World news

Chabad aids victims of Oklahoma tornado

Zoe Winograd — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:00:28 +0100

A Chabad centre in Oklahoma has opened its doors for families affected by yesterday’s devastating tornado.

The tornado, which hit Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, has left at least 91 people dead , including 20 children , and hundreds injured.

The Chabad community centre of southern Oklahoma is provid ing shelter and supplies for those left homeless.

Rabbi Ovadia Goldman, co-director of southern Oklahoma Chabad, said: “While we feel the pain of others, we’re very thankful that we’re able to respond – to use all our energy and all our resources to let the community know we’re here to help.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter to US President Barack Obama on Tuesday morning.

Mr Netanyahu wrote: “On behalf of the government and people of Israel, I offer our heartfelt condolences to you and to the people of the United States on the massive tornado that struck in Oklahoma and exacted such a horrific toll in human life.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this tragedy and their families at this difficult time.”

The Union for Reform Judaism has also started to collect funds which will be donated to relief groups on the ground.

President of the union Rabbi Rick Jacobs said: “We are numb with grief, and yet inspired by the heroic resilience of the people of Oklahoma.”

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by this horrific tragedy."

The Jewish Federations of North America and B'nai B'rith International have also started funds to aid the relief effort.

Protest targets Israel's Eurovision singer

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:52:58 +0100

Israeli singer Moran Mazor was under heavy security protection during her stay in Malmö, Sweden, where she competed in the Eurovision Song Contest. Israeli journalists told Swedish radio that they were followed by a group of young men who said they wanted to bomb the Israelis' hotel rooms.

They got away by telling the men they were from Cyprus. A taxi driver who picked up six passengers from the Israeli delegation's party reportedly called them "damn Jews" and "Jewish whores" in Arabic.

Before Saturday's final, hundreds of Swedes and Danes took part in pro-Palestine rallies in Malmö in which local politicians called for a cultural and economic boycott of Israel under the slogan "Israel, welcome back when Palestine's free".

Daniel Sestrajcic, chair for the Left Party in Malmö and of the Malmö Board of Culture, claimed that Israel does not live up to the Eurovision Song Contest's values of peace, democracy and solidarity.

"Israel is denying the Palestinians from experiencing all that so today we are telling the EBU [the European Broadcasting Union]: You should not to allow Israel to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest," Sestrajcic said in his speech.

On Saturday, the day of the Eurovision final, Sestrajcic took part in a “kippah march” organised to protest against antisemitism and intolerance.

Around 300 people participated in the march, which was rerouted after police granted the Malmö Palestine network permission to set up a protest tent camp on a central square which previous kippah marches have passed through.

According to local media reports, priests, imams, rabbis, politicians, top businessmen and members of the public took part.

Moran Mazor, who celebrated her twenty-second birthday on the day of the semi-final, did not make it through to Saturday's final.

On an Atlantic isle, Morocco honours its lost Sephardim

Bernard Josephs — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:30:28 +0100

It was an unlikely setting for a Jewish cemetery and the group, there to attend a rededication ceremony, was also out of the ordinary.

Among those gathered at the event in Cape Verde, an archipelago of islands 300 miles off the coast of Senegal, were high ranking Americans, Europeans and Moroccans, including a representative of King Mohammed VI, a major benefactor of the project.

Four cemeteries are almost all that is left of a community of Sephardic Jews who settled in Cape Verde in the late 19th century, when it was a Portuguese colony. They arrived following the abolition of the inquisition in Portugal and the signing of a commercial treaty between Portugal and Britain.

Individuals with surnames such Benros, Cohen, Levy and Wahnon immigrated to the islands from Morocco searching for greater economic stability. Many passed first through Gibraltar, where they obtained British citizenship.

The Jews prospered in Cape Verde but because they were few in number and mostly men, they assimilated over time with the mainly Catholic population. As a result, Cape Verde has virtually no practising Jews.

However, the original immigrants took care to bury their dead according to Jewish law. The typical Sephardic headstones bear Portuguese and Hebrew inscriptions and are among the few vestiges of their presence.

Restoration of the cemeteries began in 2007 under the auspices of the Cape Verde Jewish Heritage Project with major funding coming from the Moroccan monarchy and other non-Jewish and Jewish benefactors, with the support of the Cape Verde government.

The completion of the first stage of the project took place on May 2 at the Varzea cemetery in Praia, the Cape Verde capital. Attending the rededication were envoys from Portugal, America, France and Morocco and the Chief Rabbi of Lisbon, Eliezer Shai di Martino.

A Moroccan diplomat, Abdellah Boutadghart, praised the initiative. It was, he said, a reminder to descendants of Cape Verde Jews of their ties to Morocco. Also at the meeting were around 50 descendants of the original Cape Verde Jewish community.

The head of the Jewish Heritage Project, Carol Castiel, praised the role played by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI. She said: “We find it very symbolic and important that a Muslim monarch saw fit to support restoring Jewish heritage in a predominantly Catholic country. We just think that this is a message that has to go out to the world.”

EU faces ‘great risk’ if it fails to curb Hizbollah

Marcus Dysch — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:15:28 +0100

Iran’s provision of money, military equipment and training to Hizbollah and terror groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, is of “serious concern”, Middle East Minister Alistair Burt has told Parliament.

He said the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ involvement in terror attacks in Thailand, India, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kenya was increasingly worrying.

Mr Burt said the government was eager to see a “robust response” from the European Union to the suicide bombing carried out by Hizbollah in Bulgaria last July which killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver.

Europe faces a “great risk” in failing to respond to that attack, he said, and should not fear instability in Lebanon if the EU was to proscribe Hizbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organisation.

Mr Burt was speaking in a Commons debate on Hizbollah brought by Labour Friends of Israel vice-chair Michael McCann last Thursday.

Mr McCann called on the government to take “decisive action” and praised Israel’s air strike on a Syrian missile depot and chemical weapons sites.

He said that while a “full ban on Hizbollah may be difficult to achieve, Britain must send a powerful message that we do not tolerate Hizbollah’s and Iran’s terrorism, and that we will work hard to curtail terrorist fundraising and recruitment across Europe”.

A delegation of British Jewish community representatives met Helga Schmid, deputy head of the EU’s external action service last month to push for a Europe-wide ban on Hizbollah.

Their visit followed Prime Minister David Cameron’s request for the community to help him persuade the EU to outlaw the group.

Holocaust-themed Tannhauser cancelled

Sandy Rashty — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:15:28 +0100

A Holocaust-themed production of Wagner opera was cancelled last week after its traumatic scenes caused a number of guests to seek medical help.

The Dusseldorf opera’s version of Tannhauser included scenes of rape, suicide and a family having their heads shaved before they were shot. Some guests were so distressed that they were treated for shock.

A spokesperson for the opera house confirmed that “some scenes, especially the firing-squad sequence, proved such a intolerable burden for numerous members of the audience that they were subsequently obliged to undergo medical treatment.”

The spokesperson added that the opera house had asked stage director Burkhard C Kosminski to tone down the performance but, “citing the freedom of art, he has refused.

“Deutsche Oper am Rhein cannot and will not accept responsibility [if there are] possibly grave effects on its guests. The freedom of art is valid only as long as the personal safety of individuals is not in danger.”

Michael Szentei-Heise, head of the Jewish community in Dusseldorf, told Associated Press that the production was “tasteless and not legitimate. This opera has nothing to do with the Holocaust.”

Wagner, widely regarded as an antisemite, was one of Adolf Hitler’s favourite composers.

The production will now only be performed as a concert and current ticket holders have been offered a refund.

Detained doctor finally returns to South Africa

Sandy Rashty — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:01:05 +0100

Professor Cyril Karabus, the elderly doctor who had been detained in the United Arab Emirates since August, has just arrived in South Africa.

His family and lawyer, Michael Bagraim, met him the airport in Cape Town.

Prof Karabus had been waiting for his passport to be returned by prosecutors since he was found not guilty of manslaughter in March.

Prof Karabus was convicted in absentia of manslaughter by a UAE court more than 10 years ago. The prosecution claimed that in 2002 the doctor, who had previously worked in the UAE, had mistreated a terminally ill Yemeni girl who had leukaemia.

Unaware of his conviction, Prof Karabus stopped off in Dubai on August 18 last year as he returned to South Africa from his son’s wedding in Toronto.

The 78-year-old doctor was detained in Abu Dhabi for nine months.

He fell ill during his imprisonment but is understood to have recovered.

Mr Bagraim said: "I really believe that they had the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Greeks plan law to hit neo-Nazis

JCReporter — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:28 +0100

Greek Deputy Minister of Justice Costas Karagounis has tabled a bill designed to outlaw racial, religious, ethnic and homophobic incitement.

The move comes in the wake of a recent Holocaust commemoration event in Thessaloniki where World Jewish Congress members raised the issue of antisemitism with Greek government officials.

If passed, the proposed bill will make racial or religious incitement punishable with jail terms of up to six years, or fines of up to 20,000 euros. The same punishments would apply to those who deny the Holocaust or make Nazi salutes.

The neo-Nazi Greek Golden Dawn party is now the third largest in parliament and maintains a 10-12 per cent approval rating in opinion polls.

The proposed bill does not give immunity to members of parliament.

Cancelling Holocaust opera is 'censorship’, claims German director

Sandy Rashty — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:20:35 +0100

A German director has described the decision to cancel his Holocaust-themed opera production as "censorship".

Director Burkhard C Kosminski's modern production of Richard Wagner’s Tannhauser, which held its opening night at the Rheinoper in Düsseldorf, was cancelled last week after its traumatic scenes caused a number of guests to seek medical help.

Despite initial protests from the opera house, director Mr Kosminski reportedly insisted on a realistic portrayal of atrocities at a concentration camp "for artistic reasons", an opera house spokesperson told the BBC.

Graphic scenes included rape, suicide and a family having their heads shaved before they were shot.

Some guests were subsequently treated for shock.

"There was heckling during the performance," Mr Kosminski told Der Spiegel news. "When I bowed during the applause, there was a chorus of boos mixed with many bravos. At the premier party I was insulted heavily."

A spokesperson for the opera house added that “some scenes were depicted very realistically [and caused] psychological and physical stress."

Michael Szentei-Heise, head of the Jewish community in Dusseldorf, told the Associated Press that the production was "tasteless and not legitimate.

"This opera has nothing to do with the Holocaust. However, I think the audience has made this very clear to the opera and the producer."

But the theater director insisted that: "the Jewish Community did not demand that the performance be withdrawn. My staging doesn't ridicule victims, but rather mourns them.

"What happened in Düsseldorf is the censorship of art. That is the actual scandal."

Wagner, who is widely regarded as an antisemite, was one of Adolf Hitler’s favourite musicians. Israelis still refrain from playing his music.

The production will now only be performed in concert.

Next week, the Wagner 200 festival will launch in London to commemorate the bicenturary of the man who wrote the antisemitic essay 'Judaism in Music' - likening the Jewish influence on culture to a "swarming colony of maggots" .

Wagner, who was said to inspire Hitler's concept of the "master race", once declared that "all Jews should burn to death".

The festival will launch next week and run until November.

Holocaust opera cancelled after guests traumatised

Sandy Rashty — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:54:36 +0100

A Holocaust-themed opera production was cancelled last week after its traumatic scenes caused a number of guests to seek medical help.

The modern production of Richard Wagner’s Tannhauser, had its opening night at the Rheinoper in Düsseldorf.

Despite initial protests from the opera house, director Burkhard C Kosminski reportedly insisted on a realistic portrayal of atrocities at a concentration camp "for artistic reasons", an opera house spokesperson told the BBC.

Graphic scenes included rape, suicide and a family having their heads shaved before they were shot.

Some guests were subsequently treated for shock.

A spokesperson for the opera house added that “some scenes were depicted very realistically [and caused] psychological and physical stress."

Michael Szentei-Heise, head of the Jewish community in Dusseldorf, told the Associated Press that the production was "tasteless and not legitimate.

"This opera has nothing to do with the Holocaust. However, I think the audience has made this very clear to the opera and the producer."

Wagner, who is widely regarded as an antisemite, was one of Adolf Hitler’s favourite musicians. Israelis still refrain from playing his music.

The production will now only be performed in concert.

Wagner, who was said to inspire Hitler's concept of the "master race", once declared that "all Jews should burn to death".

The festival will launch next week and run until November.

Dresden gets rabbi back, 70 years after the Shoah

Fri, 10 May 2013 10:00:43 +0100

Last week was a historical one in Dresden. The Jüdische Gemeinde zu Dresden, the Jewish congregation in the city, finally got its rabbi back — more than 70 years after Rabbi Albert Wolf had to flee Dresden and Germany.

And as if to underscore that this is a moment of renewal, the new rabbi, Alexander Nachama, is just 29 years old.

How does Rabbi Nachama feel about it? “Good. But I don’t actually feel so young in this position,” he said. He was ordained by the non-denominational Aleph Rabbinic Programme in the US and graduated from the Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg Rabbinic Seminar at Potsdam University. “As a child in Berlin, I held pretend worship services and started to lead prayers in the synagogue when I was 14.”

Rabbi Nachama’s installation took place in the Dresden synagogue. The young rabbi is now part of a significant family tradition. His grandfather, Estrongo, who was widely known for his expressive singing, survived Auschwitz and became chief cantor for the Jewish congregation in Berlin after the war. Alexander’s father, Andreas, who was present at his induction, is a rabbi in the German capital.

Young Rabbi Nachama stresses that he stands on his own two feet as a congregation leader in Dresden. Before the Second World War, there were more than 5,000 Jewish inhabitants in the city. By 1945, only a few were left. Rabbi Nachama now aims to engage the younger generation of Jews so that the congregation, which today has 720 members, can keep growing.

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dr Dieter Graumann, sees Rabbi Nachama’s installation as part of a positive trend: “The growing numbers of both female and male rabbis show how the Jewish congregations in Germany once more blossom. Seventy years after the Shoah, this is close to a wonder, and we welcome it from the bottom of our hearts.”