Tag Archives: Germany

Switzerland Assisted Suicide Rate For Foreigners Doubles

A new study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics shows that the number of foreigners traveling to Switzerland to kill themselves has doubled in a four year period.

According to the study, 172 foreigners traveled to the country to end their lives in 2012 compared to 2009’s total of 86.  Citizens of Germany and Great Britain make up the majority, over two-thirds of the total.

Switzerland has very liberal assisted suicide laws.  The only requirement is that whoever assists in the death has no direct interest in the ending of the life, such as being in the victim’s will.

The rise of foreigners entering the country to end their lives raised enough concern among residents that in 2011 a ban on the practice was placed on the ballot but voted down.

People from 31 nations came to Switzerland to die.  The median age of the victims was 69.

France and Italy saw large rises in the number of citizens who traveled to Switzerland to die.

Pope Francis to Youths: Get Off The Internet

Pope Francis spoke to a group of 50,000 German alter servers and gave them a surprising message.  Instead of speaking of the Scriptures or some deep theological lesson, the Pope told the youths to get off the internet.

“Many young people waste too many hours on futile things,” the Pope said in a short speech to the altar servers.  “Our life is made up of time, and time is a gift from God, so it is important that it be used in good and fruitful actions.”

The Pope also listed activities as watching TV soap operas, smartphones and other similar items as things that could pull them away from serving others and making a difference in their families and community.

Pope Francis also told the youths that it is very easy to lose track of time when you are working with electronic devices and before you realize it hours have passed with nothing constructive being done.  He said that the time wasted on the internet and with electronics could be spent connecting to the Lord through prayer, meditation and study.

He called on the youths to create “a network not of wires, but of people.”

Anti-Semitism Rises In Wake of Gaza Conflict

A new report shows anti-Semitism worldwide making a significant increase in the wake of the conflict in Gaza.

The footage of Hamas terrorists shooting rockets into Israel, the murder of Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists, the tunnels into Israel that have been used for terror attacks have fallen on deaf ears in most countries because of media coverage only showing the impact on Palestinian civilians who are used as cover by terrorists.

The heavily Jewish section of Paris was looted and attacked as the mob showed “gas the Jews.”  Synagogues and Jewish centers in Paris and other French cities were firebombed and Nazi symbols spray painted onto Jewish property.

Germany showed particularly nasty incidents including in Berlin where protesters would stand in front of the homes of Jewish residents and yell “Jew, cowardly pig, come out and fight.”  In Frankfurt, protesters carried signs saying “Jews are beasts.”

In the United States, the mainstream media ignored multiple instances of Jews being attacked and harassed.  No major network covered the story of a Jewish student in Boston who was attacked by a woman saying that Jerusalem would be cleansed of the Jews while a crowd chanted that Jews better learn how to swim.

Belgian Doctor Tells Jewish Woman To Go To Gaza For Treatment

Belgian officials who have been trying to downplay a heavy rise in anti-Semitism since the start of the current Gaza conflict are reeling after reports a doctor told a Jewish woman to go to Gaza for treatment of a fractured rib.

A doctor working a medical hotline in Flanders, Belgium told the son of a Jewish woman that he would not come out to treat her for a fractured rib when he called at 11 p.m. Wednesday.  The doctor hung up on the son the first time, then when the son called again the doctor said to “send her to Gaza for a few hours, then she’ll get rid of the pain.”

Health ministry officials say they are looking into the incident.  The doctor told officials he knew the patient had to be Jewish because of her son’s accent.

An alderman of the Antwerp district council who knows the Jewish family called the doctor and recorded the conversation where he admitted refusing to treat the Jewish woman and telling her to go to Gaza.

Also in the last week, a Jewish woman was refused service at a clothing store because she was a Jew.  A restaurant in Liege posted a sign that said dogs were welcome in their restaurant but Zionists and Jews were not allowed inside their building.

Islamic Extremist Charged In Brussels Jewish Museum Killings

An Islamic extremist who attacked a Jewish museum in Brussels, Belgium has been charged with “murder in a terrorist context” by Belgian authorities.

29-year-old Medhi Nemmouche was arrested in France on May 30th and extradited to Belgium to stand trial.  He had fought the extradition claiming that because two of the victims of the shooting were Israeli, Belgium would give him to the Israeli authorities rather than trying him.

Nemmouche entered a Jewish museum on May 24th with an AK-47 assault rifle and a handgun.  He killed two Israeli tourists and two museum staffers while wounding multiple others.  He then fled before police could arrive on the scene.

The gunman had tried to film the attack but the camera malfunctioned during the assault.  However, a voice on the video prior to the malfunction was definitively tied to Nemmouche.

Nemmouche had flown to Syria in 2012 to fight with Islamic extremists against the Syrian government before returning to Europe.

European Ministers Condemn Anti-Semitism

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Italy are joining together in an attempt to quell the rampant anti-Semitism raging in their countries.

“Anti-Semitic rhetoric and hostility against Jews, attacks on people of Jewish belief and synagogues have no place in our societies,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, France’s Laurent Fabius and Italy’s Federica Mogherini said in a joint statement.

The group made a point to say their citizens had freedom of speech and freedom to assemble but that those rights do not permit them to harass Jewish citizens or take actions that are clearly hostile to any group of citizens.

Protesters in Germany have been particularly hostile toward Jews, chanting slogans during their protests calling for Jews to be gassed.

Authorities in Berlin are taking steps to crack down on chants like that and other anti-Semitic slogans.  They have threatened groups with arrest should they continue to harass Jewish residents.

Pro-Terrorist, Anti-Semitic Rallies In Europe

Crowds chanting anti-Semitic slogans and voicing clear support for the terrorists attacking Israel rallies throughout Europe over the weekend.

In Germany, a mob gathered on Kurfurstendamm Avenue, waving flags and chanting Jude, Jude feiges Schwein! Komm heraus und kämpf allein!”  Which translates to “Jew, Jew, cowardly swine, come out and fight on your own!”

Rallies in Dortmund and Frankfurt chanted “Hamas Hamas Juden in gas!” meaning “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas!”

“We are currently experiencing in this country an explosion of evil and violent hatred of Jews, which shocks and dismays all of us,” Dieter Graumann of the Central Council of Jews in Germany said in a statement. “We would never in our lives have thought it possible anymore that anti-Semitic views of the nastiest and most primitive kind can be chanted on German streets.”

“Jews are once again openly threatened in Germany and sometimes attacked, synagogues are being defaced and declared as targets.”

In Paris, protesters ignored government bans and continued their vocal support of the terrorists attacking Israel.

Hundreds of protesters looted shops, burned cars and attacked a synagogue.  The attackers were yelling “F*** Israel” and “Israel assassin” as they attempted to access the synagogue and attack the Jewish citizens inside.

At least one Molotov cocktail struck the side of the synagogue according to French authorities.

None of the protest groups responded to reporters questions about why they were not concerned about the six million Israeli citizens being subjected to daily rocket attacks by the terrorist group Hamas.

Group Plans To Form “House Of One” For All Religions

A group in Berlin, Germany wants to build a single building to house worship for Christians, Muslims, Jews and all other faiths called “The House Of One.”

“Under one roof: one synagogue, one mosque, one church. We want to use these rooms for our own traditions and prayers. And together we want to use the room in the middle for dialogue and discussion and also for people without faith,” Pastor Gregor Hohberg, a Protestant priest, told the BBC. “Berlin is a city where people come together from all over the world and we want to give a good example of togetherness.”

The building is planned for the location in Berlin where the first church was built in the 12th century.

The plans have a church, mosque and synagogue in different rooms but connected by a communal space that would allow the faiths to work together and worship together. The space will also be for non-believers in any faith to come and ask questions about all faiths.

The House of One website says they hope to create “fruitful dialogue that will enrich and expand the minds of all those who participate.”

German Homeschool Family Given Permission To Stay

The Department of Homeland Security has stepped in and saved a Christian family from being deported to Germany where they likely would have lost custody of their children.

A spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News that they were going to allow the Romeike family to remain in the United States despite efforts by the Obama administration to have them deported.

Just days after a federal judge ruled the administration could deny the family’s request for asylum based on the grounds they were being discriminated against in Germany because of their Christian beliefs, DHS said that they would use “prosecutorial discretion” and officially drop any actions to deport the family.

Germany forced all children to attend state-approved schools and prohibits the homeschooling of children in an attempt to keep religious groups from being able to teach their faith to their children.

The family had initially been given asylum in 2010 on religious grounds but the Obama administration appealed that decision and won when the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal on Monday.

Pope Expels German Bishop

Pope Francis expelled a German bishop from his diocese because of serious questions regarding his handling of church finances.

Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst had been overseeing a $43 million new residence complex that caused concern among church officials. In some parts of the country, Elst had been called the “Luxury Bishop.”

Germany has a nationwide “church tax” that brings billions a year into the church. Many Germans complain about the lack of transparency on the part of the Catholic Church and have cited the building complex as an example of extravagance.

While the Vatican said the bishop was leaving until the investigation was over, local officials and church leaders said it was unlikely Bishop Elst would return to his position. The Pope has issued clear instructions to church leaders that they are to live simply in the manner he has been demonstrating since his ascension to the papacy.