Friday 31 October 2014

Jewish Headstones Being Used for Building Projects in Belarus

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Thousands of Jewish headstones have been used to build houses, roads and even a supermarket in the city of Brest in Belarus, and a British charity is trying to preserve them as a memorial. 

The headstones have apparently been turning up in the city, close to the Polish border, for the past six years. Hundreds were uncovered by excavators in May during the construction of a supermarket in the city, the Daily Mail reported Friday. 

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Wednesday 29 October 2014

Czechs Honour British Man for Saving Children From Nazi Death Camps

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press:

The president of the Czech Republic awarded a Briton his country's highest state honor for organizing a mass evacuation of children to save them from Nazi death camps.

Sir Nicholas Winton received the Order of the White Lion from President Milos Zeman at a ceremony Tuesday at Prague Castle. Accepting the award, the 105-year-old Winton said he was delighted to receive it.

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Monday 27 October 2014

Israeli Foreign Ministry & EU Representatives Meet to Discuss Combatting Antisemitism

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

"It's hard being openly Jewish in Europe today," Gideon Bachar, the Director of the Department for Combating Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Remembrance in the Foreign Ministry, said on Monday.

An experts' meeting on the topic of fighting anti-Semitism and racism conducted in Jerusalem today led to various estimates as to the future of the Jewish community in Europe and links between radical Islam and anti-Semitism. 

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Sunday 26 October 2014

Poland Looks to Reclaim Its Jewish Heritage

FSWC Reports: 

From Reuters:

Poland, the country on whose soil Nazi Germany carried out the darkest acts of the Holocaust, is starting to re-connect with its other role in Jewish history, as a home for 1,000 years to one of the world's biggest Jewish communities.

The country will take a step in that direction next week with the opening of the main exhibition at Warsaw's newly built Museum of the History of Polish Jews, a project that sets out to remember not just how Jews in Poland died, but how they lived.

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Jewish Leader Indicted for Calling French Comedian an Antisemite

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

A Jewish leader in France has been indicted for referring to French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala as a "professional anti-Semite." Over the course of the last few years, Dieudonne has been convicted in his country 10 times for inciting anti-Semitism.

The comedian essentially created and glorified the "quenelle," a reverse Nazi salute which became popularized in 2013 as scores of fans mimicked the gesture, including at historical Israeli sites like Yad Vashem. 

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Friday 24 October 2014

Israel Condemns Latvian Musical That Honours War Criminal

FSWC Reports:

From The Times of Israel:

Israel’s Foreign Ministry slammed the production in Latvia of a show celebrating the life of Nazi war criminal Herbert Cukurs. 

Titled “Cukurs, Herbert Cukurs,” the musical premiered earlier this month. The play is based on the life of the deputy commander of the Arajs Kommando force that participated in the near annihilation of Latvian Jewry after the Nazis invaded Latvia. Israel’s Mossad spy agency reportedly killed Cukurs in South America.

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Tuesday 21 October 2014

Protests Greet Opera Based on Story of American Jew Murdered in Palestinian Terrorist Attack

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

The Israeli opera singer performing in a controversial opera at the Met defended Tuesday the show against accusations of anti-Semitism: "I would never sing in an anti-Semitic or anti-Israel or pro-terrorism opera," Maya Lahyani told Ynet. 

"It is upsetting that the majority of the protesters against 'Death of Klinghoffer' have never seen the opera. They have been swept up by the catchwords and specific quotes, and that's how they decided it's anti-Semitic," said the 32-year-old Israeli currently residing in New York. 

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Ex-Nazis Expelled From U.S. Received Millions in Social Security Benefits

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press:

Former Auschwitz guard Jakob Denzinger lived the American dream.

His plastics company in the Rust Belt town of Akron, Ohio, thrived. By the late 1980s, he had acquired the trappings of success: a Cadillac DeVille and a Lincoln Town Car, a lakefront home, investments in oil and real estate.

Then the Nazi hunters showed up.

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Sunday 19 October 2014

Holocaust Theater Catalog Established in Miami

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press via ynetnews.com:

The first comprehensive archive of theater materials related to the Holocaust has been established at the University of Miami, allowing researchers and students worldwide access to such plays as Arthur Millers' "Broken Glass," the stage adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" and the musical "Cabaret." 

The digital Holocaust Theater Archive includes more than 550 titles and will continue to grow, including details like synopses, country of origin, casts and rights holders.   Study guides and educational programs will be built around the archive.

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Russian Website Launches "Miss Hitler" Beauty Pageant

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

A new kind of storm has hit the Internet over a beauty pageant searching for the ultimate "Miss Hitler." One of the Russian equivalents to Facebook, VKontakte, is inviting beautiful young girls who enjoy taking selfies to add Nazi themes to their pictures and enter the "Miss Ostland" beauty contest. 

In order to enter the competition there are strict qualifications for the aspiring "Miss Hitler"; the contestants need to be Nazis, Jew-haters, members of the Hitler social network group and most importantly to not insult the other candidates' photos. 

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Friday 17 October 2014

Special Website Launched for Auschwitz Liberation Memorial

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum has launched a special website dedicated to the upcoming 70th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp.

One of the site's features is the Map of World Remembrance, where the museum plans to mark all commemorative events which will take place on January 27, 2015.  

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Tuesday 7 October 2014

Swastikas Found at Jewish Fraternity House Near Atlanta

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press, Reuters and ynetnews.com:

Swastikas were found painted on the exterior of a historically Jewish fraternity house at Emory University in metro Atlanta over the weekend, according to police and university reports, and officials said the vandalism would not be tolerated as they stepped up patrols at the private school. 

The Alpha Epsilon Pi house was targeted early Sunday morning, shortly after the end of the observance of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, Emory officials said.

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Monday 6 October 2014

Serbian Soccer Team Penalized After Supporters Display Antisemitic Banner at Europa League Match

FSWC Reports:

From Reuters:

Partizan Belgrade have been ordered to close part of their stadium for their next European home game following trouble at the match against Tottenham Hotspur last month, including an anti-Semitic banner, UEFA said on Monday. The Serbian club were told to close sector K of the FK Partizan stadium and were fined 40,000 euros ($50,178) for the incidents, which UEFA said also included setting off of fireworks, the use of a laser pointer and a pitch invasion by supporters.

Partizan themselves had already condemned the banner and asked the Serbian government to help find the perpetrators.
 
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Thursday 2 October 2014

Germany Encouraged to Pursue Remaining Members of Einsatzgruppen Nazi Death Squads

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press:

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has identified dozens of former members of Nazi mobile death squads who might still be alive, and is pushing the German government for an investigation, The Associated Press has learned.

The Wiesenthal Center's top Nazi hunter, Efraim Zuroff, told the AP on Wednesday that in September he sent the German justice and interior ministries a list of 76 men and four women who served in the so-called Einsatzgruppen.

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