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Israel says Palestinian boy wasn’t killed by IDF
Today
Israel is demanding that a French television station correct a nearly 13-year-old report which helped fuel international anger against the Jewish state during the bloody second intifada.
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Oxfam appeals for urgent Syria refugee funding
Today
Oxfam is appealing for more funds to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan , saying warmer weather will increase health risks due to lack of shelter, water and basic sanitation.
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AP news agency irate over record seizures by state
Today
The president and CEO of the Associated Press has said that the US government's seizure last year of two months of AP journalists' phone records was "unconstitutional", and that the move already has had a damaging effect on press freedom.
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Israel is worlds largest exporter of drones
Today
A new study has found that Israel is the world’s largest exporter of unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones .
NYT interview: Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid says Jerusalem should not be the capital of any future Palestinian state in an interview with The New York Times
Bank heist: a man in Beersheba shoots four people dead in a bank robbery before turning the gun on himself and ending his life
Drone report: a new study shows that Israel is the worlds largest exporter of drones mainly to Europe, Asia and Latin America in trade worth more than USD 4.6 billion over the past 8 years
Freedoms assessment: US State Department reports that the Israeli governments respect for freedom of religion has remained consistent through 2012 but that it has engaged in ‘detailed discussions’ with Israeli officials over rights concerns that have persisted for multiple years
Bank heist: a man in Beersheba shoots four people dead in a bank robbery before turning the gun on himself and ending his life
Drone report: a new study shows that Israel is the worlds largest exporter of drones mainly to Europe, Asia and Latin America in trade worth more than USD 4.6 billion over the past 8 years
Freedoms assessment: US State Department reports that the Israeli governments respect for freedom of religion has remained consistent through 2012 but that it has engaged in ‘detailed discussions’ with Israeli officials over rights concerns that have persisted for multiple years
Israel National Trail named in world top twenty
The Israel National Trail has been named one of the World's 20 Best Hikes by National Geographic magazine.
The scenic trail extends nearly 1,000 kilometers through the centre of Israel and it is joined on the list by trails such as the International Appalachian Trail in North America and the Great Himalaya Trail in Nepal.
National Geographic says the Israel National Trail is best for "long-distance hikers with a love of both ancient and contemporary history" and that it showcases “the sublime beauty of the wilderness of the Middle East."
This latest honour will further reinforce positive sentiment towards the Israeli tourism industry, which despite on-going political tensions in the region is enjoying a record year with nearly 300,000 tourists arriving in Israel in July alone – an 8% increase on the previous year despite the economic crisis in Europe.
Three main types of visitors are driving the recent success of Israel’s tourism industry. Firstly Jewish and Christian faith-based visitor numbers have risen steadily. Young American Jews taking part in organized trips such as Birthright are increasingly recommending Israel to their older relatives while European Christians feel safer visiting Israel due to the sharp decrease in suicide bombings in recent years.
Secondly Gay tourism has been actively promoted by the Israeli authorities with Tel Aviv recently being crowned the world’s "Best Gay City" with its glamorous nightclubs and scenic beaches.
Thirdly, visitors numbers have sharply increased from former Soviet states with strong historical Jewish communities such as Russia and Ukraine due to a liberalized visa regime and advertising campaigns such as the dozens of billboards currently lining streets in the centre of the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
The holy city of Jerusalem is a top draw, attracting 80 percent of all those who visit Israel despite the severe shortage of affordable hotel rooms in the capital. However Israel’s Tourism Ministry is taking action with more than USD 200 million of investment recently being announced to add more than 1,000 hotel rooms.
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Hundreds demonstrate against Malmo anti-Semitism
Several hundred Jews and people of other faiths and none have marched in the southern Swedish city of Malmo to bring attention to intolerance and anti-Semitic attacks in the Nordic country . The city has a large immigrant Muslim community and attacks on Jews have spiked in recent years.
Niklar Orrenius, local journalist:
"Malmo is an immigrant city which is a safe haven for refugees from all over the world, but the first refugee group that came here was Jews fleeing persecution from Russia, Poland and the Holocaust. But now what's happening now the last year is you see that Jews are moving out of Malmo because some of them don't feel safe."
In recent years Sweden's government has come under criticism for failing to provide adequate protection to the country's small Jewish community and address the issue of anti-Semitism even after an explosion rocked a building in a Jewish community in Malmo last year .
Niklar Orrenius, local journalist:
"For many years the authorities, especially here in the city of Malmo, it seemed like they turned a blind eye to this persecution really, or this harassment of Jews in the city, but last year they have, the government in Sweden have granted money to, for security, for Jewish security, so they have changed the windows in the synagogue to more safe windows and things like that, but obviously that's not the real solution to the problem of anti-Semitism, it's more like...a bandaid, really."
In 2010 a group of Jews were attacked during a peaceful demonstration in support of Israel and in August several hundred Jews and non-Jews marched in Stockholm in solidarity with Malmo's persecuted Jewish community. Malmo’s mayor, Ilmar Reepalu, said that a group of Jews who were attacked during the peaceful demonstration had brought the violence upon themselves for not distancing themselves from Israel and its actions during the month-long Gaza War in 2008-09 . One demonstrator spoke of how he was harassed while working as teacher.
Henryk Grynfeld, former teacher:
“At the time I was working as a teacher at a school in Rosengard, where the majority of my students are from the Middle East and there I was the target of harassment from the students which was only because I was Jewish.”
A local Jewish community leader attempted to put the problem into perspective for the country’s 20,000 Jews.
Willy Silberstein, Swedish Committee Against Anti-Semitism:
"I think that it is a small minority that harasses Jews in Malmo, the big majority is here with us, but still the enemies are strong enough to be a big problem, that's why I'm here."
Anti-Semitism in Malmo first drew international attention in 2009, when riots broke out due to the presence of Israeli professional tennis players in the city.
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Jews and Money
With the title Jews and Money the Frankfurt Jewish Museum uses the old castle of the Rothschild banking family to stage an exhibition about the stereotype of the rich Jew . We see how stereotypes and clichés about the millionaire Jew developed from the middle ages to today.
- Why this exhibition? What is the purpose of this exhibition?
Michael Lenarz, Frankfurt Jewish Museum:
“The exhibition is to show what are the reasons of the idea that Jews and money are closely connected , which is only imaginary and what is real behind that idea, and the fact is that public opinion concentrates on the few examples of very, very wealthy Jews who as well have political influence.”
Since a large percentage of the wealthiest people in the world are Jewish, a common question the world over is, ‘Why are so many Jews so wealthy?’ Their secret lies not in their genetics or intelligence, as some have believed, but in their religion. One historical reason is that, in the Middle Ages in Europe, the Christian Church forbade the charging of interest by money lenders so people had to borrow money from Jews instead of Christians.
- So here we see the cliché of the rich Jew in the middle ages, what do people think today, what is the cliché of the rich Jewish now?
Michael Lenarz, Frankfurt Jewish Museum:
“Well, the cliché is active today as well and you always have the fact that wealthy people always are regarded as Jews even if they aren’t.”
Now days if you are a millionaire chances are you are a Jew that is what people think.
Michael Lenarz, Frankfurt Jewish Museum:
“That’s it, that’s it, in fact there always are, if you look in the Internet, there you will find pages trying to make Rockefeller of Jewish origin.”
With the help of some surprising objects and images of the Rothschild banking family , the exhibition here at the Frankfurt Jewish Museum shows how stereotypes and clichés shape the picture that we have of ourselves and of ‘others.’ They are simplifications which help us to overcome our fear of the unknown.
Michael Lenarz, Frankfurt Jewish Museum:
“We have here some questions sent to us by the Chinese TV in 2011.”
- Two thousand and eleven?
Michael Lenarz, Frankfurt Jewish Museum:
“And you find in these questions all the stereotypes, which shows stereotypes developed in European middle ages are spread worldwide through literature, though the newspapers.”
- Stereotype which is shown here by the question from the Chinese television, the Jews are millionaires.
Michael Lenarz, Frankfurt Jewish Museum:
“The Jews are millionaires and the question is why are Jews millionaires and why are Jews objects of aggression perhaps because they are millionaires .”
It’s impossible to imagine modern culture without stereotypes and clichés, which help us overcome our fear of the unknown, but at the same time, can also provide us with a breeding ground for racism and anti-Semitism.
Wilson Ruiz, JN1 , Germany
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Epic wedding ceremony in Belgrade, Serbia
Two-hundred-and-twenty-two Serbian couples have tied the knot in a massive wedding in Belgrade. The couples met at the town hall for the ceremony where white dresses were provided to the brides for free. This annual event which is organized by the city council has reached its fifteenth year with a record number of participants. The many newlyweds concluded the ceremony with visits to local bars and restaurants where they continued to celebrate with their families and friends.