Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/915129
12 December 14 • 2017 jn Europe reacts to Jerusalem changes as Netanyahu visits the continent. A nti-Israel and anti- Semitic demonstra- tions pervaded Europe last weekend as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the continent days after the Trump administra- tion's Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The civilian protests as well as widespread opposition to the White House's Jerusalem pol- icy changes within the European political establishment may serve to deepen the chasm between Israel and Europe. Hundreds of anti-Israel pro- testers convened at the Place de la République in central Paris Saturday ahead of Netanyahu's arrival in the French capital; they chanted "Netanyahu war crimi- nal" and called for the prime minister's arrest. The French demonstrators also called for Palestinian terrorists Hassan Hamouri and Marwan Barghouti to be freed from Israeli prisons. Anti-Israel pro- tests also occurred in Sweden, Italy, Austria and Germany. Demonstrations in southern Sweden turned violent when a group of men hurled firebombs at a synagogue in Gothenburg. Pro-Palestinian protesters in Sweden chanted anti-Semitic slogans encouraging the murder of Jews. "We have announced the inti- fada from Malmö. We want our freedom back and we will shoot the Jews," demonstrators chant- ed, reported Sweden's Sveriges Radio. In Vienna, a violent anti- Jewish mob marched down the city's streets screaming in Arabic, "Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is return- ing," referencing the 7th-century massacre of Jewish tribes in the town of Khaybar, in what is now Saudi Arabia. Italian anti-Israel protesters marched with Palestinian flags and held signs calling Jerusalem "the eternal capital of the State ADAM ABRAMS JNS jews d in the JNS.ORG Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron meet on Dec. 10 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. More Protests ABOVE: Protests in Ramallah following Trump's announcement to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. continued on page 14 Local reaction to President Trump's Jerusalem- Israel's-capital announcement. 'Pray For Peace' BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER ABOVE: Jerusalem held a celebration following Trump's announcement. M ost Jews and Jewish groups are united in the belief that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel. It is the location of Israel's Knesset, courts and government offices. It's where the prime minister and president live. But on Dec. 6, when President Donald Trump for- mally recognized this fact, controversy abounded. Some saw it as the fulfillment of a campaign promise or the implementation of a 1995 act of Congress. For many, it was just common sense. But others saw it as a foolhardy move likely to raise tensions in the Middle East and pos- sibly lead to violence, including increased terror attacks continued on page 14 JNS.ORG