US State Department Accuses “Echorouk” Of Anti-Semitism And Defends The “Jews of Algeria”!

The US State Department has accused “Echorouk” of anti-Semitism for publishing caricatures that insult Jews, in addition to its repeated publications of articles that blame Jews for the disasters that have afflicted Muslims and conspired against them since the time of the Noble Prophet Mohamed (Peace and Blessings of Allah Almighty Be Upon Him).
The report of the US Department of State on religious freedom in the world published yesterday, in its section devoted to Algeria, argued that Jews continue to live by preserving the privacy of their religious identity within Algerian society, claiming that “Jewish Algerians do not engage in the life of society” .
The report referred to the publications of the newspaper “Echorouk” of drawings and articles, which it described as “anti-Semitic”…
The report stated what the newspaper published in August 2017 through a cartoon depicting a Jewish man sitting in front of an Arab man without his clothes.
The report pointed out that the drawing published by “Echorouk” showed the Jewish man carrying a banner on which it is written “more…more”, as if he suggests according to the report that he is not convinced despite the forsaking of the Arab man!…
The US State Department report on another cartoon of “Echorouk” published in August 2017 also depicted a Jewish man carrying a Star of David, with a globe on his forehead, in an indication by the American report of Jewish domination of the world.
The US report lamented an article published in the newspaper on August 10, 2017, stating that the Jews had conspired against Muslims since the days of the Lofty Prophet Mohamed, Allah’s Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him, and that the Jews were responsible for most of the disasters that afflicted the Muslims, in addition to the fact that the Jews now control the world media and the world film industry as well as Art and Fashion globally.
In the same context, according to a diplomatic source at the Embassy of the United States of America, there are fewer than 200 people who condemn Judaism in Algeria.
The same source pointed out that Washington expressed satisfaction with the statement of the Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments Mr. Mohamed Aissa that his department services will deal with the request from the Jews to open a Synagogue for them in Algeria if they receive such a request.
In the rest of the report, it is underlined that Algeria prohibits institutions from dealing in a manner contrary to Islam, which is the religion of the state, as the constitution provides for freedom of belief.
According to the report, “proselytizing by non-Muslims is a crime”. The authorities continue to ban this activity.
It referred to what it called the arrests and investigations of the followers of the so-called Ahmadiyya sect because of unauthorized religious activities, including prayers, printing religious books and collecting financial donations.
The US report pointed to the “plight” of five followers of the Ahmadiya Sect who are are imprisoned, in addition to the conviction of about 30 of them.
The report also said that the authorities closed down a Protestant church in Oran (western Algeria) and sought to close another one in Tizi Ouzou, with some Christian groups continuing to report difficulties in the absence of a written government response to requests for recognition as official Christian associations due to the government’s delay in granting them the necessary legal licenses.
The report accused Algeria of denying any licenses to import Christian religious texts in 2017, in addition to alleged cases of violence suffered by Algerians by their family members after they converted to Christianity in order to change them, in addition to disabling visas for Christian clerics.
According to a diplomatic source at the Embassy of Algeria in Washington, reacting to the US report, Algeria has generally made significant progress fostering religious freedoms, especially after the establishment of freedom of religion and belief.
According to the same source, it is important for Algeria to continue to devote the principles of living together and the culture of tolerance known to it, which is already deeply rooted in Algerian society, and is confident that these traditions will continue developing in Algeria.
According to a US diplomat, the Algerian government was urged to engage in a dialogue with the Protestant Church, and will be addressed regarding the issue of closing a Church in western Oran Province.
“The Ahmadiyya file is disquieting. The year 2017 witnessed repeated arrests, but things have calmed down and arrests have stopped, but there are ongoing trials,” it asserted.