Comments (0)Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial Vandalized
Berlin
JTA Wire Service
Vandals painted swastikas on Berlin’s Holocaust memorial. Eleven red and black swastikas were painted Saturday on seven of the 2,700 gray columns that make up the memorial. Federal investigators are investigating, according to Germany’s Deutsche Welle Web site. The memorial, located near the Brandenburg Gate, has been vandalized several times since it opened in 2005. The incident comes a week after a memorial to the gays and lesbians persecuted by the Nazis was vandalized.
Israel Sends Flood Aid to Ukraine
The Israeli government airlifted humanitarian aid to Ukraine for its flood-hit western regions. Antibiotics, bandages and other materials required for medical care were sent to the Ukrainian Emergency Ministry, said Shahar Arieli, a leader of the Israeli Mission to Ukraine, at a news conference Friday. According to Ukraine’s Emergency Ministry, storms and floods last month in six western regions of Ukraine killed at least 32 people. Hundreds of towns and villages were flooded, 40,000 houses were damaged and thousands of residents were evacuated, officials said. The Ukrainian government called the flooding the worst the country has seen in years.
Aussie Jews Seek to Block Hezbollah TV
A Hezbollah-run TV satellite channel that promotes terrorism is being beamed into Australia via Indonesia. Jewish community leaders this week urged the government and the national broadcasting authority to block the transmission of Al-Manar, which twice has been stopped from broadcasting into Australia. The new broadcasts come from a satellite company that is partly owned by the Indonesian government. The station broadcasts vehemently anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and anti-American vitriol, as well as messages from suicide bombers. John Searle, the chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, said in a statement that he was distressed at the anti-Semitic content that is being broadcast in Australia. “Al-Manar is renowned for inciting violence and hatred,” he said. “It broadcasts disgraceful anti-Semitic propaganda, including the infamous blood libel allegations, and it seeks to legitimize terrorism.” But the Australian Arabic Council said Al-Manar should not be restricted and that Hezbollah, while anti-Zionist, was not anti-Semitic. Donald Robertson, a spokesman for the Australian Communications and Media Authority, said ACMA has “strong concerns about the broadcast of Al-Manar programs in Australia.”
New Zealand to Honor Jewish Community
The government of New Zealand will honor the contributions of the country’s Jewish community. Chris Carter, the minister for ethnic affairs, is inviting about 500 guests to mark Rosh Hashanah Sept. 9 at the Parliament. David Zwartz, the retired honorary Israeli consul in Wellington, said the evening will include the blowing of the shofar, and the traditional eating of apples and honey. The government has held similar celebrations for the Chinese New Year, Indian New Year and Maori New Year, he said. Relations between Prime Minister Helen Clark’s Labor Party and the small Jewish community of about 7,000 were marred by Clark’s decision to suspend high-level diplomatic relations with Jerusalem in 2004 after two Israelis, suspected of being Mossad agents, were caught and jailed for trying to illegally obtain Kiwi passports. Israel apologized the following year and diplomatic relations resumed. Opposition leader John Key, who has been leading in the polls for the past 18 months, could become the nation’s third Jewish prime minister by Nov. 15.
This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.