At a memorial concert held later yesterday in brussels, speakers drew a comparison between the nazi germany of the 1930s and today's islamic republic of iran

Haaretz.com
10.11.2008
Adi Schwartz

"It can happen again," said Brussels Chief Rabbi Albert Guigui. "The Nazi mentality still exists, and we must not ignore reality."

Rabbi Arthur Schneier of Park East Synagogue in New York added: "The Jewish people must not remain quiet in the face of a coming disaster. I thought the world would wake up after 70 years, but that's not what happened. Even today, the head of a UN member state insists on erasing Israel from the map, and nobody is doing anything."

The event in Brussels was organized by the European Jewish Congress. Congress President Moshe Kantor said its goal was to advance cooperation between Jewish organizations and those in the European Union to combat xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

"Seventy years after Kristallnacht, the threat against the Jewish people has not faded. Six thousand European companies participate today with the Iranian regime, despite the promises of Europe's governments. This cooperation is on the scale of $100 billion," he said.

"European states, those which were allies of Hitler and those who fought him, are the ones today supplying Iran with technology to develop a nuclear weapon."

Rabbis and representatives from Jewish communities across Europe participated in the event, as well as Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. Lau was named chairman yesterday of the council of Yad Vashem.

The European Parliament will hold a special session today to launch the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, to be comprised of former prime ministers and presidents. The council aims to create a legislative and educational framework for encouraging tolerance across the continent.