World

BERLIN (JTA) — For Sigmount Koenigsberg, the most searing scene in the U.S.-made “Holocaust” miniseries broadcast here 40 years ago was when a German child throws photos of a Jewish family into a fireplace. The pictures curl up and melt in the flames. The moment “somehow burned into me,” recalls… Read more »

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — The main Jewish umbrella group in Poland has elected its first woman leader. Monika Krawczyk was chosen as the board chairman of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland, which deals with restitution matters, among other issues. “I think it is a great honor… Read more »

(JTA) — The longtime editor in chief of Belgium’s largest Jewish newspaper has announced he is resigning and running for parliament, partly in a bid to reverse recent bans in the country on the slaughter of conscious animals for meat. Michael Freilich, 38, who has edited the Antwerp-based Joods… Read more »

(JTA) — The number of terrorist attacks against Israelis dropped by 75 percent last month over November, but it was also the deadliest month since March with three people killed. The downturn in attacks was mostly due to Hamas inactivity along the border with Gaza, the Israel Security Agency… Read more »

(JTA) — In May 1943, after years of killings and deportations, the Nazis declared Berlin “judenfrei,” or free of Jews. What they didn’t know was that approximately 7,000 Jews remained in hiding in the city, and not only in attics and basements — often in plain sight. “The Invisibles,”… Read more »

AMSTERDAM — I was recently offered a handout while rummaging for food in a heap of trash as my two small children looked on. It happened all because I wanted to start attending synagogue regularly. To be clear, I’m writing this neither as a plea for pity nor an indictment against… Read more »

(JTA) — It has been four years since a gunman attacked the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket in Paris. JTA’s Cnaan Liphshiz went back to the scene of the shooting for a commemoration ceremony, and to check in with French Jewry on how they feel their country has progressed —… Read more »

RECIFE, Brazil (JTA) — Preparing to leave this city’s main Jewish community center, Sabrina Scherb peeks beyond its blast-proof gate into a quiet street strewn with branches and shredded mango fruits. The debris, left over from an overnight tropical storm, is not what’s worrying Scherb, a 22-year-old university student… Read more »

(JTA) — In a genetic study of 6,589 people from five Latin American countries, about a quarter displayed traces of what may be Sephardic Jewish ancestry. Geneticist Juan-Camilo Chacón-Duque and his colleagues published their findings last week in Nature Communications magazine, in an article titled “Latin Americans show wide-spread… Read more »

LONDON (JTA) — Like countless world-class pianists, Nelly Ben-Or began playing piano at the age of 5 and never stopped. That discipline helped Ben-Or, 86, became an international concert pianist and the person most widely recognized for adapting the Alexander technique for posture and movement improvement for musicians. But… Read more »

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Each year at the height of winter, city workers descend on the square opposite Holland’s oldest synagogue and pull gigantic yellow tarps over the canopies of 25 olive trees. The trees, each 250-300 years old, are Amsterdam’s oldest. They were brought here in 2010 from central… Read more »

(JTA) — The end of every year brings the grim task of rounding up the prominent Jews who passed away over the previous 12 months. But in doing so, we are able to pay tribute to their incredible lives and accomplishments, and revel once again in the talents and… Read more »

(JTA) — Jewish groups are offering assistance in the wake of a tsunami in Indonesia that has left more than 400 dead and thousands homeless. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is providing emergency relief and assessing emerging needs in the Kalianda and Rajabasa subdistricts of Lampung, a province… Read more »

In response to the deadly tsunami that struck Indonesia’s Sunda Strait region on Saturday evening killing hundreds, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is providing emergency relief and assessing emerging needs through its local partner in the Kalianda and Rajabasa subdistricts in Lampung. The aid provision includes health services, clean water, and critical supplies… Read more »

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Acclaimed former soccer players from both Brazil and Israel will play a friendly match in the Jewish state next year. The “peace match” will be held on March 26 either in Jerusalem or Haifa. Organizers say Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Bebeto and Emerson… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Russian spies sought information during the 2016 election on leaders of two major Jewish groups, the Anti-Defamation League and the National Council of Jewish Women, a report said. BuzzFeed reported Thursday that the Russian financial crimes agency sought the information under the auspices of a joint… Read more »

LONDON (JTA) — Two and half years ago, Murray Lee voted in favor of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. A Jewish real-estate agent from northern London, Murray shared the concerns of many in the leave camp over the United Kingdom’s perceived vulnerability to Europe’s immigration problems. If… Read more »

(JTA) — A senior lawmaker for Britain’s Labour Party who was facing sexual harassment allegations has quit the party, citing its anti-Semitism problem. Ivan Lewis , who is Jewish, resigned on Thursday from Labour, where he had served as chief whip — a post whose duties include enforcing coalition… Read more »

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Following years of diplomatic tensions, Israel and Brazil appear set to place their relationship on a new footing with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit, the first for a sitting prime minister. Netanyahu was invited to attend incoming President Jair Bolsonaro’s inauguration on Jan. 1.… Read more »

<p>(<a href=”http://jta.org”>JTA</a>) &#8212; A play opening in London about rising anti-Semitism in Britain has become the target of anti-Semites.</p><p>(<a href=”http://jta.org”>JTA</a>) &#8212; A play opening in London about rising anti-Semitism in Britain has become the target of anti-Semites.</p><p>The play, “One Jewish Boy,” by Stephen Laughton, looks at the hatred and… Read more »