- Details
USA - Seder at the White House
.jpg)
"In history there are those who targeted the Jews to harm them, a fact that we were so painfully reminded of a few weeks ago with Toulouse," US President Barack Obama said, among other things, in a video posted online on the eve of this year's Seder for the fourth consecutive year in the White House.Referring to the message of Pesach, the American President emphasized that the Jews, although persecuted throughout the centuries, have always insisted that "faith and freedom will ultimately prevail over tyranny."
"During Pesach," continued B. Obama, "Jews will ask one of the most difficult questions: 'Having passed from slavery to freedom, how do we make use of the good that God has given us?' While there may never be a satisfactory answer, the search for answers has strengthened the Jewish people's commitment to a better world." In his message, the American President also referred to the Seder, which for four years has been established to be held at the White House, under the care of Jewish religious employees, in which he gladly participates every year: "It is a very special tradition. Michelle and I are proud to celebrate with friends here at home and around the world," Obama concluded.
(EJP, 6.4.2012)
FRANCE – Meeting with the candidate for President
European Jewish Congress (EJC) President Moshe Cantor led a European delegation to meet French presidential candidate Francois Hollande at a meeting held on 11.4.12 in France. The representatives of Jewry, among other things, discussed issues of common interest, expressed concern about the increase in anti-Semitism and incidents of racist violence in Europe and offered Mr. Hollande the special edition of the EJC entitled "Securing Tolerance" (photo ).(EJC, 12.4.2012)
ISRAEL – Ginder Grass is unwanted
The German writer Ginder Grass is now an "undesirable person" for Israel, after the publication of his poem in the German newspaper "Dueddeutshe Zeitung" in which he turns against the Jewish state, characterizing it as a threat to world peace. According to Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai, Grass is to be banned from visiting Israel because of his "attempt to incite hatred against the Israeli state and the Israeli people and thus promote the ideas he espoused while wearing the uniform of the US ». "If Ginder Grass wants to continue spreading his twisted work he can do it in Iran where a receptive audience awaits him," the Israeli minister added. In his poem "what must be said", 84-year-old Ginder Grass condemns Germany's arms sales to Israel and stresses that the Jewish state must not be allowed to launch attacks against Iran.
(Unbound Press, 9.4.2012)
- Details
BRUSSELS
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the memory of the victims of Nazism were honored with a special ceremony held at the European Parliament in Brussels. The ceremony was organized under the auspices of the new president of the European Parliament, Mr. Martin Sutlz, and the cooperation of the European Jewish Congress (EJC). The event started with a memorial service and was followed by speeches from the president of E.K. Mr. Schultz (photo), the EJC president Mr. Moshe Kantor and speeches by the former president of the E.K. Jerzy Buzek and Israeli Minister Yuli Edelstein.
(EJC 24.1.2012)
GERMANY
Germany will take over the funding of Yad Vashem's programs related to the research, identification and purchase of archives and documents related to the documentation of the Holocaust, as German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwell announced. The relevant agreement between Germany and Israel will be signed by the German Foreign Minister and the Israeli Minister of Education Gideon Saar, in a special meeting in Jerusalem. "This agreement reinforces Germany's obligation to preserve historical memory," said the president of Yad Vashem Avner Salev.
(EJC, 1.2.2012)
ISRAEL
Facebook: "Jews are the people of the Bible, and now we've also become the people of facebook," Israeli President Shimon Peres joked, making an apt pun on the word "book," at the launch of his personal Facebook page. The 88-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate S. Peres created a state-of-the-art "account" on Facebook, which he launched in early March from his Silicon Valley headquarters together with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Even more youthful is the "bitato" pop video, entitled "Be my friend for Peace", with which he invites young people - mainly - to ... "add him to their friends". "We must learn to speak to young people," said Shimon Peres, who sings in his video concluding "Peace is necessary for your future." Friend Simon Peres and enjoy the video on the You tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjQdB0C6ypo
((WJC, 9.3.2012)
- Details
ISRAEL
An interesting periodical exhibition chronicling the abduction of Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann has been on display since December in Israel, displaying items collected by the Mossad during the operation in question.
The objects, most of which will be shown publicly for the first time, were until today on display at Mossad Headquarters. The exhibition's first stop will be the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, where it will remain for a month, to continue its tour of various exhibition spaces throughout Israel.
Her exhibits include the equipment used during the operation, the false identity used to allow Eichmann to flee Argentina without arousing the suspicions of the authorities, the keys to Eichmann's apartment in Buenos Aires, the false identities of Mossad agents during their stay in Argentina, as well as a large number of photographs documenting the entire period from the abduction to the arrival of the Nazi criminal in Israel. Also on display is the court decision that sentenced Eichmann to death.
As is known, Adolf Eichmann, one of the initiators and orchestrators of the "Final Solution", was arrested in 1960 by agents of the Israeli secret service, in Buenos Aires where he had taken refuge. His colossal transfer operation to Israel, his public trial in 1961, his conviction and execution marked a milestone in the record of Nazi crimes and the history of the Holocaust.
(EJC, 30.11.2011)
- Details
GERMANY
** "We have to succeed - it's our mission as a federal government - to get hate, racism, anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism out of people's heads. Let's not rest until we have achieved it. And for that I would like to thank everyone who has the courage to fight for this cause. No, we don't want to live with hatred in this country, in our country. We do not accept these inhuman thoughts. And that's why we will always say clearly: We raise humanity, human dignity and the rule of law against them."
The above is an excerpt from the online message of the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, on the occasion of the murder of ten people (including a Greek) by a far-right neo-Nazi organization.
(Daily, 22.11.2011)
** The brutality of Hitler's regime is brought back to light by the diary of an "outraged" court clerk in a small town in Nazi Germany - a chronicle that records in chilling detail torture, disappearances and summary executions and, above all, provides for the first time evidence of what can that ordinary citizens knew about the Holocaust. Through the pages of his book, entitled All Minds Clouded and Dark, Diary 1939-'45, Friedrich Kellner records incidents of brutal violence that he read in newspaper clippings of the time, heard from private conversations, in which the same eyewitness.
(Daily, 13.10.2011)
- Details
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - BRUSSELS
On the occasion of the new Jewish year, the president of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, blew the shofar (photo) in a special ceremony held at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels, on 21.9.2011, under the auspices of the Polish EU presidency.Mr. Buzek wished "Sana Tova" and peace for the new year and for the years to come. "Rosh Asana is a period of review of the past and optimism for the future," emphasized the president of the E.K.
Also, Mr. Buzek spoke about Jewish tradition and education, giving his wishes to a little 3-year-old boy, Shalom Garelik, who had his hair cut for the first time in the religious Jewish custom. "Shalom, it is not only a name but also a wish. And it is our duty to ensure that when Shalom grows up he will live in a world of tolerance and peace", were the words of Mr. Buzek.
Alongside the event, an exhibition on "1.000 years of Jewish life in Poland" was opened, curated by the "Museum of the History of Polish Jews", which, by decision of the Polish Government, is under construction in the Warsaw ghetto area.
(EJP, 22.9.2011)
GERMANY
*The largest Nazi organization in the country was outlawed by a decision of the federal government. The National Organization for Aid to Political Prisoners and their Families provided support to neo-Nazis imprisoned for their activities. According to German authorities, HNG is a threat to society and its action was deemed unconstitutional.
(TA NEA, 22.9.11)
*Mea culpa from the Hugo Boss company for its Nazi past, which goes back to the apotheosis of Hitler by the founder of the clothing brand and his synergy in crimes. The German firm, founded in 1925 by Hugo Bosch, commissioned German military history professor Roman Kester to research and write the true story of Bosch.
(FREE PRESS, 23.09.11)