As European nations celebrate their past, a US Holocaust envoy reminds them of its darker corners

WASHINGTON (JTA) — At a time when some European nations are seeking to revise their Holocaust histories to emphasize victimhood, a senior Biden administration official says the United States should keep reminding them of the dark corners of their past.  Ellen Germain, the State Department’s special envoy on Holocaust issues, said she has spent a […]

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Israel’s chief Ashkenazi rabbi visits Taiwan in milestone moment for the country’s Jewish community

TAIPEI (JTA) — In what is likely a first, an Israeli chief rabbi visited Taiwan last week, marking a milestone both for the island nation and the Jewish community there. Last week, ​​the Jeffrey D. Schwartz Jewish Community Center in Taipei welcomed Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau on a three-day visit which included a […]

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Prominent Peruvian-Jewish journalist hit with antisemitic harassment after investigating protester deaths

LIMA, Peru (JTA) — Right-wing extremist protesters have targeted Gustavo Gorriti, a prominent Peruvian-Jewish journalist, harassing him with antisemitic chants and posters outside of his home over his website’s investigations into police violence stemming from the country’s ongoing unrest. Jewish and non-Jewish organizations have defended Gorriti since around 30 people protested in front of his […]

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After outcry, Bulgaria bars neo-Nazis from marching in tribute to Nazi collaborationist leader

(JTA) — At the last minute, Nazi sympathizers from around Europe were blocked from marching in the streets of Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, on Saturday, to honor Hristo Lukov, the World War II-era leader of a Nazi collaborationist group. The Lukov March had been held by the far-right Bulgarian National Union-New Democracy Party almost every year […]

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Among Ukraine’s Jews, a year of war has transformed the ordinary into the sacred

TRUSKAVETS, Ukraine (JTA) — Nearly 600 Jews stand shoulder-to-shoulder, eyes trained on the young man leading the service to close out Shabbat. The crowd sings a soulful havdalah tune that lifts up its final words: “hamavdil ben kodesh l’chol” — “the One who divides between sacred and ordinary.” It looks like a Shabbat gathering anywhere […]

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