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Violent attack on U.S. Capitol unconscionable, says WJC president

Ambassador Lauder: “Now is the time for all Americans of good will, regardless of our political or ideological views, to rally behind President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris and ensure that our government will successfully defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and tackle the many challenges confronting our nation and the world.” Read More... 

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder condemns U.S. Rep Mary Miller’s praise of Hitler

“It is simply outrageous and obscene for anyone to hold out Hitler, who perpetrated the greatest genocide in history, as a role model for any reason," said President Lauder. "One might expect this from white supremacists or neo-Nazis, but hearing the words “Hitler was right” from the mouth of a member of the United States Congress is beyond acceptable behavior by any standards.” Read More... 

World Jewish Congress mourns the passing of Emil Kalo, ז"ל

“A prolific writer who was also involved in Bulgarian politics, Emil’s life symbolized the deep love that Bulgarian Jews feel for their native land—but also the reintegration of Bulgarian Jewry in the Jewish world from which it had been cut off for two generations,” said WJC President Ronald S. Lauder. Read More... 

WebTalk | Israel in 2020: Economy, innovation & the impact of COVID-19

As Israel heads into its third nationwide lockdown, Professor Eugene Kandel summarized how Israel’s GDP and unemployment level has fared during the pandemic, noting that the country’s tourism, hospitality and entertainment industries were hit particularly hard. Read More... 

OpEd: Holocaust denial is dangerous to our society

"While the flat-earthers are, on the whole, benign kooks, Holocaust deniers are dangerous, generally combining their efforts to defend and whitewash Adolf Hitler, Nazism and the Third Reich with an obsessive, more often than not, virulent antisemitism," writes WJC Associate Executive Vice President Menachem Z. Rosensaft in the Icelandic newspaper Dagblaðið Vísir. Read More... 

December 2020: Antisemitism in review 

Among the dozens of concerning incidents and reports, was one involving four passengers on a train in Belgium who took control of the public address system, saying “the cancer Jews need to leave the train now or we’ll blow you all up,” and vandals defacing a gate of a synagogue in Bulgaria. Read More... 

Israeli soccer star Nir Bitton subjected to antisemitic abuse | The Jewish Chronicle 

A number of fans took to social media to blame Bitton for the Celtic Football Club's defeat, hurling insults that included “dirty Jew bastard” and “Zionist rat.” The fans also targeted Bitton’s wife on Instagram threatening the lives of the couple's children. Read More... 

Despite successful COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Israel heads for a national lockdown | Times of Israel 

Under the rules of the lockdown, schools and nonessential businesses will be closed, and residents are forced to stay within a one-kilometer radius of their homes. Read More... 

Senior diplomat appointed to head Israeli mission to UAE | Jpost

Eitan Na’eh, who previously served as an ambassador to Turkey, will be the first Israeli diplomat officially stationed in the UAE as Israel sets up its mission in Abu Dhabi. He is expected to arrive in the coming days, according to reports. Read More... 

Israeli and Greek governments set to sign $1.68 billion defense deal | Jpost 

The agreement, which includes the procurement of 10 M-346 (Lavi) aircraft and the establishment of a flight school, is said to be the largest defense procurement agreement between the two countries to date. Read More... 

OpEd: Israeli journalists studying Arabic aspire to make media a shared space  

“The mere willingness to expand one’s Arabic vocabulary beyond that which appears in Hebrew slang, or beyond formalities of “hello,” “goodbye,” and “thank you,” bespeaks a willingness to encounter the unique experiences of Arab citizens, a key step towards real cultural competency,” writes Adam Fogelman Chanes in The Times of Israel. Read More... 

The Holocaust stole my youth. COVID-19 is stealing my last years.

Reflecting on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic, Holocaust survivor Toby Leby writes, “The way we have lived this year means I have lost many opportunities to lecture, to tell more people my story, to let them see me and know the Holocaust happened to a real person, who stands in front of them today.” Read More... 

The new Sobibór memorial museum

At least 170,000 people— nearly all Jews— were murdered in the Sobibór extermination camp; the vast majority were gassed upon arrival. Earlier this week, there was an inauguration ceremony for a newly constructed museum commemorating the victims at Sobibór. Watch Now... 

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance: A world that remembers the Holocaust

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) is an international body composed of 34 member countries dedicated to uniting governments and experts to advance, and promote Holocaust remembrance, and research worldwide. Read More... 

Iran says it’s installing 1,000 more centrifuges | The Times of Israel

The announced increased in centrifuges, came just days after Iran declared that it planned to up its level of enrichment of uranium up to 20% at its underground Fordow nuclear facility. Read More... 

Ten suspects to face trial in deadly 2016 Brussels bombings case | France 24

The ten defendants, who have been linked to an Islamic State cell that carried out the November 2015 attacks in Paris, will be tried in front of a jury in the second half of 2022. In preparation for the trial, the former NATO headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels has been refurbished to become a high-security courthouse. Read More... 

Shuls can stay open in lockdown England, but not in Scotland | The Jewish Chronicle 

President of the Board of Deputies Marie van der Zyl said, “We are grateful to the government for allowing communal worship and key life-cycle ceremonies to continue but urge people to be meticulous in following the guidelines over numbers and social distancing.” Read More... 

Saudi Arabia agrees to open borders with Qatar in sign of easing rift | The Hill

The announcement of the open borders comes following a meeting in Qatar between the Qatari and Kuwaiti foreign ministers. The easing of tensions is likely an effort to unify Gulf countries against the Iranian regime. Read More... 

2-8 January 1942 | Kharkiv (Kharkov) ghetto liquidated 

The German Nazis seized the city, the second largest in Ukraine, on October 23, 1941. The occupation came less than a month after more than 30,000 Jews were murdered in the Babi Yar ravine near Kyiv, one of the largest massacres in the Holocaust. Read More...