Leaders gather to commemorate Auschwitz 70th anniversary of liberation
(JNS.org) More than 300 Holocaust survivors along with world leaders are gathering at the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on Tuesday to commemorate the 1.1 million killed there, as well as the millions of other victims killed during the period, as part of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Leaders are expected to attend from Poland, France, Germany and several other European countries, while the U.S. is sending Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who is Jewish, the Associated Press reported.
In a statement, the White House said that the anniversary is an “opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made confronting this terrible chapter in human history and on our continuing efforts to end genocide. The recent terrorist attacks in Paris serve as a painful reminder of our obligation to condemn and combat rising anti-Semitism in all its forms.”
At a reception in Krakow with 100 Auschwitz survivors on the eve of the gathering on Monday, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder said that European governments must adopt a “zero tolerance” policy towards jihadists and those preaching hate in Europe.
At the event in Krakow, American-Jewish film director Steven Spielberg called to preserve “places like Auschwitz so people can see for themselves how evil ideologies can become tangible acts of murder.”
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Former Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz retires from politics
(JNS.org) Kadima party leader and former Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has announced on Tuesday he is retiring from politics and will not run in the elections to the 20th Knesset in March.
“Public service for me is a way of life and a great privilege. In the future, in any role I’ll have and in any path I’ll take, I’ll walk for Israel,” Mofaz said in a Tuesday statement according to Yedioth Achronoth.
“I’ll be frank, I’m not an outstanding politician. Politics is not something I aspire to excel in. Israel’s glorious legacy has been blessed with worthy military leaders, and I prefer to be one of them,” Mofaz said.
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At UN, Israeli president calls for action against anti-Semitism
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The blizzard in the northeastern U.S. did not pass over President Reuven Rivlin, whose scheduled speech for International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the United Nations on Tuesday was postponed by one day due to the harsh weather.
With a forecast of more than three feet of snow in New York, Rivlin’s entourage attempted to stick to the original schedule as best as they could. Rivlin met with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday. The two spoke about International Holocaust Remembrance Day and anti-Semitism in Europe, as well diplomatic issues.
Ban’s office released a statement on the meeting saying the two also discussed how to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Rivlin called for the appointment of a permanent anti-Semitism envoy at the U.N. and for anti-Semitism awareness to be increased.
The Foreign Ministry is scheduled to hold thousands of events throughout the world for International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday. The main event will be at the U.N., with Rivlin, Ban and Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum Director Avner Shalev in attendance.
“Anti-Semitism affects all of humanity, and it is my hope you will continue to lead the U.N.’s fight against it,” Rivlin told Ban on Monday. “I want to thank the secretary-general for the invitation to be a part of this event, and for his unwavering commitment to the fight against anti-Semitism.”
The rest of Rivlin’s scheduled events for Tuesday were postponed to Wednesday because of the weather.
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Two rockets fired from Syria explode in Israel’s Golan Heights
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) At least two rockets were fired from Syria into Israel early Tuesday afternoon, setting off warning sirens in the northern part of the Golan Heights. Local residents reported hearing explosions.
Shortly before 1 p.m., sirens sounded in the northern Golan communities of Majdal Shams, Odem, El Rom, Buq’ata, Mas’ade, Neve Ativ, Nimrod and Ein Qiniyye.
The rockets exploded in open areas in the Golan Heights and no injuries or damage were reported.
The IDF returned fire at the source of the rocket fire in Syria.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, tweeted, “Following rockets striking the Golan Heights, IDF responded with artillery towards the positions that launched the attack.”
In the wake of the rocket attack, visitors were evacuated from the Mount Hermon ski site.
Tensions have been high recently on the borders with Syria and Lebanon since the reported Israeli airstrike on Jan. 18 in Syria’s Quneitra region in which a number of high-level Hezbollah operatives and Iranian military officials were killed.
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Jewish leaders express mixed feelings on new Greek government
(JNS.org) Jewish leaders expressed both hope and concern over the outcome of the Greek election on Sunday, in which the radical left-wing Syriza party won 149 parliament seats and 36.3 percent of the vote.
Syriza officials have called for the end of Israel’s “brutality against Palestinians,” and Panos Kammenos—the leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) party, with whom Syriza formed a majority coalition—garnered accusations of anti-Semitism last December for claiming that Greek Jews do not pay taxes. Golden Dawn, an extreme-right neo-Nazi party, placed third in results that polls suggested were driven largely by voters’ economic concerns.
The Greek Jewish community consists of about 5,000 people, according to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).
JDC’s Europe Director Diego Ornique told JNS.org that “It is far too early to make predictions about how the outcome of these elections will impact Greek Jews, who like their neighbors have had to suffer through a grueling financial crisis and the added scourge of Golden Dawn’s anti-Semitism and extremism. But we remain at their side, working together with the Jewish community’s leadership to ensure stability and opportunity for Greece’s Jews”
B’nai Brith International told JNS.org that the group is concerned by some “past statements about Israel made by [Syriza] party leaders,” but hopes “that the relationship with Israel, which had been building over the past decade in many fields, will be unaffected by the outcome.”
American Jewish Committee (AJC) Executive Director David Harris said his organization looks to the new government “to continue the measures implemented during the past years, and assure all minority communities, who are an integral part of Greece, that they will continue to be fully protected and respected, and that there will be no place for anti-Semitism in mainstream Greek society.”
Yet Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC’s director of international Jewish affairs, told JNS.org that there are “troubling signs” from the election, including the continued presence of the Golden Dawn party in the Greek Parliament and “the willingness—although some will argue necessity—of Syriza forming a government with the problematic Greek Independent Party.”
“No one doubts that it was the severe economic situation that propelled Syriza to victory, and it will now be measured by its success in dealing with it,” said Baker. “Those dire conditions and the political instability that flowed from them were certainly not beneficial, including to Greece’s small Jewish community.”
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John Boehner says he informed White House of Netanyahu invite in advance
(JNS.org) U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) says he informed the White House ahead of time of his plans to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to a joint session of Congress on Iran’s nuclear program.
“I gave them a heads-up that morning (Jan. 21),” Boehner said in an interview with the CBS program “60 Minutes.”
“But there’s nobody in the world who can talk about the threat of radical terrorism, nobody can talk about the threat that the Iranians pose, not just to the Middle East and to Israel, our longest ally but to the entire world, but Bibi Netanyahu,” Boehner added.
Boehner also denied that he invited Netanyahu as a political move against President Barack Obama. Netanyahu is a known critic of Obama’s policy of engagement with Iran.
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Israeli president addresses black Christian leaders in Brooklyn
(JNS.org) Israeli President Reuven Rivlin launched his first official visit to the United States on Sunday at Brooklyn’s Christian Cultural Center, a predominately black megachurch and the largest church in New York City.
Speaking to the some 2,500 black congregants, including Senior Pastor Reverand Dr. A.R. Bernard and Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rivlin invoked the famous civil rights leader.
“I also have a dream—I have a dream that once again God will knock on our door,” Rivlin said. “I dream that Jerusalem, which is a microcosm for the world, will serve as a model for coexistence between different communities and religions. We, the Jews and Muslims, are the children of Abraham; We are all the children of God.”
Rivlin also mentioned that Jews and blacks have a shared history of struggle, and warned against Holocaust denial.
“Those who say the Holocaust never happened, the day will come when some will say the transportation and enslavement of 10 million Africans to the Americas never happened,” Rivlin said.
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Survey: 84% of Palestinians think Israel may be behind Paris attacks
(JNS.org) A poll conducted by the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency found that 84.4 percent of Palestinians believe that Israel may have played a role in the recent Islamist terror attacks in Paris.
“The overwhelming majority believe that the murders of the French [citizens] in Paris were suspicious operations, and that Israel may be behind them,” said the survey, which interviewed 6,090 Palestinians.
Meanwhile, according to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), several columnists at the official Palestinian Authority newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida published a series of articles claiming that Israel was behind the attacks. The writers claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Mossad spy agency planned the attacks in order to “get revenge on European governments” because of their “support for an independent Palestinian state.”
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