Mick Hartley

8 responses to “Not Considered an Anti-Semitic Offense”

1. 

   dearieme

   February 12, 2008

   I’m not surprised that the rozzers could hardly believe him; neither can I.

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2. 

   Mick H

   February 12, 2008

   It seems a strange thing to make up, especially for a professor. The owner of the restaurant admitted something had happened: he said the prof was thrown out of the restaurant due to “strange behavior”, and he was ready to apologise.
   The article doesn’t say anything about the restaurant or the waiter, but bear in mind the high level of Moroccan immigration in Belgium, and the antagonism between Muslims and Jews, especially in Antwerp.

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3. 

   Dom

   February 12, 2008

   “It seems a strange thing to make up, especially for a professor.”
   Hmmm. Not for a US professor. We’ve had a few examples of professors scribbling racial slurs on their own properties just to make themselves the center of attention. A professor at Columbia found a noose outside her office door. The case fell through the cracks, but most people think she put it there herself. On the other hand, the guy was born in Aushwitz, so anti-Semitism is not something he would lightly make up.
   I’m witholding judgement.

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4. 

   dearieme

   February 12, 2008

   I remember a few years ago a British Jew ranting about the horrible surnames that Germans had once imposed on Jews. He instanced “Fink”. Someone had to write and tell him that it means finch. Some people do look to take offence. Still, the idea that it was a Muslim – what, serving alcohol? – who misbehaved might explain it. But wouldn’t the rozzers be alive to that?

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5. 

   Noga

   February 12, 2008

   “Some people do look to take offence.”
   “In the Austrian Empire an order was issued in 1787 which compelled the Jews to adopt surnames, though their choice of given names was restricted mainly to Biblical ones.[13] Commissions of officers were appointed to register all the Jewish inhabitants under such names. If a Jew refused to select a name the commission was empowered to force one upon him. This led to a wholesale creation of artificial surnames, of which Jewish nomenclature bears the traces to the present day. Among the latter class are the following, mentioned by Karl Emil Franzos: Bettelarm (destitute), Diamant (diamond), Drachenblut (dragon’s blood), Durst (thirst), Edelstein (gemstone), Elephant, Eselskopf (donkey’s head), Fresser (glutton), Galgenstrick (sl. for rogue), Galgenvogel (gallows bird), Geldschrank (safe, as in: for money), Goldader (gold vein), Gottlos (godless), Groberklotz (rough bloke), Hinterkopf or Hinterkop (back of the head), Hunger (hunger), Karfunkel (carbunkle), Küssemich (kiss me), Ladstockschwinger (ramrod swinger), Lumpe (crook, rag), Maizel, Maulthier (mule), Maulwurf (mole), Nachtkäfer (night beetle), Nashorn (rhinoceros), Nothleider (being needy), Ochsenschwanz (ox tail), Pferd (horse), Pulverbestandtheil (powder component), Rindskopf (cow’s head), Säuger (suckler), Saumagen (stomach of a female pig), Schmetterling (butterfly), Schnapser, Singmirwas (sing me something), Smaragd (emerald), Stinker (bad smelling), Taschengreifer (pickpocketer), Temperaturwechsel (change of temperature), Todtschläger (cudgel / manslayer), Trinker (drinker), Veilchenduft (violet’s fragrance), Wanzenknicker (bug killer), Weinglas (wineglass), Wohlgeruch (good smell).”
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_name#History

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6. 

   dearieme

   February 14, 2008

   Yes, but he instanced “Fink”. He was just a tosser.

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7. 

   Noga

   February 14, 2008

   That’s what you said.
   “I remember a few years ago a British Jew ranting about the horrible surnames that Germans had once imposed on Jews.”
   And then “Some people do look to take offence.”
   You implied his whingeing was about made up accusations. His example, if what you say is correctly reported, may have been wrong. But the fact is that his complaint was easily verifiable. Your dismissive tone suggests you didn’t believe anything he said, so outlandish it was. Well, then.

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8. 

   allen bean

   February 18, 2008

   afriend of mine send me this info, i pass on to you. he says the JTA
   story was NOT accurate….i wonder if you can add this update to your
   blog. antisem is real, but in this case, the man was a goofball, i
   think,…..maybe…..
   dont’ always bnelieve what you read, myfriends says, and my friends is
   a son of arabbi from NYC.
   KEY HERE; *****Contacted by ‘Joods Actueel’, the owner of Le Panier d’Or
   acknowledged that Kalmann was kicked out. He said he was ready to
   apologize but added that the client had a “strange behaviour.” The
   restaurants in the area spoke rather of a quarrel about “outrageous
   prices.”
   Ellen Goldstein, Brooklyn
   pass on please FWD to HJEWISH C l boggers
   http://news.aol.com/photos/_p/marcel-kalmann/20080206121909990005
   http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/24140
   ANTWERP (EJP)—The Mayor of the Belgian city of Bruges has asked for
   an inquiry after an American Jewish tourist was ousted from a
   café-restaurant because he was wearing a kippa or skullcap. OR WAS IT
   ARGUMENT ABOUT MONEY FIRST?
   On a visit to Bruges two weeks ago, Marcel Kalmann, a 64-year-old US
   professor, entered Le Panier d’Or, a renowned café-restaurant located
   on the main city square, to have a coffee.
   When the waiter saw his kippa under his hat, he told him to get out.
   “We are not serving Jews, out of here,” he allegedly shouted.
   In shock, the man went to another café nearby where the owners helped
   him to call police. An operator told him that police patrols do not go
   out for such cases and advised him to call on a police station.
   According to the account given by Kalmann to “Joods Actueel”, a Jewish
   magazine in Antwerp, at the police station a policeman first made
   clear that he didn’t believe his story. ******
   Later, an officer indicated that a complaint can only be stated in
   Flemish and not in English, adding erroneously that anti-Semitic
   offense doesn’t exist in Belgian law.
   An angry Kalmann told the magazine that he is planning to lodge a
   complaint against the owner of the café-restaurant and against the
   police.
   *****Contacted by ‘Joods Actueel’, the owner of Le Panier d’Or
   acknowledged that Kalmann was kicked out. He said he was ready to
   apologize but added that the client had a “strange behaviour.” The
   restaurants in the area spoke rather of a quarrel about “outrageous
   prices.”
   Patrick Monaert, Mayor of Bruges, has asked police for an inquiry and
   apologized to Kalmann for the “inadequate behaviours” which, he said,
   “are contrary to the welcoming image the city intends to give.”
   The Jewish community in Antwerp was all the more outraged and moved by
   this anti-Semitic incident that Kalmann was born in Auschwitz three
   days before the liberation of the Nazi camp by the Russian army.

   Around 40,000 Jews live in Belgium, mainly in the capital Brussels and Antwerp.

   POSTER: :I’ve just read on Engage thatt his story is not true. Does
   anybody know anything about it?”
   February 11, 2008 10:34 AM
   Anonymous said…
   I am following this story. It appears that the Professor was angry
   about the high prices and started arguing with the waiter about the
   money……and THIS is what led to his being kicked out, not his
   Jewish religion or his yarmulke……and being born in SS camp had
   nothing to do with this. He might be a liar. There are good Jews and
   there are bad Jews. Like all people. he might be a crazy kind of guy.
   check into this.
   KEY HERE:
   since they charged him 3 times the going rate for coffee, he probabluy
   became angry, as Americans do and started crying . he is an old man,
   after all, this had nothing to do with being Jewish…Ａ
   Joods Actueel contacted him and he didn’t deny that he kicked out the
   man, but said ***he did so because the man acted peculiarly. ****
   Realizing that there might be consequences the waiter said that he was
   willing to apologize to the professor if he would so wish.
   Sir,
   you got the news wrong. this man was angry that the price of coffee in
   this five star restaurant was very high, for all people, and he got
   angry and made a stink and that is why he was kicked out. Not because
   he was a Jew or wearing a kippa. Get the facts correct before you JUMP
   to conclusions. i might also ask of you, sir, what is wrong with your
   world, that you JUMP so quick without finding out the truth of this
   sad story. the man was a crazy old skunk who was angry about money.
   MONEY! not about his yarmulke at all, have you never heard of Jews
   like that?
   The story should have been reported:
   Marcel Kalmann, a 64-year-old US professor, told the Antwerp Jewish
   magazine Joods Actueel that he was ejected from the renowned
   restaurant Le Panier d’Or in Bruges after he became angry about the
   high price of coffee the waiter was charging him.
   When the waiter saw his yarmulke under his cap, he used this detail to
   call the man a Jew, but that was not the reason the man became angry
   in the first place.
   this story has been blown completely out of proportion, the man was a
   jerk. and acted like an Ugly American, not like a Jew. his religion
   had nothing to do with it
   check the facts. o i forgot, facts are not important anymore. pure
   emotion is all that counts. esp in regard to antisem, which
   is real

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