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World Jewish Congress calls burning of Qur’an disgraceful, deplorable

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder: "We call on the Swedish authorities to take all appropriate measures to ensure justice and accountability and work to prevent all racist expressions and actions. We can only hope that this incident will serve to remind all of us that the struggle against hatred and intolerance must always be at the very top of our agenda.” Read More... 

UAE formally abolishes Israeli boycott law

The announcement came two days before a delegation from Jerusalem was set to arrive in Abu Dhabi on the first commercial flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates in the wake of the historic normalization agreement between the two countries on 13 August. The monumental agreement was praised by WJC President Ronald S. Lauder as a, “tremendous step forward for these states, the region, and the peace process.” Read More... 

Charlie Hebdo terror trial begins in Paris, five years after deadly attacks | CNN

If convicted, several of the defendants face sentences of up to 20 years. At least one faces a potential life sentence. Eleven of the suspects will appear in court -- 10 of them from behind bulletproof glass. Three others, who traveled to Syria in the days before the attacks began, will be tried in absentia. Read More... 

Neo-Nazis attempt to hijack COVID-19 protests in Berlin

"It is outrageous and disgraceful to see Nazi-era symbols in front of the Parliament building, Germany‘s centre of democracy and the symbol of our free democratic order. It is equally appalling that we have been witnessing blatant antisemitism and trivialization of the Holocaust at these protests that have become increasingly prevalent in Germany since the end of March 2020," writes WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps member Micky Fuhrmann. Read More... 

Making history, first commercial Israel-UAE flight lands in Abu Dhabi

The first-ever commercial flight took off on 31 August from Israel to the United Arab Emirates, coming shortly after Israel and the UAE made a historic announcement that the two countries are normalizing relations. Watch Now... 

We are proud to be Emirati Jews

President of the Jewish Council of the Emirates Ross Kriel writes, “[e]veryone here – in our community and among our Emirati friends – is speaking about the recent decree that abolishes the Israeli boycott and opens up such great possibilities for prosperity and peace. Without doubt, there can be no more exciting place to be at this moment than right here in the UAE.” Read More... 

Coronavirus protests continue to fuel antisemitism in Germany

Hundreds of demonstrators, including protestors with signs and flags associated with far-right politics, broke through a blockade in an attempt to storm the Reichstag building. President of the Central Council of Jews Dr. Josef Schuster called for protesters to examine closely with whom they are associating themselves, adding that the coronavirus is serving as a, “catalyst for conspiracy myths and also for antisemitism." Watch Now... 

Australian student group calls Zionism “inherently antisemitic”  

New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies President Lesli Berger condemned the incident, saying that the irony of accusing Zionism of being antisemitic and Israel of engaging in ethnic cleansing, “is clearly lost on the students themselves,” and added, “[t]hese posts are patently false and profoundly offensive, and we call on the University of Technology authorities to enforce their own Code of Conduct...” Read More... 

Rome to be honored as ‘lead city’ for annual European Day of Jewish Culture

Commenting on the upcoming event, Union of Italian Jewish Communities President Noemi Di Segni said, “we hope [the day] will represent a moment of joy and a light of hope for the whole country, at this difficult time.” Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities and for Tourism Dario Franceschini said he was looking forward to the day, adding that it would be an “important moment to reflect on the meaning of a common history and to remember how intertwined our paths are.” Read More... 

Hungarian city celebrates renovation of synagogue

The cost of the project, approximately €4 million, was covered by the Hungarian government as part of the “Hungarian Jewish Heritage Route in Eastern Hungary” campaign, which aims to upgrade infrastructure and facilitate visits to Jewish heritage sites in Makó and four other towns and villages. Read More... 

5 September 1972 | Israeli athletes murdered at Munich Olympics

Occurring less than three decades after the end of the Second World War, the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich were meant to present a fresh image of Germany to the world and therefore organizers billed the games as “the Smiling Games” or “the Games of Peace and Joy.” However, these games would fall far short of that goal and come to be known for tragedy and terror. Read More... 

1 September 1939 | Nazi Germany invades Poland, sparking Second World War

Following the invasion, German authorities subjected the population to a campaign of repression. Jews were targeted for a special measure of persecution and were eventually driven into overcrowded and squalid ghettos in which many perished of disease and malnutrition. Deportations began to death camps in 1941 -- three million Polish Jews perished during the Holocaust. Read More... 

The life of persecuted Soviet Jewish writer David Bergelson

David Bergelson was considered one of the pioneers of impressionism in Yiddish, but was executed by the Soviets in August 1952, on the Night of the Murdered Poets. Watch Now... 

The new core exhibition of the Jewish Museum Berlin

After closing temporarily, Europe’s largest Jewish museum reopened with a new core exhibition allowing visitors to examine Jewish life in Germany through the ages. Watch Now...