Tagged HEADLINES

(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 »

RAMALLAH, West Bank (JTA) — Standing outside the Al Siwadi juice shop, located near this Palestinian city’s central Al Manari Square downtown, a man named Maher complains about the recently released U.S. peace plan. Trump’s plan is designed to “give the rich Jews what they want,” Maher asserts as… 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) — 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) — Despite a rise in anti-Semitic violence in recent years, the proportion of Americans holding “intensely” anti-Semitic views remains small, according to a new poll. The poll, conducted by the Anti-Defamation League and published Wednesday, asked 11 questions of U.S. adults regarding traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes, using a protocol the… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Islamic State said it will focus its new attacks on Israel. The terror group, also known as ISIS, issued a 37-minute audio message on Monday by its spokesman, Abu Hamza al-Quraishi, the AFP news agency reported. Speaking on behalf of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi,… 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 »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved $10 million over five years to fund Holocaust education in American schools. The vote Monday was timed for International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi camp. The money will be administered… 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 »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s attorney general filed the indictment on charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery against Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday hours after the prime minister withdrew his request for parliamentary immunity. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit filed the charges in three corruption cases against Netanyahu in Jerusalem… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Moments after President Donald Trump announced his Israeli-Palestinian peace plan in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem released a security alert that warned against traveling to some areas of Jerusalem. The alert referenced “widespread calls for demonstrations in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza,” and… Read more »

(JTA) — As part of President Donald Trump’s proposed plan for Middle East peace, Israel says it will “apply its laws” to the Jordan Valley and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. At a press conference on Tuesday with Trump at the White House discussing the broad outlines of… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — A bus carrying approximately 40 teenage boys from a Hasidic town in upstate New York to a weekend retreat flipped over, injuring 18. The incident occurred around 1:20 p.m. on Friday. The bus was coming from the village of New Square and heading into the… Read more »

(JTA) — Lakewood Township in New Jersey is getting its first Orthodox Jewish police officer, local media reported. Michael Wolf was sworn in Wednesday in a ceremony with 12 other new police officers following a year-long training, Asbury Park Press reported. Lakewood Police Chief Greg Meyer said he hoped… Read more »

(JTA) — Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli named her son David. Refaeli’s third child and first son joins sisters Liv and Elle. The boy’s name was announced Tuesday. Refaeli is married to Israeli businessman Adi Ezra. David, who was born on Jan. 14, was named after Ezra’s father, Mako reported.… Read more »