil d'Etat to ban the station based on anti-Semitic programming broadcast after Al-Manar signed the restricted license. On December 13, the Conseil d'Etat ordered Eutelsat to cease broadcasts of Al-Manar within 48 hours. Prime Minister Raffarin has called Al-Manar's anti-Semitic programming "incompatible with French values" and urged the issue of satellite broadcasts be taken up at the EU level. Authorities are similarly investigating Iranian-broadcast Al-Alam channel.

Government officials at the highest level vigorously and publicly condemned acts of anti-Semitism. In October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called comments by Radio France International editor Alain Menargues "unacceptable." In an interview publicizing his book on the West Bank security barrier, Menargues called Israel a "racist" state. Menargues was forced to resign as a result of his comments.

Of these anti-Semitic acts committed during the reporting period, the Minister of Justice reported that suspects have been identified in 59 of the cases, resulting in 46 cases going to court and 13 cases closed after the offender paid a fine or was found legally inculpable. Of the 2003 incidents, the Government reported that police had sufficient evidence to question 91 suspects, arrest 69 suspects, and bring to trial 43 suspects. In 2003, there were 7 convictions for anti-Semitic attacks committed that year and 15 convictions for attacks committed in 2002; punishments ranged from fines to 4 years' imprisonment.

Authorities condemned anti-Semitic attacks, maintained heightened security at Jewish institutions, investigated the attacks, made arrests, and pursued prosecutions. More than 13 mobile units, totaling more than 1,200 police officers, were assigned to those locales having the largest Jewish communities. Fixed or mobile police were present in the schools, particularly during the hours when children are entering or leaving school buildings. All of these measures were coordinated closely with leaders of the Jewish communities in the country, notably the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF). In addition, the Ministry of Interior has earmarked $20.1 million (15 million euro) for additional security at Jewish sites.

In November 2003, after an arson attack destroyed a Jewish school in Gagny, President Chirac stated, "An attack on a Jew is an attack on France" and ordered the formation of an interministerial committee charged with leading an effort to combat anti-Semitism. Since its first meeting in December 2003, the committee has worked to improve government coordination in the fight against anti-Semitism, including the timely publication of statistics and reinforced efforts to prosecute attackers.

In June, the Government commissioned Jean-Cristophe Rufin, a doctor, writer, and president of the humanitarian association Action Against Hunger, to prepare an in-depth report on racism and anti-Semitism in the country. The Rufin Report, released in October, concluded that racism and anti-Semitism attacked the country's republican values and threatened democracy. The report identified the perpetrators of anti-Semitic acts as elements of the extreme right, Maghrebian (North African origin) youth, and "disaffected individuals" whose anti-Semitic obsessions prompt their attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions. The Rufin Report also warned against radical anti-Zionists who question Israel's right to exist. The report recommended that a law be created to punish those publicly equating Israel or Zionism with apartheid or Nazism. The report also recommended removing injunctions against incitement to racism and anti-Semitism from the press law and writing a new law, specific to those crimes. The current provisions in the press law are too cumbersome for prosecuting public hate speech and too lenient in their sanctions against private hate speech, it notes.

Many local and international Jewish organizations, as well as foreign governments, praised the Government for vigorous action in combating anti-Semitism; however, some groups asserted that the judicial system was lax in its sentencing of anti-Semitic offenders.

The Government took steps to combat intolerance, particularly among the youth. In March, the Government published an educational tool, intended to help public school teachers promote tolerance and combat anti-Semitism and racism; however, it is still too early to judge its efficacy. In August, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe sent letters to all Paris-area school principals calling for "debates on anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination" when classes resume in September. In addition, the Minister of Education called for a national debate in schools at the beginning of the academic year to highlight the need for tolerance and announced that 5,500 schools would receive copies of the film "Shoah" for use in classroom education. These actions followed the creation of a National Commission to Combat anti-Semitism in schools in 2003.

The Government has taken other proactive steps to fight anti-Semitic attacks, including instructing police commissioners to create monitoring units in each department and announcing in June the creation of a department-level Council of Religions that will raise public awareness of increased racial and anti-sectarian incidents. In September, the Mayor of Paris launched a campaign to fight all forms of intolerance that included 1,200 municipal billboards and bulletins in major newspapers.

Germany

Approximately 87,500 persons are members of Jewish congregations and account for 0.1 percent of the population. According to press reports, the country's Jewish population is growing rapidly; more than 100,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union have come to the country since 1990, with smaller numbers arriving from other countries as well. Not all new arrivals join congregations, resulting in the discrepancy between population numbers and the number of congregation members.

While anti-Semitism based on religious doctrines and traditional anti-Jewish prejudices continued to exist, Jewish leaders, academics, and others believe that a newer, nontraditional form of anti-Semitism is emerging in the country. This form tends to promote anti-Semitism as part of its other stands against globalization, capitalism, Zionism, and foreigners. According to the 2003 report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the total number of registered anti-Semitic crimes decreased to 1,199 (from 1,515 in 2002). However, among these, the number of violent crimes increased from 28 to 35, and the number of desecrations of Jewish cemeteries, synagogues, or memorials went up from 78 to 115.

On July 22, a 15-year-old boy in Hagen, along with two others, threatened synagogue visitors with a knife and made anti-Semitic remarks.

On July 31, a young man wearing a Star of David sticker was walking on a street in Pankow, a suburb of Berlin, when a right-wing extremist put a National Democratic Party (NPD) leaflet in his hand. After dropping the leaflet on the sidewalk, the rightist attempted to strangle the victim and throw him on the ground. The victim had minor injuries, and the police arrested the offender.

In August, the Zionist Organization of Frankfurt received an eyewitness report that four men harassed an English-speaking orthodox Jew in downtown Frankfurt. According to the report, the men shouted "they forgot to send your parents to the gas chamber" and jostled the individual until he fell to the ground. The men fled the scene immediately. Police refused to disclose the victim's identity or other information on the incident.

An ancient Jewish cemetery in Duesseldorf was desecrated in June. Forty-five gravestones were covered with swastikas, SS signs, and anti-Jewish slogans. Other Jewish cemeteries, including in Bochum, Nickenich, and Bausendorf, were vandalized during the reporting period. Police investigators were unable to identify the perpetrators.

On September 23, 350 people demonstrated in the district of Neunkirchen (Saarland) against the desecration of the Hermanstrasse Jewish cemetery earlier in the month. According to police, the desecration nearly destroyed the cemetery. Vandals have desecrated the Hermanstrasse graves on 10 occasions since 1971, including twice during the reporting period. The incident took place after significant electoral gains by the far-right party NPD in Neunkirchen (5.6 percent) and neighboring Voelklingen (9.7 percent) in Saarland's September 5 state elections.

During the reporting period, the extreme right wing "National Democratic Party" (NPD) organized two demonstrations in the city of Bochum under the motto "stop the construction of the synagogue – give the 4 million to the people!"

Jewish community leaders expressed disappointment in the leaders of other religious communities, as well as in some local and national politicians, for not speaking out more forcefully against anti-Semitism. In October 2003, Martin Hohmann, a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Member of Parliament, publicly compared the actions of Jews during the Russian Revolution to those of the Nazis during the Holocaust. These remarks led to a criminal complaint alleging incitement and slander and to the opening of an inquiry. Hohmann was expelled from the CDU Bundestag Caucus in November 2003 and from the CDU Hesse state organization in July. Leading politicians from all major parties continued to assert that neo-Nazi groups posed a serious threat to public order and to call for continuing vigilance by law enforcement agencies. On the other hand, some observers blamed the actions in the Middle East for rising anti-Semitism.

Frankfurt's Jewish community harshly criticized anti-Semitism on the part of some Islamic representatives at the October Frankfurt Book Fair. Jewish representatives cited open displays of anti-Semitic texts such as the Saudi Arabian book "Terror and Zionist Thinking" (featuring a cover illustration of a person standing in a pool of blood with a skull and a Star of David).

The Aachen-based Islamist group, the Al Aqsa Association, which was banned by Federal Interior Minister Otto Schilly in 2002 due to its financial support of the terrorist organization Hamas, lodged an appeal against the ban at the Federal Administrative Court in August 2002. In July, the court decided to suspend the ban until conclusion of the proceedings. In a final decision on December 3, the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig confirmed the ban of the Al Aqsa Association.

Nine members of the Kameradschaft Süd, a neo-Nazi gang from Southern Germany, were charged in an alleged 2003 plot to bomb the site of a planned Jewish community center in downtown Munich. The first of two trials started in October involving three teenage girls and two men. The public has been largely excluded from this trial in order to protect the defendant minors. The trial of the alleged ringleader, Martin Wiese, and three members of his inner leadership circle began in November.

Distribution of the propaganda of proscribed organizations, statements inciting racial hatred and endorsing Nazism, and denial of the Holocaust are illegal, and the authorities sought to block what they considered dangerous material on the Internet. In March, police nationwide raided over 300 apartments to search for and seize right-wing extremist CDs and other banned music products. The state of Lower Saxony took legal action against some of the growing number of neo-Nazi musical bands in the state, which called for violence or employed xenophobic or racist lyrics. In 2003, members of the Berlin neo-Nazi band "Landser" were convicted of forming a criminal organization and sentenced to terms ranging from 21 months probation to 3 years and 4 months in prison.

Officials estimated that there were more than 1,000 Internet sites with what they considered to be objectionable or dangerous right-wing extremist content. The Federal Court of Justice held that the country's laws against Nazi incitement might apply to individuals who post Nazi material on Internet sites available to users in the country, even if the site resides on a foreign server.

In April, the Government hosted a historic Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) conference on anti-Semitism. With strong support from the Government, the conference led to a declaration calling on OSCE member states to implement a set of concrete measures to combat anti-Semitism.

Authorities ran a variety of tolerance-education programs, many focusing on anti-Semitism and xenophobia. Government agencies cooperated with NGOs in the formulation and administration of these programs. These measures included promoting educational programs that not only fight anti-Semitism, but also remember the Holocaust and foster tolerance and respect for all religious groups; collecting and maintaining information of anti-Semitic incidents and other hate crimes; and compiling best practices. With active participation from the Muslim community, Hamburg has begun work on establishing interreligious education at public schools, labeled the "Hamburg Model."

Greece

Vandalism of Jewish monuments continued to be a problem during the reporting period; however, the Government condemned the acts. Jewish monuments in Ioannina were desecrated three times in 2003. The Holocaust memorial in Thessaloniki was desecrated in February 2003. Police have not found perpetrators. Anti-Semitic graffiti was painted, removed by authorities, and repainted in several places on the busy Athens-Corinth Highway. The extreme right-wing group "Golden Dawn" regularly paints anti-Semitic graffiti on bridges and other structures throughout Greece. Some schoolbooks still carry negative references to Roman Catholics, Jewish persons, and others. Bookstores in Northern Greece sold and displayed anti-Semitic literature including "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

The Wiesenthal Center issued a travel advisory in November 2003 warning Jewish visitors about "the failure of Greece to curb growing anti-Semitism;" however, local Jewish community leaders do not support the advisory. The National Tourist Organization continued to promote on its website Easter traditions such as the burning of an effigy of Judas on some islands, sometimes known locally as the "burning of the Jew," which propagate hatred and fanaticism against Jews. The Wiesenthal Center protested the revival of this tradition.

Anti-Semitism continued to exist, both in the mainstream and extremist press. The Wiesenthal Center and the ADL denounced the press for anti-Semitic articles and cartoons on several occasions, particularly after Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Sheik Yassin. The line between opposition to Israeli policies and attitudes toward Jews in general is often blurred, giving rise to anti-Semitic sentiment in the media and among the public.

The mainstream media often use the terms "genocide" and "Holocaust" to describe the situation in Israel and the West Bank/Gaza, drawing a parallel with Nazi Germany. The press and public often do not clearly distinguish between Israeli policies and Jews. The Jewish community leaders have condemned anti-Semitic broadcasts on small private television stations, but no charges have been brought against these largely unlicensed operators.

The renowned composer Mikis Theodorakis called Jews "the root of evil" in November 2003, and made strong anti-Semitic remarks during the reporting period. Government officials stated that Theodorakis' statements were directed against Israel and not against the Jewish people.

Populist Orthodox Rally (LAOS), a small, extreme right-wing party, supports virulent nationalism, anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia. LAOS's leader, George Karatzaferis, won a seat in the European Parliament in June elections. Karatzaferis regularly attributes negative events involving Greece to international Jewish plots. He used the party-owned television station to denounce politicians with Jewish origins and to claim that Jews were behind the September 11 attacks.

The Government condemned all acts of vandalism. The Government provided 24-hour police protection to Jewish Community offices in Athens and other major cities. Negotiations between the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki and the Government to find acceptable recompense for the community's cemetery were ongoing.

The Constitution establishes the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ (Greek Orthodoxy) as the prevailing religion, but also provides for the rights of all citizens to practice the religion of their choice. Jews freely practice their religion, and Jewish organizations have not complained or requested additional legal protection.

Judaism is one of the three religious groups (the others are Greek Orthodox and Islam) considered to be "legal persons of public law." In practice, this beneficial distinction primarily means that Jewish organizations can own property as religious entities rather than as legal entities.

On January 15, the Parliament unanimously approved the declaration of January 27, the day Auschwitz was liberated, as Holocaust Remembrance Day. The following week, the country commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day with events in Athens and Thessaloniki and the participation of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel. In April, a commemorative stone was placed at the railway station from which Jews were deported to concentration camps.

In October, the Government participated in the organization of a seminar on "Teaching the Holocaust." Held under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, it addressed 150 educators and Athens University education majors. This teacher-training seminar aimed to introduce Holocaust education in primary and secondary schools.

A memorial to Greek-Jewish veterans of World War II was unveiled in October 2003 in Thessaloniki.

Hungary

The Jewish community stated that there were fewer acts of vandalism in Jewish cemeteries than in 2003, attributed most of the incidents to youths, and did not consider the incidents anti-Semitic.

On July 1, a Jewish cemetery in northern Hungary was vandalized. More than 90 gravestones were smashed just weeks after the local town council had renovated the cemetery to mark the 60th anniversary of the Holocaust.

Representatives of the Jewish community expressed concern over anti-Semitism in some media outlets, in society, and in coded political speech. For example, certain segments of an ongoing Sunday news magazine, Vasarnapi Ujsag, on Hungarian Public Radio were criticized for presenting guests who held anti-Semitic viewpoints. In October 2003, a weekly talk show, Ejjeli Menedek, reported on Holocaust denier David Irving, who made derogatory statements regarding Jewish persons. The show was subsequently cancelled. The weekly newspaper Magyar Demokrata published anti-Semitic articles and featured articles by authors who have denied the Holocaust.

Jewish Community Mazsihisz representatives requested the Ministry of Cultural Heritage to close a county museum exhibition highlighting the Arrow Cross and Hungarian nationalism during World War II. The exhibition was closed, and the materials were returned to their owners. During their visit to the country in April, the Chief Rabbi and the President of Israel spoke positively of the situation of the Jewish community in Hungary.

Local NGOs are attempting to get a court order stripping the neo-Nazi group "Blood and Honor" of its official registration. A new unregistered neo-Nazi group, "Hungarian Future," planned a public demonstration to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the fascist takeover of the country. Several groups have planned anti-fascist counter demonstrations for the same day and at the same locale. The police have found no legal grounds on which to ban the demonstration.

On April 5, hundreds of persons participated in the unveiling ceremony of a statue of Pal Teleki, the Prime Minister of Hungary in the 1920s, who was the first in Europe to enact anti-Semitic legislation. The Minister of Culture, Istvan Hiller, cancelled plans for setting up the statue (in Budapest) in the wake of pressures from the Wiesenthal Center. The statue, which was to have been set up opposite the President's official residence in Budapest, was eventually built in the courtyard opposite the Catholic church in the town of Balatonbolgar on the shore of Lake Balaton.

The Government made strong efforts to combat anti-Semitism by clearly speaking out against the use of coded speech by right-wing extremists, and the Prime Minister himself publicly stated that Hungarians were also responsible for the Holocaust.

The 1997 changes to the hate speech law that were intended to resolve conflicting court decisions and make it easier to enforce and stiffen penalties for hate crimes committed on the basis of the victim's ethnicity, race, or nationality proved inadequate and often led to conflicting court decisions. In early 2003, the Office of the Prosecutor successfully prosecuted a member of the extremist Justice and Life Party for publishing an anti-Semitic article in a local newspaper. In November 2003, the Budapest Appeals Court acquitted a former Member of Parliament, who is a Calvinist pastor, of a charge of incitement to hatred. The conflicting court decisions prompted Parliament to pass a more restrictive law on hate speech, this time incorporating religious groups within its scope. Pressured from both the right and the left, President Madl referred it to the Constitutional Court for an advisory opinion in January. In May, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law is too vague and returned it to Parliament for refinement.

Iceland

Harassment of the Jewish community in the country was infrequent and not organized. The absence of anti-Semitism may have been due to the fact that the Jewish population was tiny and inconspicuous. Iceland had no synagogue, no Jewish community center, and no Jewish religious services available. The Jewish population had yet to organize formally and register as a religious community under applicable law. Anti-Semitism rarely figured in Icelandic news reports. The Government and NGOs had no programs to counter anti-Semitism.

One incident of harassment was reported in August. A Jewish visitor reported in an online news magazine that he and a friend had been harassed by a group of young teenagers who pointed at his yarmulke, gave a 'Heil Hitler' salute, and then briefly blocked the visitors' exit from a parking lot, intimidating them. An Icelandic daily newspaper picked up the story, sparking over 30 online comments from Iceland-based correspondents. Some of the comments were themselves anti-Semitic or xenophobic in tone and content.

The March 22 issue of Icelandic tabloid newspaper DV carried a cartoon that raised concerns in the small Jewish community. The drawing showed a flying saucer that had touched down next to Jerusalem's Western Wall. Two smiling aliens, anthropomorphized as swastikas, were disembarking and pointing. Their speech balloon contained nonsense signs. Facing them and bearing expressions of shock were two Orthodox Jews, with hats, tallis, black coats, and sidelocks. The cartoon's caption stated, "The 'Galactic Council' regarded the situation in the Middle East on the planet Earth as threatening to the stability of the solar system, viewed in the long term, and thus sent its best negotiators, Zorg and Xuri, to the scene for talks." The cartoonist seemed to be suggesting that the solution to the Middle East conflict would be to dispatch Nazis to Israel's capital.

Holocaust education was not required by the national curriculum. However, the Ministry of Education mandated that the subject be covered as part of mandatory history education. References to the Holocaust appeared in several textbooks that touch on Nazism and persecution against Jews and other minorities in 1930s and 1940s Germany and in the countries it occupied. According to staff of the state textbook producer, teachers were permitted to take the initiative for more in-depth teaching on the subject than the little that was offered in textbooks.

Ireland

During the reporting period, the Irish Times newspaper reported three instances of anti-Semitism in the country. One incident included a swastika painted on the Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin, while the other incidents involved vandalism at a Jewish cemetery and synagogue. A 2003 study by the European Commission's European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia described the country as having "relatively little reported in the way of a problem with anti-Semitism." In fact, the study categorized all the 2003 cases as "abusive behavior" (threatening letters or phone calls), totaling only 16. Recent evidence shows that these acts may be interrelated with the emergence of a racist group calling itself Irish Nationalist, which has expressed anti-British and anti-Israeli views. In spite of these developments, the country has very little evidence of anti-Semitism.

The most recent study, published by the Government's National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI), showed increases in "cases of abuse or discrimination, which is above average from past studies." However, further research of most of these cases occurred soon after a citizenship referendum was held in May, that allowed citizens to vote on whether or not being born in Ireland provided automatic citizenship. It was discovered that most of the reported abuse and discrimination cases involved refugees and new immigrants. In spite of this slight increase, only one percent of discrimination reports were based on racial or ethnic origin. In addition, the Irish Police's (An Garda Siochana) Racial and Intercultural Unit also "records racially motivated crime" and provides police with instruction booklets on how to interact with different ethnic, cultural, and racial groups. The Police Commissioner has also appointed Police Ethnic Liaison Officers in district and divisional police stations throughout the country. The country consistently follows the EU laws and regulations regarding religious tolerance.

During its EU Presidency, Ireland encouraged all member states to be pro-active in combating anti-Semitism and explained how proper education and training about anti-Semitism, human rights, and cultural diversity would strengthen the EU community and reduce discrimination. On the international level, the country has sponsored a UN Resolution on Religious Tolerance for the last 20 years. In response to Israel's request that anti-Semitism be specifically mentioned in the annual resolution for 2003, Ireland proposed a General Assembly resolution on anti-Semitism, which all EU member states supported.

Italy

Surveys conducted by independent research centers confirmed the persistence of some societal prejudices against Judaism. Recent public opinion surveys indicate that anti-Semitism is growing in Italy. According to pollsters, this trend is tied to, and in some cases fed by, widespread opposition to the Sharon Government and popular support for the Palestinian cause. There have been examples of anti-Semitic graffiti in several large cities. In November, vandals desecrated several graves at a Jewish cemetery in Reggio Emilia, but no anti-Semitic signs or inscriptions were found at the site.

In January, Prime Minister Berlusconi created a new "Inter-Ministerial Commission to Combat Anti-Semitism" to ensure strong, uniform responses to any anti-Semitic acts by the police and government officials. In April, the mayor of Rome announced the establishment of a museum dedicated to the Shoah. In November, the Government created a new office to combat racial and ethnic discrimination through education, mass media campaigns, and judicial assistance to victims of discrimination. The new office lists Muslims, Jews, and foreign workers as the three cultural minorities most likely to face racial or ethnic prejudice in the country. In 2003, the Parliament approved the creation of a National Holocaust Memorial Museum in Ferrara; planning is in process, but construction has not begun. In November 2003, newly appointed Foreign Minister (and Deputy Prime Minister) Gianfranco Fini publicly repudiated his party's Fascist origins, condemned Mussolini's treatment of the Jews, and sought forgiveness during a historic visit to Israel.

The Government hosted meetings to increase educational awareness of the Holocaust and to combat anti-Semitism in Europe.

The country commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27. During the reporting period, thousands marched in commemorative processions across the country, several cities staged exhibitions of the 'memory train' used to transport Italian Jews to Nazi concentration camps, and Italian public school students participated in educational and commemorative programs in schools.

With the Foreign Ministry and the Office of the Prime Minister, the Anti-Defamation League hosted a conference on anti-Semitism in Rome in December. Prime Minister Berlusconi, Foreign Minister Fini, and other high-ranking Italian officials participated in the conference.

The Vatican made a serious effort to combat anti-Semitism. The Holy See is active in OSCE endeavors and sent a high-level delegation to the April OSCE anti-Semitism conference in Berlin. A Vatican document released on March 8, instructed bishops on the exercise of their ministry, and implored them to encourage respect for Jews to combat anti-Semitism. It also asked bishops to ensure that the study of Judaism is on the curriculum in their seminaries for priests and to promote dialogue regarding Judaism. The Pope made several statements condemning anti-Semitism. These attracted notice of the Jewish community. For example, Israel's Chief Rabbis expressed thanks to the Pope for his strong condemnation of anti-Semitism during a January 16 audience.

Kazakhstan

Other than the actions of members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, who printed and distributed leaflets that supported anti-Semitism among other beliefs, there were no reports of anti-Semitic incitement or acts during the reporting period. There were reports of anti-Semitic propaganda in pamphlets distributed by followers of Hizb ut-Tahrir. The Government considers Hizb ut-Tahrir to be an illegal extremist group and has taken action to prosecute members engaged in handing out these pamphlets under Articles 164 ("Fanning Social, National, Tribal, Racial or Religious Enmity") and 337 ("Creating An Illicit Public Association and Participating in its activities") of the Criminal Code.

In August, the Chief Rabbi of the country addressed an international religious conference in Brussels, stating that in his 10 years living in Kazakhstan, he had never faced a single case of anti-Semitism, and he praised the Government for its proactive protection of the Jewish community. In July, a visiting rabbi praised the Government for its efforts to promote religious tolerance and dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims. On September 7, the Chief Rabbi of Israel arrived in Astana to attend the opening and dedication of the largest synagogue in Central Asia.

Latvia

There were several incidents of desecration of cemeteries, vandalism, and anti-Semitic graffiti. In September 2003, vandals overturned dozens of tombstones and sprayed anti-Semitic graffiti on the walls of Riga's New Jewish Cemetery. Government leaders moved quickly to denounce the vandalism, and Riga city services cleaned and restored the cemetery within 2 days of the event. Latvian police arrested five youthful suspects the following week, and the Prosecutor General's office indicted them in October 2003. The vandals could face up to 8 years in prison.

In October, a nationalist organization distributed a commemorative envelope bearing the likeness of an aviation pioneer who also participated in the Holocaust. The Foreign Minister condemned the activity.

The Latvian National Front (LNF) is an organization that purports to represent Latvian cultural values. Its director, Aivars Garda, owns and operates a publishing house that publishes nationalist historical texts and a sensationalist newspaper and newsletter called "Deoccupation, Decolonization, Debolshevization" (DDD). The Chief of the Latvian Security Police has stated that the LNF "borders" on being an extremist organization, and the Ministry of Social Integration has asked the Prosecutor General's Office to evaluate whether or not DDD promotes ethnic hatred. A prominent Jewish businessman alleged this year that the website published a call to kill four Latvian Jews.

In 2002, the Government created a new ministry, the Ministry of Social Integration, whose mission is to promote inter-ethnic tolerance by strengthening civil society and encouraging NGOs to create and participate in educational programs that bridge ethnic group boundaries. The ministry was an active voice in political affairs and was a vocal critic of organizations, like the LNF, that perpetrated anti-Semitic sentiments. The Ministry, in November, asked the Prosecutor General's Office to review whether or not the LNF's newsletter "DDD" promotes ethnic hatred and violates state law.

In October 2002, the country became the first Baltic state to sign "The Protection and Preservation of Certain Cultural Properties" agreement that protects and maintains Holocaust sites. The Government is collaborating with the family of noted American-Latvian Jewish painter Mark Rothko to renovate a synagogue in the city of Daugavpils, the town of his birth.

The country has taken many positive steps toward promoting anti-bias and tolerance education. The Government worked on a Holocaust curriculum development project that will change Holocaust education in classrooms, folding the history of the Holocaust into the country's educational materials. In addition, Ministry of Education regulations required teaching about the Holocaust in schools. For the past 5 years, high school teachers participated in Holocaust teaching methodology seminars.

Lithuania

In April, the police launched an investigation into the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in the Kaisiadorys region. They had detained no perpetrators at the end of the period covered by this report.

The country's Jewish communities expressed concern over an increase in anti-Semitic remarks made by extremists and a few mainstream politicians. The political leadership of the country and the national press generally condemned anti-Semitic statements when they occurred.

In April 2003, the Council of Europe (COE) criticized the Government for not taking action against the anti-Semitic statements of individuals seeking political office; the publication of anti-Semitic articles in the media; the distribution of anti-Semitic proclamations and other materials; acts of vandalism against Jewish graves and monuments; and anti-Semitic statements during public gatherings. There were similar occurrences this year; in addition, multiple anonymous anti-Semitic comments appeared on the Internet.

In February, state institutions received anonymous anti-Semitic proclamations. The proclamations railed against Jews, calling them among other things "vampires of the population," an epithet that the country's Ambassador to Israel, Alfonsas Eidintas, cited in his book "Jews, Lithuanians, and the Holocaust" as an example of Nazi propaganda. In response, government representatives publicly condemned anti-Semitism. Also in February, a popular national daily Respublika carried a series of editorials with obvious anti-Semitic undertones. The series was entitled "Who Rules the World?" and the final editorial answered—"the Jews." A cartoon accompanying the series was reminiscent of Nazi propaganda, and featured grotesque caricatures of a Jew and a homosexual supporting a large globe. The editorial blamed Jewish organized crime figures for exploiting the Holocaust tragedy to avoid punishment for their own criminal activities, and it focused on the alleged failure of the Jewish Community to disassociate themselves from such criminals. The main thrust of the article was that Jews are the wealthiest and most powerful societal group in the world and control world events. Government officials at the highest levels condemned the publication of the series and the anti-Semitic sentiments therein, but the Jewish community and others criticized the Government for responding too slowly. Local NGOs and representatives of other religious groups similarly denounced the anti-Semitic articles. The Prosecutor General's Office and the State Security Department launched pre-trial investigations of Respublika's editor-in-chief for inciting ethnic and racial hatred. The case was pending at year's end. In April, the Parliament formed a working group to draft legislation increasing the penalties for inciting discord, anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia.

In June 2003, media reports prompted the State Security Department to investigate the publication of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" in a low-circulation periodical Zemaitijos Parlamentas, and the publication was discontinued. In December 2003, members of the National Democratic Party, led by a member of the Siauliai city council, attempted to prevent the lighting of a menorah during a Hanukkah celebration and insulted members of the local Jewish community. The Siauliai mayor publicly apologized for the incident.

The Jewish community has argued that, while most school textbooks accurately and fairly present the Holocaust, some perpetuate unfavorable stereotypes of Lithuania's pre-World War II Jewish community and thereby promote intolerance. Although the Ministry of Education attempted to ensure the historical accuracy of school textbooks, the educational system allowed a great deal of leeway for individual teachers to choose their own texts. Teachers are therefore able to use textbooks that are not recommended by the Government and that may portray an unfavorable and outdated view of the country's pre-War Jewish community.

An estimated 10 percent of the population of the country before World War II was Jewish. More than 200,000 Jewish persons (approximately 95 percent of that population) were killed in the Holocaust. The country still was reconciling itself with its past and working to understand it better. In 1998, President Valdas Adamkus established a historical commission to investigate both the crimes of the Holocaust and the subsequent Soviet occupation. The commission has held annual conferences and several seminars, published several reports, and cosponsored a Holocaust education program.

From January to September, the Prosecutor General's Office initiated six investigations of genocide cases, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. These new cases (which brought the total of such cases initiated since 1990 to approximately 188) included six investigations of killings in 1941, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center. There were 25 such cases, involving 140 to150 individuals, pending in September. The Government continued to support the International Commission to Investigate the Crimes of Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania. The Commission, which includes historians, human rights representatives, representatives of international Jewish organizations, and both Lithuanian and foreign lawyers, produced new reports during the reporting period. The Commission in cooperation with Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority) and other organizations continued to implement a program of Holocaust education, including tolerance development, in the country's schools. The Commission organized conferences and seminars to promote the development of a tolerant civil society.

A March poll indicated that anti-Semitism was more alarming to residents in large cities, while people living in rural areas tended not to notice it. Respondents of older generations had a poorer opinion of Lithuanian-Jewish relations than people aged between 18 and 25 who more often defined relations as good.

The Seimas (Parliament) commemorated Holocaust Day by publicly acknowledging and apologizing for the killing of Jews and destruction of Jewish culture in the country during World War II.

The Government and City of Vilnius continued a program using private funds to rebuild parts of the Jewish quarter in Vilnius with the understanding that the Jewish community will have use of some of the space upon completion of the project. In September 2003, the Government returned 46 Torah scrolls (in addition to 309 such scrolls turned over in January 2002) to an Israeli spiritual and heritage group for distribution among Jewish congregations worldwide.

Macedonia

On March 4, several spectators hung banners with swastikas at a handball match near the city of Bitola. Police officials present did not confront the individuals responsible for the banners, and pictures of the policemen standing in front of the banners appeared in newspapers the following day. Several newspapers published editorials critical of the police's inaction, and the Ministry of the Interior later disciplined the officers in question.

Moldova

In March more than 70 tombstones were desecrated in the Jewish cemetery in Tiraspol, the principal city of the breakaway Transnistria region that is not controlled by the Moldovan authorities. Swastikas and other Nazi symbols were painted on monuments, and many tombstones were damaged beyond repair. On May 4, unknown persons attempted to set the Tiraspol synagogue on fire by throwing a Molotov cocktail onto the premises. The attack failed when passers-by extinguished the fire. Transnistrian authorities believed the attacks were perpetrated by the same persons and claimed they were investigating the incidents.

In February 2003, unknown persons destroyed eight tombstones in a Jewish cemetery in Balti. However, according to a leading rabbi in Chisinau, it was not clear whether anti-Semitism motivated the event.

Netherlands

The National Expertise Center for Discrimination, founded in 1998, deals with cases of discrimination that come under Dutch criminal law and registers all criminal cases in this area. In the years 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, the joint prosecutor offices recorded 214, 198, 242 and 204 discrimination cases respectively, of which about a quarter concerned cases of anti-Semitism.

Anti-Semitism, particularly among Muslims, was linked in many cases to the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Most anti-Semitic incidents were not violent and included abusive language, hate mail, verbal insults at soccer matches, Internet "chat room" discussions, as well as persistent historical revisionism (such as Holocaust denial). However, pockets of militant young Muslims, mostly Moroccans, on a number of occasions assaulted or intimidated identifiable Jews. In addition to the anti-Semitic acts carried out by a relatively small group of Arab youths, the virulent anti-Israel sentiment among certain groups in society, such as the Arab European League and the Stop the Occupation movement, also have contributed to an anti-Semitic atmosphere in some quarters.

The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) in its latest report covering the period January 2003 to May 2004 registered 334 anti-Semitic incidents in 2003, compared to 359 in 2002, the first decrease (7.5 percent) in anti-Semitic incidents since 2000. In addition, the number of serious incidents (physical violence, threat with violence, and defacing of cemeteries and synagogues) decreased by 40 percent. Provisional statistics covering the first 4 months of 2004 confirmed this trend. Reportedly, a considerable number of anti-Semitic offenders were of north-African origin.

Reacting to CIDI reports on increasing anti-Semitism in recent years, the Parliament requested that the Government present an action plan to combat anti-Semitism in June 2003. The Government responded in October 2003 but placed the action plan in the broader context of its efforts to combat discrimination of all kinds, and it did not propose new policy specifically designed to combat anti-Semitism. The plan proposed that parents have primary responsibility for preventing anti-Semitic incidents; however, schools also could help to combat discrimination and inculcate respect and tolerance. Public debate and dialogue were other tools to achieve these goals, and several NGOs launched projects such as Een Ander Joods Geluid (An Alternative Jewish Viewpoint) to foster debate on equality, tolerance, and human dignity. Also, the Dutch Coalition for Peace called on Jews, Palestinians, and other Muslims in the country to work together to restore peace in the Middle East.

Stricter instructions to prosecutors and the police took effect in April 2003 to ensure proper attention to incidents of discrimination. Measures also were taken to deal more effectively with discrimination on the Internet. The Ministry of Education provided schools with guidelines to offer instruction on different religions and ideologies in conjunction with discrimination and intolerance as well as on the persecution of Jewish persons in World War II. The Ministry of Welfare subsidized a special program to teach children about World War II and the persecution of Jewish persons. In particular, the program was designed to raise awareness about the consequences of prejudice. The Government promoted dialogue and supported initiatives to create a better understanding between Jewish persons and Muslims persons.

Norway

Members of the Jewish community reported a doubling of anti-Semitic incidents in the last 2 years. The majority of the roughly 40 reported incidents in 2003 involved verbal harassment of primary and secondary school Jewish students by non-Jewish students. A small number of incidents involved threats against Jewish persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic violence or vandalism.

The Government was vigilant in fighting anti-Semitism and promoting religious tolerance. In April, Prime Minister Bondevik met with two Norwegian Jewish children who had been harassed on the basis of their religion. At the conclusion of the meeting, he issued a strong public statement condemning anti-Semitism and calling on the public to fight anti-Semitism more actively.

Poland

Surveys over the past several years showed a continuing decline in anti-Semitic sentiment, and avowedly anti-Semitic candidates have won few elections. However, anti-Semitic feelings persisted among certain sectors of the population, occasionally resulting in acts of vandalism and physical or verbal abuse. In prior years, there were reports of sporadic incidents of harassment and violence against Jews and occasional desecration of Jewish cemeteries committed by skinheads and other marginal elements of society.

A credible NGO reported that on October 26 a Jewish youth from Sweden wearing a skullcap while visiting the Auschwitz Extermination Camp encountered three young Poles who shouted anti-Semitic slurs at him. The youth, who reported the incident by e-mail, said that this was not typical of his entire visit to Poland.

In April, the pastor of St. Brigid Church in Gdansk told parishioners during services that "Jews killed Jesus and the prophets" and displayed posters asserting that only Christians could be true citizens. The Archbishop of Gdansk subsequently removed the priest for this and other improprieties.

In June, police in Krakow discovered the desecration of a 19^th-century synagogue. Vandals had painted swastikas and a Star of David hanging from gallows on the Temple Synagogue. The desecration occurred a few days before the opening of an International Festival of Jewish Culture in Krakow's Kazimierz district.

In December 2003, a group of Catholics protested what they considered to be anti-Semitic literature sold in a bookstore in the basement of a Warsaw church. The group called for church authorities to close the bookstore, which was run by a private company renting the basement space, and for state authorities to prosecute the bookstore owner for hate crimes. The state prosecutor's office examined the case and found no basis for prosecution. Catholic Church authorities stated that they could not take action due to the bookstore's lease.

The Government supported the American Jewish Committee in establishing a $4 million memorial at the site of the Belzec death camp, where Nazi Germany murdered 500,000 Jews during the Holocaust. Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski took part in the dedication of the memorial in June.

The Government cooperated with the country's NGOs and officials of major denominations to promote religious tolerance and lend support to activities such as the March of the Living, an event to honor victims of the Holocaust. On April 19, the 13th March of the Living took place. An estimated 6,000 to 7,000 participants, including schoolchildren, Boy Scouts, the Polish-Israeli Friendship Society, Polish survivors of Auschwitz, and the Polish Union of Jewish Students, walked from the former Auschwitz concentration camp to the former Birkenau death camp. In June, the Government held a major international conference to unveil its proposal to open an international center for human rights education in Oswiecim.

The Government provided grants to a number of organizations involved in anti-bias education, including the public-private Jewish Historical Institute (ZIH) in Warsaw. Many of ZIH's staff were also government employees. ZIH was the largest depository of Jewish-related archival documents, books, journals, and museum objects in the country. The Government also provided grants to the Jewish Historical Association, which produces educational materials on Jewish culture, the Holocaust and religious tolerance, and to other NGOs.

The Institute of National Remembrance - Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (IPN), created by parliament in 1998, is under the direction of a president who acts independently of government control and is elected for a 5-year term. One of the three principal departments of IPN was the Public Education Office, which produces materials for schools, teachers, and students. The office also held competitions, sponsored exhibitions on historical themes, and supported workshops, seminars, and other activities. Educational materials included a major research and documentation project on "The Extermination of Jews in Poland" during World War II. This project included a critical review of attitudes towards the Jewish population during the war, and instances of collaboration with the Nazis, as well as activities undertaken by underground organizations and individuals to rescue Jews.

Local governments have also been active in encouraging tolerance. On December 13, Deputy Mayor of Warsaw Andrzej Urbanski, together with the Chief Rabbi of Israel and Chief Rabbi of Poland, participated in the first public lighting of a Menorah in the history of the Polish capital. Together with Jewish organizations from Poland and abroad, several towns have contributed to the renovation of Jewish cemeteries. Such towns include Ozarow Swietokrzyski, Iwaniska, Goldap, Karczew and Wyszkow.

Romania

The extremist elements of the press continued to publish anti-Semitic articles. The Legionnaires (Iron Guard)--an extreme nationalist, anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi group--continued to republish inflammatory books from the interwar period. A new Iron Guard monthly, Obiectiv Legionar (Legionnaire Focus), carrying mostly old legionnaire literature, began publication in July 2003 and was distributed in several of the largest cities, including Bucharest. The New Right organization (also with legionnaire orientation) continued to sponsor marches and religious services to commemorate Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the founder of the Legionnaire Movement. Extremists made repeated attempts to deny that Holocaust activities occurred in the country or in territory administered by the country. In March, a private television station broadcast a talk show on "Gypsies, Jews, and Legionnaires," which voiced xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and racist views. The station owners did not respond to a protest sent by the Jewish Communities Federation.

In March, unidentified persons broke into a synagogue in Bacau and broke its windows. The perpetrators were not identified, but were believed to be local youths, rather than members of an organized anti-Semitic movement. In August, Nazi and anti-Semitic signs were found on the inside of the walls of the Jewish cemetery in Sarmasu, Mures County. Five Jewish cemeteries were desecrated in 2003, but no perpetrators were identified in these cases.

On a number of occasions government officials denied or minimized the occurrence of the Holocaust in the country. In July 2003, in an interview with an Israeli newspaper, President Iliescu appeared to minimize the Holocaust by claiming that suffering and persecution were not unique to the Jewish population in Europe. He later said that his interview had been presented in an incomplete and selective way. In December, President Iliescu decorated extremist Greater Romania Party (PRM) leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor with the "Star of Romania," the nation's highest honor. In addition, President Iliescu decorated Gheorghe Buzatu, PRM Vice Chairman and an outspoken Holocaust denier, with the prestigious "Faithful Service" award. This action prompted Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Chairman of President Iliescu's International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania, to "resign" from the "National Order of the Star of Romania," and to vow not to wear the decoration that accompanies the award. (Wiesel had received his award in 2002.)

Most mainstream politicians criticized anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia publicly. President Iliescu, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, and several members of the cabinet (the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Culture and Religious Denominations, and others) continued to make public statements on various occasions against extremism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia and criticized attempts to deny the occurrence of the Holocaust in the country. Two government-issued decrees banned fascist, racist, and xenophobic organizations; prohibited the personality cult of war criminals; and protected Jewish cemeteries and synagogues. The Government sponsored several seminars and symposiums on anti-Semitism.

In May, the Government designated October 9 as an annual Holocaust Remembrance Day. On October 9, 1941, the pro-Nazi government of Marshal Antonescu initiated the deportation of thousands of victims from Bessarabia and Bukovina to Transnistria. Senior Government leaders commemorated the first Holocaust Remembrance day by laying wreaths at a Holocaust memorial in the courtyard of a Bucharest synagogue and by holding an ecumenical religious service in the Parliament building.

In May 2003, the Government inaugurated a Holocaust memorial in Targu Mures, a Transylvanian town under Hungarian administration in World War II.

The Government took several steps to improve teaching of the Holocaust in teaching materials and textbooks, although efforts remained limited and inconsistent. In September 2003, the Government released a teaching manual for schools that dealt with Holocaust denial and provided figures for the number of Jews killed and details about concentration camps, death chambers, and the persecution of other groups. History teachers participated in training courses for the teaching of the Holocaust in Paris in 2003 and during the reporting period. Over 50 teachers graduated from the training program at the Holocaust teaching center in Bacau, which was established with the support of the Ministry of Education in 2002.

In October 2003, President Iliescu established the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania to analyze and to improve public understanding of Holocaust events in the country. The committee, chaired by Elie Wiesel, presented its findings to President Iliescu on November 11, 2004. In addition to fully charting the progression and atrocities of the Romanian Holocaust, the report contained a list of recommendations for the Romanian Government to ensure that the Holocaust is accurately remembered by the Romanian people. Among the commission's recommendations was that the Romanian Government reverse its rehabilitation of war criminals; open prosecutions for unpunished war crimes; and enforce 2002 legislation making Holocaust denial in Romania a crime.

Russia

An estimated 600,000 to 1 million Jewish persons lived in the country (0.5 percent of the total population) following large-scale emigration during the last 2 decades.

Many in the Jewish community stated that conditions for Jewish persons in the country had improved, primarily because there was no longer any official "state-sponsored" anti-Semitism; however, anti-Semitic incidents against individuals and institutions continued to occur and violence was used during these attacks with increasing frequency. The Anti-Defamation League reported that while the number of anti-Semitic incidents remained stable in 2003, the nature of the attacks became more violent. Anti-Semitic statements were discouraged and have been legally prosecuted. While the Government publicly denounced nationalist ideology and supported legal action against acts of anti-Semitism, reluctance on the part of lower-level officials to call such acts anything other than "hooliganism" remained problematic.

On April 22, eight skinheads stormed the Ulyanovsk Jewish Center screaming, "don't pollute our land," smashing windows, and tearing down Jewish symbols as Jewish women and children hid inside. No one was injured, but police failed to respond quickly, arriving 40 minutes after they were called. A member of the extremist National Bolshevik Party later was arrested in connection with the attack. The investigation was ongoing at year's end, but it was suspected that both events were prompted by the anniversary of Hitler's birthday.

On April 29 in Voronezh, two skinheads attacked Aleksey Kozlov outside the headquarters of the Inter-Regional Human Rights Movement of which he is in charge. Kozlov is the regional monitor for anti-Semitism and racism in the country, a project sponsored by the European Commission.

On October 17, a group of skinheads tried to enter the synagogue in Penza, but were stopped by parishioners. A group of approximately 40 people armed with chains and iron clubs approached the synagogue later that day. The parishioners locked themselves inside and called the police. There were reports that three skinheads were detained.

Unknown persons vandalized Jewish institutions. On many occasions, vandals desecrated tombstones in cemeteries dominated by religious and ethnic minorities. These attacks often involved the painting of swastikas and other racist and ultra-nationalist symbols or epithets on gravestones. On January 27, an explosion shattered several windows in a synagogue in Derbent in the southern region of Dagestan. Vandals attempted to torch a synagogue and library in Chelyabinsk in February, but neighbors managed to extinguish the fire before the arrival of firefighters. Local Jewish community representatives suspected a local anti-Semitic group was responsible for the attack. On March 29, vandals broke the windows of the only kosher restaurant in St. Petersburg. On April 11, a group of young persons threw bottles at a synagogue in Nizhniy Novgorod. The police failed to catch the vandals, and the criminal investigation was dropped on April 22. In September 2003, an anti-Semitic poster with wires attached to it was found at the Velikiy Novgorod Synagogue. There were several attacks on a synagogue in Kostroma. A Jew was injured during an attack in December 2003. Reportedly, teenagers threw stones at the windows and covered the synagogue fence with anti-Semitic inscriptions. Local police doubted they would be able to find the vandals, and a local rabbi said the attack was blamed on hooliganism.

During the reporting period, Jewish cemeteries were desecrated in Bryansk, Kaluga, Kostroma, Petrozavodsk, Pyatigorsk, St. Petersburg, Ulyanovsk, and Vyatka. In Petrozavodsk, unknown persons sprayed anti-Semitic graffiti on tombstones on the day a local court was to render a decision in another case concerning cemetery desecration. In February, several Jewish tombs were desecrated in one of the oldest cemeteries in St. Petersburg; vandals again desecrated Jewish graves there in December. On March 31, a Jewish cemetery was desecrated in Kaluga and, after the local Jewish community chairman notified the governor about the incident, four teenagers and two adults suspected in the vandalism were detained. On November 25, three of the individuals, including one minor, were sentenced to two years probation. The other two participants were too young to be prosecuted. In April, vandals damaged 14 tombstones in Pyatigorsk's Jewish cemetery. In October 2003, a suspected bomb was found on a tomb at the Kostroma Jewish cemetery.

Anti-Semitism and xenophobic thought has become increasingly popular among certain sectors of the population. Nationalistic parties, such as Rodina and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), gained a wider voter base by addressing issues of nationalism, race, ethnicity, and religion. Allegations of anti-Semitism were leveled at the Rodina bloc, LDPR, and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). Anti-Semitic themes figured in some local election campaigns. There were multiple cases of anti-Semitic statements from government authorities in some of the country's regions, particularly in Krasnodar Kray and Kursk Oblast, as well as in the State Duma.

Originally registered with well-known neo-Nazis on its electoral list, the Rodina bloc attempted to improve its image by rejecting openly neo-Nazi candidates; however, it allowed others known for their anti-Semitic views to remain.

Vladimir Zhirinovskiy and his LDPR party also were known for their anti-Semitic rhetoric and statements. In Moscow during a May Day celebration, LDPR supporters rallied, carrying anti-Semitic signs and spoke out against what they called "world Zionism."

The KPRF also made anti-Semitic statements during the 2003 Duma elections. Krasnodar Kray Senator Nikolai Kondratenko blamed Zionism and Jews in general for many of the country's problems and blamed Soviet Jews for helping to destroy the Soviet Union, according to a November 2003 article in Volgogradskaya Tribuna.

The ultranationalist and anti-Semitic Russian National Unity (RNE) paramilitary organization continued to propagate hostility toward Jews and non-Orthodox Christians. The RNE has lost political influence in some regions since its peak in 1998, but the organization maintained high levels of activity in other regions, such as Voronezh.

Most anti-Semitic crimes were committed by groups of young skinheads. The estimated number of skinheads increased from only a few dozen in 1992 to more than 50,000 in 2004. Typically, skinheads formed loosely organized groups of 10 to 15 persons, and, while these groups did not usually belong to any larger organized structure, they tended to communicate through the hundreds of fascist journals and magazines that exist throughout the country, and increasingly on the Internet.

Many small, radical-nationalist newspapers were distributed throughout the country, sometimes containing anti-Semitic, as well as anti-Muslim and xenophobic leaflets. Anti-Semitic themes continued to figure in some local publications around the country, unchallenged by local authorities. For example, an anti-Semitic novel, The Nameless Beast, by Yevgeny Chebalin, has been on sale in the State Duma's bookstore since September 2003. The xenophobic and anti-Semitic text makes offensive statements about Jews and non-ethnic Russians. According to the Anti-Defamation League, books sold in the Duma were not typically monitored for content. In cases where Jewish or other public organizations attempted to take legal action against the publishers, the courts generally were unwilling to recognize the presence of anti-Semitic content. Some NGOs claimed that many of these publications are owned or managed by the same local authorities that refuse to take action against offenders.

The larger anti-Semitic publications were Russkaya Pravda, Vitaz, and Peresvet, which were available in metro stations around Moscow. In addition, there were at least 80 Russian Web sites dedicated to distributing anti-Semitic propaganda; the law does not restrict Web sites that contain hate speech.

Responses to anti-Semitic violence were mixed. Authorities often provided strong words of condemnation, but preferred to label the perpetrators as terrorists or hooligans rather than xenophobes or anti-Semites. Occasionally, the Government redesignated these events as criminal acts resulting from ethnic hatred. Human rights observers noted that considerable legislation prohibits racist propaganda and racially motivated violence, but complained that it was invoked infrequently. There were some efforts to counter extremist groups during the year.

Federal officials maintained regular contact with Jewish community leaders. In March, then Russian Minister for Nationalities Vladimir Zorin brought extremism to the forefront of public attention by calling anti-Semitism and xenophobia major threats to the country. Zorin called for stricter enforcement of the country's existing statutes outlawing extremism and anti-Semitism and urging tolerance education programs. In addition, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev became the first high-ranking official to acknowledge the existence of right-wing extremist youth groups in the country and noted combating this extremism was one of the top priority tasks for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service. These statements marked a positive step by the Government to prosecute those who commit acts of anti-Semitism, although few concrete steps were taken to solve high-profile cases.

A criminal proceeding was initiated against Boris Mironov, one of the three co-chairs of the National Sovereign Party of Russia, who ran for governor in Novosibirsk. The charges were instigation of national hatred. The major slogan of his election bulletin was "We'll not allow Jews to take power." Experts found the texts of the bulletin anti-Semitic.

In December, Igor Kolodezenko, the publisher of the newspaper Russkiy Sibir, was given a 2½ year suspended sentence after being convicted of inciting ethnic hatred for publishing anti-Semitic articles. In June, the Arbitration Court of Sverdlovsk Oblast ordered the shutdown of a local anti-Semitic paper, Russkaya Obshchina Yekaterinburga, after the Court found that the newspaper violated the laws banning incitement of ethnic hatred, according to the Jewish National-Cultural Autonomy of Sverdlovsk Oblast. The newspaper had received three warnings from the Ministry of the Press based on complaints from activists. In 2002, the Prosecutor's office had closed the criminal case. The court also fined a company that published the newspaper approximately $34 (1,000 rubles).

In September, a new course "A History of World Religions" was introduced at some Moscow schools, pursuant to which some students were taken on field trips to local synagogues and other religious institutions to increase mutual understanding. The Government backed away from previous plans to promote a compulsory nationwide course in schools on the "Foundations of Orthodox Culture," using a textbook by that title, which detailed Orthodox Christianity's contribution to the country's culture. Although the book was still used by some schools, the Ministry of Education has rejected funding for another edition and further circulation of the textbook. Many religious minorities had complained about negative language describing non-Orthodox groups, particularly Jewish persons.

In March, prominent rabbis Berl Lazar and Pinchas Goldschmidt together requested that the Government better define the meaning of extremism. Lazar and Goldschmidt said that law enforcement was prone to dismiss anti-Semitic actions as simple hooliganism to avoid calling attention to the presence of extremists in their region, and to consciously protect extremist groups with which they sympathized. In October, President Putin met with Rabbi Lazar and promised that the state would help to revive Jewish communities in Russia.

Serbia and Montenegro

Since July 2003, according to the Forum 18 News Service, more than 50 acts of vandalism on religious property occurred. Many of the attacks involved spray-painted graffiti, rock throwing, or the defacing of tombstones, but a number of case