World

(JTA) — The spread of and fear generated by the coronavirus has led extremists to promote conspiracy theories and share their anti-Semitic views, the Anti-Defamation League said. It also has fomented racism against the Chinese and calls for a halt to immigration to the United States, the post to… Read more »

(JTA) — A bag emblazoned with a Star of David containing soap and anti-Semitic literature was left outside an exhibition about the Holocaust. For many years after World War II, rumors persisted that the Nazis used Jewish bodies to produce soap. No evidence was found to support the claim.… Read more »

(JTA) — A boarding school in Britain said it will modify its logo following complaints that it references an anti-Semitic blood libel. Jeremy Wyld, headmaster of St. Hugh’s School in Woodhall Spa, situated some 130 miles north of London, told The Jewish Chronicle that a red dot hanging over… Read more »

(JTA) —  More than 15% of respondents to a poll in Italy said the Holocaust never happened. The results are part of the annual Italy Report of the Eurispes published Thursday. The poll by the nongovernmental organization probes Italians’ views on a number of subjects, including the credibility of… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Palestinians in Gaza fired a mortar at southern Israel, setting off Code Red sirens. The mortar exploded in an open field near Kibbutz Kissufim, a Gaza border community, on Wednesday evening. It caused no injuries or damage, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Two other explosives… Read more »

(JTA) — Red paint was found on the facade of a synagogue in Finland in what some fear may have been an anti-Semitic incident. The speckles and blotches of paint were found on the synagogue of Turku, which is situated 70 miles west of the capital Helsinki, on Sunday,… Read more »

BERLIN (JTA) – Researchers released a photo album with images of the Sobibor death camp, including what may be the face of the late convicted war criminal John Demjanjuk. The album, presented to the public at the Topography of Terror museum in Berlin on Monday, comes from the estate… Read more »

(JTA) — Anti-Jewish graffiti was discovered in multiple locations in Italy as the country observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan 27. On Monday night, the words “die dirty Jew” were discovered outside the home of Maria Bigliani, 65, in Turin. “It is a terrible message, especially on Holocaust… Read more »

(JTA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned Naama Issachar, an Israeli-American backpacker who was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for drug smuggling. The Russian news agency Interfax News reported Wednesday that Putin had issued the pardon. Issachar, 26, had been returning from India to Israel by way… Read more »

(JTA) — French President Emmanuel Macron is under fire from top members of the judiciary after criticizing a court decision not to have a trial for a Jewish woman’s killer. During a visit last week to Israel last week, Macron took issue with the Paris Appeals Court decision in… Read more »

(JTA) — A psychiatrist has found Monsey stabber Grafton Thomas to be incompetent to stand trial on attempted murder and federal hate-crimes charges. Defense attorney Michael Sussman has asked a federal judge to hold a competency evaluation for his client. Thomas, 37, was arrested following the Dec. 28 attack… Read more »

SAO PAULO, Brazil (JTA) — The governor of Brazil’s largest state called the Holocaust “humankind’s day of shame” at the official ceremony to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Latin America’s largest nation. “It’s not only about remembering the 6 million Jews who were murdered, but also all others… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A painting by Jewish modernist Marc Chagall sold at auction for $130,000, the lowest estimated bid suggested by the auction house. The buyer, from Tel Aviv, wishes to remain anonymous, a spokesman for the Tiroche Auction House in Herzliya told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The artwork,… Read more »

(JTA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned Naama Issachar, an Israeli-American backpacker who was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for drug smuggling. The Russian news agency Interfax News reported Wednesday that Putin had issued the pardon. Issachar, 26, had been returning from India to Israel by way… Read more »

(JTA) — Morocco’s king has inaugurated a $1.5 million center dedicated to Jewish culture in the city of Essaouira. Last week, King Mohammed VI attended the inauguration for Bayt Dakira, which means House of Memory in Arabic. The port city was formerly home to a large population of Jews,… Read more »

(JTA) — Jewish Argentine tennis star Diego Schwartzman is currently rolling at the Australian Open. After beating Serbian Dušan Lajović in straight sets on Friday, he has made it into the round of 16 for the second time in his career. He has yet to drop a set in… Read more »

(JTA) — Restorers working on a building that used to house a synagogue near Krakow, Poland, found a chest inside a wall containing precious silverware and Jewish artifacts. More than 350 items were found about two months ago in Wieliczka, the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper reported last week, including silver-plated… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — American teen Ezra Schwartz will never play on the baseball field in Raanana that bears his name. But hundreds of Israeli young people, including some of Ezra’s cousins, will have the chance. In doing so, they will be honoring the memory of a young man who… Read more »

(JTA) — Swastikas were found painted on and around a synagogue in Wellington, New Zealand. One swastika was painted on Wednesday on the Temple Sinai synagogue and several others were found nearby, a Wellington City Council spokesperson told Newshub. The word “Heil” was also painted nearby. “I’m upset by… Read more »

A Dutch artist is installing a light display commemorating the Holocaust in 150 municipalities ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Daan Roosegaarde’s “Light of Life” project features dark spaces with stones that light up briefly. Roosegaarde chose the theme of stones because Jewish custom is to place them on… Read more »