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WORLD NEWS Thursday 19 april 2018

Merkel condemns attack on 2 men wearing skullcaps in Germany

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER was Jewish. tant to film it because there
BERLIN (AP) — German Merkel called the attack in would be no way to catch
Chancellor Angela Merkel the city's trendy Prenzlau- him by the time police ar-
on Wednesday sharply er Berg neighborhood "a rived."
condemned a street as- very horrible incident" and Police said they are still
sault in Berlin on two young vowed the government looking for the attackers.
men wearing Jewish skull- would respond "with full Two Jewish organizations
caps that has stoked the force and resolve" against posted the video, which
debate about anti-Semi- growing anti-Semitism in showed a young man at-
tism in the country. Germany. tacking Armoush while
In a surprising twist, howev- Foreign Minister Heiko Maas yelling "Yahudi!" or "Jew" in
er, the victim of the attack, tweeted that "Jews shall Arabic.
who identified himself on Is- never again feel threat- The head of the Central
raeli television as Adam Ar- ened here." Council of Muslims in Ger-
moush, later told German "It's our responsibility to pro- many, Aiman Mazyek, de-
TV that he wasn't Jewish, tect Jewish life here," he manded punishment for German Chancellor Angela Merkel leads the weekly cabinet
meeting of the German government at the chancellery in Berlin,
but an Israeli from an Arab wrote in reference to the the perpetrators, tweeting Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
family. killing of 6 million European that "it makes me angry to Associated Press
Armoush told Deutsche Jews by Germany under see such violence full of ha-
Welle Television that he the Nazis in the Holocaust tred." ti-Semitic bullying in schools body more defined than
wore the skullcap to make more than 70 years ago. "There's anti-Semitism in recent months and Israeli Auschwitz inmates."
a point to a friend who said Berlin police said the two among German citizens, flags were burnt during a Their record company,
it was risky to do so in Ger- men with the skullcaps unfortunately, and also an- recent protest in Berlin. BMG, defended the rap-
many. were 21 and 24 years old ti-Semitism from the Arabic- Last week, a rap band pers Wednesday, citing
"I was saying it's really safe but didn't identify them. speaking region and the that included cynical ref- "artistic freedom." The mu-
and I wanted to prove it, The video doesn't show government will do every- erences about the Nazis' sicians themselves denied
but it ended like that," he the outbreak of the fight or thing (against it)," Merkel Auschwitz death camp anti-Semitism but apolo-
said. how it started, but Armoush told reporters. in its lyrics won the coun- gized for any offense
Regardless of Armoush's in- told Israeli Kan TV said he Armoush didn't respond try's most important music caused.
tention, it comes at a time was leaving his Berlin home to a request for comment prize — drawing strong criti- In a separate incident, Ger-
of increased fears of anti- when the three people from The Associated Press. cism from other artists and man aid group GIZ said
Semitism and indications started cursing at them. The RIAS group said Berlin government officials. Sev- Wednesday it has taken
that attacks against Jews "They kept cursing us and saw 947 anti-Semitic inci- eral past winners said they action against several em-
are on the rise. my friend asked them to dents including 18 attacks would return their awards. ployees accused of post-
A video of the attack Tues- stop cursing," Armoush told and 23 threats last year. German rappers Kollegah ing anti-Semitic material
day showing Armoush be- Israeli Kan TV in Hebrew. Anti-Semitic incidents have and Farid Bang won an on social media. One fea-
ing whipped with a belt "They started to get angry been on the rise across Echo award for their new tured Israel's flag with a
quickly went viral with peo- and one of them ran to me Germany. Several Jewish album, including a track Nazi swastika beneath the
ple assuming that Armoush and I knew it was impor- students have reported an- that contains the line "my words: "I hate Israel."q

Croat officials halt Serbia visit over far-right incident

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — two days. "This is a line we Seselj shouting at us," Jan- nal in The Hague, Nether- bad message." Croatia's
A Croatian parliamentary cannot cross, because this drokovic said upon his re- lands. Relations between president described Ses-
delegation on Wednesday is unacceptable," Croa- turn to Zagreb. A U.N. war Serbia and Croatia are still elj's actions as "rampage
cut short a visit to neighbor- tian parliamentary speaker crimes court last week sen- tense years after the 1992- of a convicted war crimi-
ing Serbia after a far-right Goran Jandrokovic said. tenced Seselj to 10 years in 95 Serb-Croat war erupted nal," while the government
leader convicted of war "We are leaving Belgrade." prison for instigating crimes when Croatia declared in Zagreb called it "un-
crimes reportedly stamped The Radicals said in a state- against ethnic Croats, par- independence from the civilized and inadmissible."
on the Croatian national ment that Seselj pulled the tially overturning his earlier former Yugoslavia. Serbia's Liberal lawmakers in the
flag and shouted insults. flag down at the parlia- acquittal of atrocities dur- president, Aleksandar Vu- Serbian parliament have
The delegation said they ment entrance and tram- ing the Balkan conflict in cic, an ally of Seselj during demanded that authorities
decided to return home pled on it together with the 1990s. Seselj, a lawmak- the war but who now says strip Seselj of his parliamen-
after the incident in the another party member, er in Serbia's parliament, he wants Serbia to join the tary seat because of the
Serbian parliament involv- before shouting at the Cro- remains free because he European Union and forge war crimes conviction, trig-
ing Serbian Radical Party atian delegation inside. had already spent nearly regional cooperation, said gering threats and insults
leader Vojislav Seselj. The "We didn't know what hap- 12 years in court custody Seselj's behavior was "in- from the far-right Serbian
visit was initially planned for pened, but we could hear during his trial at the tribu- admissible" and "sends a leader.q