National Post (National Edition)
A disgrace to Anne Frank’s memory
Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi proved that one man’s actions can change the future. The tragedy is that the Tunisian street vendor achieved notoriety only by an act of despair — self- immolation — to protest against serial government harassment and humiliation. His fiery suicide in January 2011, unleashed the Arab Spring tsunami. His name and anger fueled millions of other people desperate for a better life, and they eventually succeeded in driving out seemingly invincible icons of Arab power, including Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak. Whether the Arab Spring will ultimately deliver a better tomorrow, or prove to be a windfall for Islamist extremists, remains an open question, but Bouazizi’s status as a political martyrs is secure.
Today, there is another young Muslim who deserves the world’s attention and support. He is not a martyr, and desperately wants to avoid becoming one. But, as of now, he and his family are in hiding in an undisclosed location in The Netherlands, because of death threats.
He is Mehmet Sahin, a doctoral student who had volunteered to reach out to street youth in the city of Arnhem. A few weeks ago, he interviewed a group of Dutch-Turkish youth on Nederlands TV2, at which time several declared their unabashed hatred of Jews and open admiration of Hitler.
“What Hitler did to the Jews is fine with me,” said one. “Hitler should have killed all the Jews,” said another. Watch the clip on YouTube (http:// is.gd/6qpuHY), and you will see that their smirks and body language betray a deeply-em- bedded hatred.
From where does such bigotry emanate? Here’s a hint. When Mehmet Sahin reprimanded the youngsters and committed to spend however much time it would take to debunk their ignorance and hate, here is how his neighbours reacted: They collected signatures to demand he leave the
A Dutch activist, seeking to fight Muslim anti-Semitism, has been forced to go into hiding
neighbourhood. When Mehmet began to receive death threats, the Mayor of Arnhem, Pauline Krikke, urged him to go into hiding.
And that is where he and his family are today.
Is this the best solution that democratic Netherlands can come up with? A witness protection program for a man guilty of fighting anti-Semitism and standing up for the truth? Are there no consequences for the hate and threats emanating from adults?
One member of the Dutch Parliament, Ahmed Marcouch, says he will raise the scandal in Parliament. “It is horrible that someone has to be afraid because he has done something that we all should do — teach children not to hate.”
How The Netherlands deals with such deeply embedded hatred of Jews will impact, not only on the future of Dutch Jewry, but also on the future of Dutch society. Simon Wiesenthal, the late Nazi hunter, was much revered by the postSecond World War generation in The Netherlands. But in the 21st century, some apparently have forgotten his oft-repeated warning: “Hate often begins with Jews, but history proves, it never ends with the Jews.”
Mehmet Sahin has written these words: “Within a couple of days, I will move to another city of The Netherlands.… After what happened in the last three weeks, I understood the eternal loneliness and pain of the Jewish population. In the rest of my life, I will tell the whole world that we all must resist this aggression.”
We don’t need another martyr for freedom. Those kids and their peers in Europe need Mehmet Sahin and other heroic messengers of truth, peace and tolerance, alive. We can let him know this. Send Mehmet a message of solidarity c/o information@wiesenthal.com and together we will let him know he is not alone.