fbpx
Category

January 12, 2011

Italian leaders decry list of ‘influential’ Italian Jews

Italian leaders expressed anger and solidarity with the Jewish community after a neo-Nazi Internet forum published a list of \”influential\” Italian Jews on its website. The Italian media Wednesday called the list on the American white supremacist website Stormfront \”a blacklist of hate.\” The list included journalists, businesspeople, politicians, artists and others. Politicians denounced the Stormfront posting and called for action against online hatred. The list \”reminds us of the most shameful page in our history when, based on similar lists, thousands of Italians were expelled from schools, universities and workplaces and were deprived of citizenship and persecuted,\” Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Province of Rome, said in a statement.

Munich bids on Olympics as memorial fight continues

Munich, Germany has thrown its hat into the ring to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, as widows of victims of the 1972 games massacre fight for an opening ceremonies memorial. Munich\’s 2018 Winter Olympics bid committee on Tuesday handed over its bid book to officials from the International Olympic Committee. If accepted it would be the first city to host both a winter and a summer games. Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were killed when Palestinian terrorists from the Black September group broke into their barracks in the Olympic vlllage of the Munich summer games in 1972 and held them hostage. During an unsuccessful rescue attempt, all of the hostages were killed.

Israel to lease firefighting airplanes

Israel will lease firefighting airplanes from Canada as it waits to purchase six new ones from the country at a cost of $200 million. The new firefighter airplanes under construction in Canada will be ready in about two years, according to the CBC. The leased planes will be flown by Canadian pilots. The $200 million deal, which includes the planes and other equipment, was agreed upon Monday between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Canadian Defense Minister Peter Gordon MacKay during the latter\’s visit to Israel, according to reports.

Debbie Friedman remembered at funeral in words and song

Singer-songwriter Debbie Friedman was eulogized at her funeral by friends, rabbis and fellow musicians in words and through her songs. Her acoustic guitar lay on top of her casket during Tuesday\’s funeral service at Temple Beth Sholom in Santa Ana, Calif., the Orange County Register reported. Friedman, whose music transformed Jewish worship in synagogues and summer camps, died Jan. 9 at the age of 59 after being diagnosed with pneumonia and admitted to a hospital a few days earlier. She blended the folk music roots of the 1960s and 1970s and combined them with traditional Jewish prayers and liturgy, and was frequently described as the \”Joan Baez of Jewish song.\”

Australian Jews evacuating in face of huge floods

At least a dozen Jewish families in northeastern Australia have been evacuated from their homes as a major flood ripped through Queensland this week, killing at least 12 people. More than 40 people are still missing, and one Jewish man remains unaccounted for near the rural town of Toowoomba, which was flattened Monday by what police described as an “inland instant tsunami.” The bulk of Queensland’s 6,000 Jews live in the state’s capital, Brisbane, which was bracing for its river to peak early Thursday morning as analysts revised up their predictions of the damage bill to $13 million, or 1 percent of the gross domestic product.

Schultz urges release of Pollard

Former U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz has written to President Obama asking him to release Jonathan Pollard. The letter delivered Tuesday says that Pollard has \”now paid a huge price for his espionage on behalf of Israel and should be released from prison.\” In the letter, Schultz also said that he is impressed that people who are \”best informed\” about the classified material that Pollard passed to Israel favor his release.

Dutch teen sentenced to work in Anne Frank House

A Dutch teenager who said in an interview that Jews should be exterminated was ordered to do community service in the Anne Frank house. The 18-year-old identified as Omar E. made his remarks in an interview on the Dutch-language GeenStijl website, according to DutchNews.nl.

Palin slammed for using ‘blood libel’ term [VIDEO]

Sarah Palin\’s use of the term \”blood libel\” to decry blaming conservatives for the Arizona shooting has raised the ire of the Jewish community. In a video statement released Wednesday, Palin said that “Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them. Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.” The blood libel refers to accusations that began in the Middle Ages that Jews used the blood of murdered Christian children to make matzah for Passover.

New Articles

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.