And now anti-semitism in Cyprus...

Well, my blog is becoming the anti-semitism report....

THE ISLAND'S chief rabbi, Arie Zeev Raskin, has claimed that the 350 members of the Jewish community in Cyprus have become targets of “hate crimes” and “anti-Semitic offenses”, mainly by Muslims, and that the local authorities are not doing enough to protect them.

For their part, the authorities say they are doing everything within their power to provide adequate protection while questioning the level of violent incidents reported.

In an article published by the Jerusalem Post on February 1, Raskin attributed the increase in “violent attacks” on the influx of Lebanese refugees after the 2006 Lebanon war.

Raskin heads the Chabad House in Larnaca, a Jewish educational organisation. His comments came from an email sent to the benefactors of Cyprus’ Jewish community on January 28.

According to the article, the Jewish community has suffered a series of incidents against its members following the start of the Israeli offensive on Gaza on December 27, 2008, with the Chabad House described as “the hardest hit” by anti-Semitic offences.

One of the incidents reported by Raskin was the vandalism of a car carrying a hanukkia (Jewish religious symbol) on its roof that was travelling around the island in celebration of the holiday Hanukka. Two of the car’s windows were broken.

In another incident, the chief rabbi wrote of a large hanukkia that had been placed in Limassol, which was “completely destroyed”.

Raskin also referred to the time when dozens of police officers had to surround the Chabad House and close off roads near by after reports came in of a potential attack on the building. The threat came from a planned protest against the Israeli offensive on Gaza last month. The protest finished without incident and none of the protestors got near the House.

Other attacks reported by Raskin included eggs and stones being thrown as well as “verbal assaults against the Jewish community by telephone”.

“We received phone calls in which people accused us of killing innocent people,” Raskin was quoted saying.