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Picture of Toby Axelrod, JTA

Toby Axelrod, JTA

Lessons From Nuremberg

The Nuremberg Trials, which opened with the reading of charges against 24 defendants in Berlin on Oct. 18, 1945, and reconvened in Nuremberg on Nov. 20, confronted Germans with the reality of what had been done in their name. It was the beginning of a process of reckoning and repentance that continues to this day.

Calendars Remove Anti-Israel Day

The annihilation of Israel is the raison d\’etre of the \”holiday\” that the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini created after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It is marked with anti-Israel demonstrations in some Islamic countries, as well as in cities with large Muslim populations outside the Islamic world.

German Jews Praise Merkel

As Germany stands on the brink of a new political era — about to have its first woman and first former East German as chancellor — Jews are peering over the horizon with cautious optimism.

New Pope Visits German Synagogue

Pope Benedict XVI\’s visit to a German synagogue was replete with symbolism: most notably, the potential for positive relations between the country\’s Jewish community and a pope who served in the German army during World War II.

For Germany\’s Jewish community, which has tripled to more than 100,000 since 1989 with the arrival of former Soviet Jews, the live broadcast of Benedict\’s visit during World Youth Day in Germany served another purpose.

Book Details Hitler’s Knowledge of Shoah

Hitler knew in detail about the attempted extermination of the Jews. That\’s according to \”Das Buch Hitler\” — \”The Hitler Book\” — a newly published German translation of a work written in Russian for Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1949.

Auschwitz Memorial Marks ’45 Liberation

The last time Trudy Spira was in Auschwitz, she was 12 years old. The day of liberation \”is my second birthday — I was reborn on that day,\” said Spira, who came from Venezuela with her son, Ernesto, 48, to show him the place that robbed her of her childhood.

Hague Protest Mideast Conflict

Holland turned into a staging ground for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this week, as demonstrators converged on The Hague to talk about Israel\’s security barrier and Palestinian terrorism.

Group Releases E.U. Anti-Semitism Study

In an act of defiance against the European Union, the main Jewish body in Europe has released an unpublished report that found rising anti-Semitism among Muslims in Europe.

Main Findings in Suppressed Report

The study that the European Union\’s Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia commissioned was prompted by a wave of anti-Semitic incidents in Europe that intensified in the spring of 2002. The report was suppressed, allegedly to avoid offending Europe\’s large Muslim communities. The European Jewish Congress obtained a copy of the report and released it Monday.

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