Wednesday 31 December 2014

Antisemitic Vandals Strike Philadelphia Home

FSWC Reports:

From Shalom Life via ynetnews.com:

A father and daughter in Philadelphia became the targets of anti-Semitism earlier this week. The two woke up one morning to find the hateful words "Move Jew" spray painted onto their garage door. 

The other members of the greater Yardley-Marketfield community, stunned by the act of racism, have rallied behind Michael and Samantha Raker to show their support and to denounce acts of intolerance in their community.

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Tuesday 30 December 2014

Mass for WWII Croatia Leader Condemned

FSWC Reports:

From AFP via ynetnews.com:

The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center slammed Monday a Mass in Zagreb to commemorate Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi leader, claiming it was a "badge of shame" for the Catholic Church.

"It's hard to believe that in the center of the capital of a member of the European Union, very close to Zagreb's Jewish community, hundreds of people gathered yesterday to commemorate the memory of one of Europe's biggest mass murderers," the head of the center's Jerusalem office said in a statement.

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Monday 29 December 2014

Jewish Organization Highlights Top Issues Affecting World Jewry in 2014

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Israel’s war against Hamas, rising anti-Semitism in Europe, the shootings at the Kansas Jewish community center by a career white supremacist, a noticeable rise in anti-Israel activity on campus and the proliferation of anti-Jewish hate speech on the Internet top the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) annual list of issues affecting Jews in 2014. 

Also among the top 10 issues affecting Jews: Scandals involving anti-Semitism and racism that rocked professional sports; the Iranian nuclear negotiations; the Supreme Court decisions allowing legislative prayer and free exercise rights for corporations; immigration reform; and racial bias in the criminal justice system.

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Sunday 28 December 2014

Neo-Nazis Desecrate Jewish Cemetery in Greece

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Members of Greece's Jewish community were shocked last Wednesday to discover that a former Jewish cemetery had been desecrated by neo-Nazis. 

The vandals sprayed swastikas and the words "six million more" in the ancient cemetery located in Larissa, in central Greece.

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Friday 26 December 2014

Flemish Minister Apologizes for Comments Regarding Kosher Slaughter

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Flemish Minister for Animal Welfare Ben Weyts has advised the European Jewish Association of his intention to "enforce in all aspects" Belgian law facilitating the practice of ritual slaughter. 

Despite having previously called for a total ban on the practice in Belgium in televised comments, Weyts offered his full apologies in a letter to EJA General Director Rabbi Menachem Margolin Wednesday for the "misunderstanding" which prompted the public backlash to his call.

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Wednesday 24 December 2014

Holocaust Survivors' Descendants Help Keep Memory Alive in New Book

FSWC Reports:

From Reuters:

As the liberation of Auschwitz approaches its 70th anniversary next year, descendants of Holocaust survivors face a dilemma that will deepen as time passes - how to transmit "received memory" to future generations.

In a book named "God, Faith and Identity from the Ashes: Reflections of Children and Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors," 88 of them tell how they inherited the memory and how they hope to pass it on. 
 
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Warsaw's Lost Architecture Including Jewish Community Rebuilt in Miniature

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press:

Many splendid pieces of Warsaw's architecture are gone or disfigured forever — victims of war and communism. But now some can be appreciated again — in miniature. 

The fate of some of Warsaw's architectural gems reflects the tragic story of a city that went through years of war, then decades of communism in which buildings were torn down or neglected. Generations of residents have grown up unaware of the past splendor of the city once called the "Paris of the North."

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Tuesday 23 December 2014

Czech Jewish Organization Opposes Attendance of Russian President Putin at Holocaust Memorial Event

FSWC Reports:

From AFP via ynetnews.com:

The Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic has firmly opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting Prague to attend ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. 

Invited to attend events by Czech President Milos Zeman, the Russian leader has thus far neither accepted nor rejected taking part in the commemorations organized by the European Jewish Congress from January 26 to January 27 in Prague and Terezin, Czech Republic.

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Monday 22 December 2014

German Village Names Street After Holocaust Victim

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Four cousins from Israel traveled to a small German town to learn about their heritage. They returned several months later to attend a poignant commemoration of their grandfather.

The town of Hargesheim, population 3,000, is about an hour's drive from Frankfurt. The Rauner family's roots there go back about 120 years, when Michael Rauner settled in town after fighting against the French in the German army. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery that is still preserved in the village.

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Sunday 21 December 2014

Australian Teen Gets Educational Punishment for Threatening Jewish Kids

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

An Australian youth who terrorized Jewish children on a school bus with anti-Semitic chants and other violent gestures has received an original educational punishment from the law enforcement authorities and social services. 

The young man will be forced to attend a Shabbat meal with a Jewish family, visit the Sydney Jewish Museum and read Holocaust literature, JTA reports. 

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Tuesday 16 December 2014

European Rights Group Warns of Growing Racism in Hungary

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press:

Europe's leading human rights organization said Tuesday that discrimination against Gypsies, Jews, gays and other minorities in Hungary is getting worse and is urging authorities to fight racist violence and take other steps to protect the vulnerable. 

The Council of Europe made its recommendations in a report that examines a wide range of human rights issues in the country. Its release comes as studies claim poverty is increasing in the country and as Prime Minister Viktor Orban faces accusations from many fronts of weakening democratic standards.

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More Than 100 Holocaust Survivors to Attend Auschwitz Memorial to Mark 70th Anniversary of Death Camp's Liberation

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

More than 100 Auschwitz survivors from at least 17 countries will travel to Poland to participate in the observance of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz on January 27, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

The official event will be organized by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and the International Auschwitz Council. The World Jewish Congress and the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education will be among the organizations supporting this commemorative event. 

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Monday 15 December 2014

Survey: More Israeli Teens Encounter Hate on the Internet

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Jewish teenagers in Israel are more likely to encounter hate on the Internet in the form of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel expression than they were a year ago, according to a new survey of Israeli teens commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).  

Israeli teens reported that the online attacks and anti-Semitic expressions increased noticeably during Operation Protective Edge in summer 2014, when Israel’s military struck back against Hamas rockets, tunnels and terrorism in Gaza.

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German Court to Try Former Auschwitz Guard for Murder

FSWC Reports:

From Reuters and the Associated Press via ynetnews.com:

A 93-year old man suspected of being a former guard at the Nazi death camp Auschwitz will be tried in the new year, a German court said on Monday. 

Nearly 70 years after the end of the Holocaust, in which some 6 million Jews as well as Roma, homosexuals, disabled and political opponents to the Nazis were put to death, most suspects have either died or are unfit for trial. 

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Saudi School in Vienna Allegedly Used Antisemitic Book

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com with Reuters:

A Saudi school in Vienna is set to be closed down by Austria after allegations were made that it used anti-Semitic books and for failing to provide the names of its teachers and directors, Vienna's school board said on Monday.

The Vienna Board of Education began looking into the Saudi school last month, after reports that history lessons conducted at the school used a book that was anti-Semitic. According to the reports, the book described the Freemason society as a "secret, subversive Jewish organization dedicated to ensuring that Jews rule the world." 

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Sunday 14 December 2014

The Forgotten Jews Who Fought the Nazis

FSWC Reports;

From ynetnews.com:

There is not a single student in the Israeli educational system who doesn’t learn about the Jewish Brigade and about Hannah Szenes and her friends. The bravery of the 5,000 Brigade soldiers should be praised and admired, but the truth is that it's just a drop in the ocean of Jewish blood which was shed on the front, vis-à-vis the Nazis. 

About a million and a half Jews fought as part of the Allies' armies. They stood out both because their number was much higher than their relative percentage in the countries they came from, and because of the huge number of losses they suffered. 

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Wednesday 10 December 2014

Hitler Appears in Thai Video to Promote "Values"

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press:

The short propaganda film commissioned by Thailand's military rulers was supposed to promote the "12 core values" every Thai student must now learn. But there was one scene the junta has had trouble explaining: a grinning schoolboy painting an image of Adolf Hitler while his smiling classmate applauds. 

The video, which has been screened before movies in major theaters since Saturday, has been met with ridicule on social media and condemned by the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok.

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Poland Overturns Ban on Kosher Slaughter

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Poland’s constitutional court on Wednesday allowed the resumption of kosher slaughter in the country, ruling in favor of a petition to overturn a ban implemented last year. 

“Jewish communities all over Europe can sigh in relief,” said a statement by the European Jewish Association (EJA), which led the drive to reallow kosher slaughter in Poland. 

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Tuesday 9 December 2014

German Court Throws Out Nazi Massacre Case

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press:

A German court on Tuesday threw out the case against a former SS man accused of involvement in the largest civilian massacre in Nazi-occupied France, saying there was not enough evidence to bring the 89-year-old to trial.

Cologne resident Werner C., whose last name has not been revealed in accordance with German privacy laws, was charged with murder and accessory to murder in connection with the 1944 slaughter of 642 civilians in Oradour-sur-Glane in southwestern France.

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Yeshiva Student Stabbed in Brooklyn. Police Suspect Antisemitism

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com with news agencies:

A young haredi man was stabbed and wounded early Tuesday morning in a Chabad house in the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. 

The perptrator stormed into the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic world headquarters in Crown Heights at about 1:40 a.m. and attacked Levi Rosenblat, who was studying inside the synagogue, spokesman Motti Seligson said. He said there were other people inside at the time.

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Monday 8 December 2014

Japanese Newspaper Apologizes for Antisemitic Ad

FSWC Reports:

From AFP via ynetnews.com:

A conservative Japanese daily on Saturday apologized for carrying an advertisement for books by an author who claims Jewish people were behind the country's 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster. 

The advert ran in a regional edition of the Sankei Shimbun national newspaper on November 26, and promoted the works of Richard Koshimizu, a self-styled journalist and activist who also blames Jews for the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States.

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France Vows "National" Fight Against Antisemitism

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com with the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP

France's government has pledged more action to fight anti-Semitism after an attack on a couple revived worries about the rising number of incidents targeting Jews in the country. 

Several hundred people demonstrated Sunday in the Paris suburb of Creteil, where the attack took place last Monday, to draw attention to what France's leading Jewish organization says is a nearly doubling of anti-Semitic incidents this year compared to 2013.

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Friday 5 December 2014

U.S. Congress Sends President Obama Bill to Block Nazis From Receiving Social Security Benefits

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press via ynetnews.com:

A bill that would block suspected Nazi war criminals from receiving US government pension benefits is heading to President Barack Obama for his signature. 

By voice vote late Thursday, the Senate gave final congressional approval to a measure that would shut a loophole that allowed suspected Nazis to be paid millions of dollars in benefits, clearing it for the White House. 

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France Agrees to Compensate Holocaust Deportees

FSWC Reports:

From the Associated Press:

Thousands of Holocaust survivors and family members in the United States and elsewhere will be entitled to compensation from a $60 million French-U.S. fund announced Friday, as reparations to those deported by France's state rail company SNCF during the Nazi occupation.

As part of the deal, the U.S. government will work to end lawsuits and other compensation claims in U.S. courts against the SNCF, which is bidding for lucrative high-speed rail and other contracts in U.S. markets. State legislators in Maryland, New York, Florida and California have tried to punish SNCF for its Holocaust-era actions.

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Thursday 4 December 2014

Italian Soccer Star Under Fire for Allegedly Antisemitic Social Media Post

FSWC Reports:

From AFP via ynetnews.com:

Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has apologized for posting a message on Instagram that appeared to contain racist and anti-Semitic references and which has sparked a Football Association investigation. 

The Italy international re-posted an image of the Nintendo video game character Super Mario on the photo-sharing website that contained the phrase "jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew."

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French Documentary Claims Proof of Coco Chanel's Nazi Past

FSWC Reports:

From Shalom Life via ynetnews.com:

Over the past couple of years, rumors have been circulating that celebrity famous fashion designer Coco Chanel was a spy for the Nazi Party during World War II. 

Although no concrete evidence had been presented, stories about love affairs with high-ranking Nazis and top secret operations went rampant online.

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Wednesday 3 December 2014

Antisemitism Suspected in Rape of Jewish Woman Near Paris

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

A Jewish woman was raped in an apparent anti-Semitic attack in Créteil, a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, French media reported Tuesday. 

According to the reports, three assailants broke into an apartment armed with a pistol and a sawed-off shotgun, demanding money and using anti-Semitic insults. 

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Yeshiva Student Attacked in Russia

FSWC Reports:

From ynetnews.com:

Russian media reports claim that a yeshiva student was badly beaten in the Moscow region. According to Russian news agency Interfax, Shlomo (Fyodor) Romanovsky, a Belarusian national studying at the Torat Haim yeshiva, was badly beaten in the Ramensky District of the Moscow region.

"The attack occurred twenty meters from the entrance to the yeshivah, where Romanovsky was returning from Moscow, in the early hours of December 2. The victim said three attackers, who spoke to each other in a language that was not Russian, did not demand anything and attached him right away," the press service for the Russian Jewish Congress told Interfax-Religion on Wednesday.  

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