"Marcel Kalmann is 64 years old. Born January 1st, 1944 in Auschwitz-Birkenau, he is the youngest person to have survived Auschwitz. After the war he lived in shelters, where he was also abused. As a young man he emigrated to America and is now a professor.
About two weeks ago Kalmann visited the city of Bruges. On the last day of his stay he entered a famous restaurant: Le Panier d'Or and asked for a cup of coffee. He was the only client at the time, and besides him there were a barman and two waiters. When one of the waiters noticed his yarmulke he turned to him and barked out: "We don't serve Jews here, out!" The professor was completely confused and left the cafe as quickly as possible, the waiter yet screaming after him: 'out, OUT!'
Shocked by the attack, Kalmann walked into a nearby restaurant. "That man came in here with tears in his eyes." says waiter Dean Stalpaert to Joods Actueel. "We apologized to him for the attack, though we had nothing to do with the affair. We felt dreadfully bad that something like this could happen in our city. We immediately called the police."
They didn't want to come along and required the man himself to the come to the police office (3 km further). What happened then is too crazy for words. The young police officer made it clear that she didn't believe his story and she didn't let him give his statement in English although Kalmann explicitly and many times asked to report the facts in this language. Another policeman who was called in (probably a superior) got involved with the case and began to scream and rage against the man that he must give his statement in Dutch. The professor asked to lodge a complaint for antisemitism to which he was told that "this doesn't exist in Belgium".
The police questioned the man and ignored the explicit request of the man to lodge a complaint. Somewhat later Marcel Kalmann left the police office frustrated and angry, without having lodged a complaint and with an interrogation sheet that included things he had never said.
Several days later Kalmann contacted Joods Actueel to follow up on the case. He intends to lodge complaints against the police and the waiter involved.
According to Joods Actueel, the waiter was not interrogated by the police. Joods Actueel contacted him and he didn't deny that he kicked out the man, but said he did so because the man acted peculiarly. Realizing that there might be consequences the waiter said that he was willing to apologize to the professor if he would so wish.
The tourist department of Bruges will open up a complaint file on this issue. Restaurant owners in the area were shocked to hear that the professor was charged 6.5 euro (three times the going rate) for his coffee and concerned about how such treatment could reflect on their city, but according to Joods Actueel were less concerned about the fact that a man was kicked out due to his religion."
(in Islam in Europe)
Apart from the rest (please check the comments), now we know that we better speak dutch to file a complaint in the flemish touristic (and beautiful) city of Bruges. I'm sure that had Mr. Kalmann tried to file the complain in Frech, he would had been arrested.
(more news on the Marcel Kalmann incident here and here) (read one more update here)
10.2.08
One of the faces of Flemish regionalism (or just a tourist trap)?
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5 comments:
afriend of mine send me this info, i pass on to you. he says the JTA
story was NOT accurate....i wonder if you can add this update to your
blog. antisem is real, but in this case, the man was a goofball, i
think,.....maybe.....
dont' always bnelieve what you read, myfriends says, and my friends is
a son of arabbi from NYC.
KEY HERE; *****Contacted by 'Joods Actueel', the owner of Le Panier d'Or
acknowledged that Kalmann was kicked out. He said he was ready to
apologize but added that the client had a "strange behaviour." The
restaurants in the area spoke rather of a quarrel about "outrageous
prices."
Ellen Goldstein, Brooklyn
pass on please FWD to HJEWISH C l boggers
http://news.aol.com/photos/_p/marcel-kalmann/20080206121909990005
http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/24140
ANTWERP (EJP)---The Mayor of the Belgian city of Bruges has asked for
an inquiry after an American Jewish tourist was ousted from a
café-restaurant because he was wearing a kippa or skullcap. OR WAS IT
ARGUMENT ABOUT MONEY FIRST?
On a visit to Bruges two weeks ago, Marcel Kalmann, a 64-year-old US
professor, entered Le Panier d'Or, a renowned café-restaurant located
on the main city square, to have a coffee.
When the waiter saw his kippa under his hat, he told him to get out.
"We are not serving Jews, out of here," he allegedly shouted.
In shock, the man went to another café nearby where the owners helped
him to call police. An operator told him that police patrols do not go
out for such cases and advised him to call on a police station.
According to the account given by Kalmann to "Joods Actueel", a Jewish
magazine in Antwerp, at the police station a policeman first made
clear that he didn't believe his story. ******
Later, an officer indicated that a complaint can only be stated in
Flemish and not in English, adding erroneously that anti-Semitic
offense doesn't exist in Belgian law.
An angry Kalmann told the magazine that he is planning to lodge a
complaint against the owner of the café-restaurant and against the
police.
*****Contacted by 'Joods Actueel', the owner of Le Panier d'Or
acknowledged that Kalmann was kicked out. He said he was ready to
apologize but added that the client had a "strange behaviour." The
restaurants in the area spoke rather of a quarrel about "outrageous
prices."
Patrick Monaert, Mayor of Bruges, has asked police for an inquiry and
apologized to Kalmann for the "inadequate behaviours" which, he said,
"are contrary to the welcoming image the city intends to give."
The Jewish community in Antwerp was all the more outraged and moved by
this anti-Semitic incident that Kalmann was born in Auschwitz three
days before the liberation of the Nazi camp by the Russian army.
Around 40,000 Jews live in Belgium, mainly in the capital Brussels and Antwerp.
-----------------
POSTER: :I've just read on Engage thatt his story is not true. Does
anybody know anything about it?"
February 11, 2008 10:34 AM
Anonymous said...
I am following this story. It appears that the Professor was angry
about the high prices and started arguing with the waiter about the
money......and THIS is what led to his being kicked out, not his
Jewish religion or his yarmulke......and being born in SS camp had
nothing to do with this. He might be a liar. There are good Jews and
there are bad Jews. Like all people. he might be a crazy kind of guy.
check into this.
KEY HERE:
since they charged him 3 times the going rate for coffee, he probabluy
became angry, as Americans do and started crying . he is an old man,
after all, this had nothing to do with being Jewish...Ａ
Joods Actueel contacted him and he didn't deny that he kicked out the
man, but said ***he did so because the man acted peculiarly. ****
Realizing that there might be consequences the waiter said that he was
willing to apologize to the professor if he would so wish.
Sir,
you got the news wrong. this man was angry that the price of coffee in
this five star restaurant was very high, for all people, and he got
angry and made a stink and that is why he was kicked out. Not because
he was a Jew or wearing a kippa. Get the facts correct before you JUMP
to conclusions. i might also ask of you, sir, what is wrong with your
world, that you JUMP so quick without finding out the truth of this
sad story. the man was a crazy old skunk who was angry about money.
MONEY! not about his yarmulke at all, have you never heard of Jews
like that?
The story should have been reported:
Marcel Kalmann, a 64-year-old US professor, told the Antwerp Jewish
magazine Joods Actueel that he was ejected from the renowned
restaurant Le Panier d'Or in Bruges after he became angry about the
high price of coffee the waiter was charging him.
When the waiter saw his yarmulke under his cap, he used this detail to
call the man a Jew, but that was not the reason the man became angry
in the first place.
this story has been blown completely out of proportion, the man was a
jerk. and acted like an Ugly American, not like a Jew. his religion
had nothing to do with it
check the facts. o i forgot, facts are not important anymore. pure
emotion is all that counts. esp in regard to antisem, which
is real
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The Truth Will Out Once the Media Circus Dies Down
SEE CAPS FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF THE TRUTH HERE:
see NEWS BELOW FOR REAL SCOOP:
Jewish tourist booted from Belgian cafe
reports the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, www.jta.org
An American tourist was kicked out of a cafe in Belgium for being Jewish. BUT IS THAT THE TRUTH? IN FACT, THE CAFE OWNER HAS EMAILED BLOGGERS THAT THE ARGUMENT WAS ABOUT MONEY, THE PRICES FOR COFFEE THERE, AND NOT ABOUT WEARING A KIPPA. SO IT WAS WRONG TO REPORT: "An American tourist was kicked out of a cafe in Belgium for being Jewish." THAT IS NOT WHY HE WAS KICKED OUT. HE WAS KICKED OUT, ACCORDING TO THE CAFE, FOR CAUSING A DISTURBANCE AND BEING A CROTCHETY OLD MAN, WHAT SOME PEOPLE CALL AN UGLY AMERICAN. HE WAS IN A TOURIST TRAP, WHERE PRICES ARE ARTIFICIALLY HIGH. WE ALL KNOW THAT. BUT HE WAS NOT KICKED OUT FOR WEARING A KIPPA. JTA GOT IT WRONG, AS DID HAARETZ AND ALL THE OTHER MEDIA. THIS OLD MAN WANTED REVENGE, HE WANTED TO GET EVEN, SO HE DID. BUT THE NEWS STORY IS FALSE.
Marcel Kalmann, a 64-year-old professor, PROFESSOR OF WHAT? WHERE? NO GOOGLE SEARCH SHOWS HIS NAME AT ANY UNIVERSITY. told the Antwerp Jewish magazine Joods Actueel JEWISH CURRENT that he was ejected from the renowned restaurant Le Panier d'Or in Bruges after a waiter saw his yarmulke under his cap. TRUTH: HE WAS EJECTED FOR CAUSING A SCENE ABOUT MONEY, ABOUT THE PRICE OF COFFEE IN THAT TOURIST TRAP. HE WAS NOT EJECTED AFTER A WAITER SAW HIS KIPPA. ALTHOUGH MAYBE AFTER THE OLD MAN STARTED A SCENE, ONE OF THE WAITERS SAW THE KIPPA AND MADE A NASTY REMARK ABOUT JEWS, WHICH HE SHOULD APOLOGIZE FOR. BUT PROFESSOR K WAS NOT KICKED OUT FOR WEARING A YARMULKE. PLEASE!
"We are not serving Jews, out of here," the magazine reported. THE KEY WORD HERE IS REPORTED. THIS IS WHAT PROF K TOLD THE MAGAZINE. BUT THE WAITER DID NOT SAY THIS. PERIOD.
Kalmann also told Joods Actueel that he was mistreated at the police station where he went to file a report and was told the incident would not be considered anti-Semitic. He said he will file reports against both the restaurant and the police.
SOUNDS LIKE THE OLD MAN IS REALLY A CROTCHEY OLD MAN, MAYBE WHAT WE CALL IN YIDDISH A REAL PAIN IN THE NECK. JEWS HAVE THESE KINDS OF PEOPLE AMONG US, TOO. REMEMBER THAT JEWISH STUDENT AT COLLEGE RECENTLY WHO WROTE ANTISEMITIC WORDS ON HER DORM DOOR AND THEN CALLED POLICE AND SAID A HATEFUL PERSON WROTE THOSE WORDS? SHE WROTE THEM. SHE WAS JUST TRYING TO GET ATTENTION. GO FIGURE. PROFESSOR KALMANN. GO FIGURE. THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION JOURNAL WILL INTERVIEW HIM SOON AND GET THE REAL STORY. HE IS SURELY A NICE OLD MAN. BUT HE MADE A MISTAKE GOING TO THE MEDIA WITH HIS WILD STORY OF BEING KICKED OUT FOR BEING A JEW. SORRY, PROFESSOR, YOU JUST ENTERED THE JEWISH HALL OF SHAME...
Kalmann was born in the Auschwitz concentration camp three days before its liberation. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE NEWS OF THE COFFEE SHIP BROUHAHA? THIS FACT MAKES HIS DIATRIBE AGAINST THE COFFEE SHOP MORE POTENT? BEING BORN IN A SS CAMP DOES MAKE PROFESSOR K INTO AN ANGEL... OR DOES IT?
The mayor of Bruges has ordered a police inquiry into the incident and apologized to Kalmann, the European Jewish Press reported. GOOD. APOLOGIES ARE NEEDED ALL AROUND. PROFESSOR K SHOULD APOLOGIZE. AFTER THE CAFE APOLOGIZES TO HIM. AND THEN WE SHOULD ALL GET ON WITH OUR LIVES AND GO BACK TO CHASING BRITNEY STORIES.
REMEMBER. THE TRUTH IS SLIPPERY. FOR JEWS AND NON-JEWS ALIKE.
================
UPDATES
===============
Belgium Restaurant Explains Why They Threw A Yarmulka-Wearing Jew Out Of Their Establishment
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?s=kalmann
February 11, 2008
Earlier this morning, YWN posted a story regarding a restaurant in Belgium which threw a man out because he was wearing a Yarmulka. A reader of YWN wrote an email to the restaurant to voice his outrage - and received a response.
RESPONSE FROM RESTURANT [AS WRITTEN]:
Dear Sir,
Normally we decided not to respond to all the hate-mail we get becouse 90 % of them are anonymous. As your mail is undersigned I would to answer.
It is true Mr Kalmann visited our restaurant, and it is also true there has been an incident between mr Kalmann and one of the waitors. This incident was based on a discussion about the price of his coffee.
This can be checked in the police-files. It was not at all a racist incident.
In our restaurants we employ over one hundred people. 40 % of them are not Belgian, are not Catholic, do not have the same color of skin as we do, some of them do not even speak or understand our language (Flemish) and we have no problem with this. The biggest part of our clients are tourists which means they have a different nationality, different religions, different colors of skins, speak different languages, … and we have no problem with this.
We always tell our staff to respect all our clients, rich or poor, white or black, catholic or muslim or jew or … and we never had any problems of this kind. We also expect our clients to show some respect for our staff who works very hard. Unfortunately we sometimes have clients with a different opinion in this matter, but we always try to remain calm and if there sometimes is a discussion we try to solve the problem by speaking to the persons. Very often we find out there is no real problem but only some misunderstanding because of the peoples different habbits and problem is solved. We never got the occasion to speak to mr Kalmann to try to defend ourselves or to solve the problem because he went directly to the police.
I can assure you we regret this. I have read on the site of ‘joods actueel’ that the waitor told if mr Kalmann want this he would like to appoligise to him. Why doesn’t he never got the occasion to do this? It looks to us somebody needed a reason to create a problem and so they did. Really grown up people should try to solve a problem (if there is one) by having a good conversation.
I hope this misunderstanding is solved quick and in a correct way.
Sincerely,
All the staff and direction of restaurant ‘Le Panier d’Or’
Dwborah Lipstadt, who was also blogging on this news story, has also now taken down her story, as she found out also, from me, that the story was not factual. Poor Professor Kalmann, he really put his foot in his mouth on this one. A shame. Now watch the antisemities use this non story story as fodder for more blogosphere antisemitism, blaming Dr Kalmann for his meshagus. He was just having a bad hair day is all, I assume. A decent fellow, I am sure. But oi, he really effed up on this one.
I can shed a little light on Marcel (Marc) Kalmann. He is my brother. He was born in Amsterdam in 1948 and not in Auschwitz in 1945. While living in the USA from 1978 until 2000, he was sometimes a "teacher" of languages in Georgia; since his students called him "professor" he has become a "professor". Even though I love him as a brother, I am concerned that his fantasies take over his world. Through the magic of the Internet, this story has gone too far and he is not capable of stopping it now.
Belgian newspaper De Standaard has an article about this story today, basically showing that the story is incorrect, and that the city of Bruges has complained to the newspaper Joods Actueel that launched the story for not checking its sources and publishing an incorrect story. Mr Kalmann is said to have gone to the press in Holland before with invenetd stories
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