As world remembers Shoah, Europe urges action against anti-Semitism
As the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday (27th), a top European official said more action had to be taken to effectively combat anti-Semitism.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Ferderica Hogherini has pledged to intensify the fight against anti-Semitism, terrorism and Xenophobia, and to defend Jewish life in Europe.
“The Holocaust and World War II have defined Europe’s modern history like no other event. Our European Union was founded on the desire to say ‘never again,’” Mogherini said in a statement.
“But still, 70 years later, anti-Semitism, discrimination and hate speech are again on the rise in Europe,” she said, noting that “the best antidote against this madness is knowledge. It is essential that our children learn about the Shoah and visit Auschwitz and other concentration camps, to understand what happened and never let it happen again.”
(israelhayom; reuters.com)
Remembering the Holocaust amid signs of rising hatred
Elderly survivors were gathered Saturday (27th) at the former Auschwitz death camp and political leaders warned that the Nazi genocide must continue to serve as a warning as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In Warsaw, Poland, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson paid his respects in a solemn ceremony at a memorial to the Jews who died revolting against German forces in the doomed Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943.
The head of Warsaw’s Jewish community read a prayer and Tillerson spoke briefly about the importance of not forgetting the horrors of the Holocaust.
His words came amid signs in Europe and beyond that ultra-nationalism and extreme right-wing groups are on the rise.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, (27th), U.S. President Donald Trump issued a special statement saying, “We take this opportunity to recall the Nazis’ systematic persecution and brutal murder of six million Jewish people.”
“On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we acknowledge this dark stain on human history and vow to never let it happen again,” the president added.
(ynetnews.com)
President Rivlin: “Israel not compensation for Holocaust” – Greer Fay Cashman
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin spoke on Thursday (25th) at the annual International Holocaust Day event for the diplomatic corps at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Rivlin noted that his own family came to the Land of Israel well over a century before the Holocaust and that other Jewish families were already living there.
“The State of Israel is not a colonial project, and not compensation for the Holocaust. The State of Israel came into being from the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in its own homeland,” said Rivlin.
(jpost.com)
PM Netanyahu slams Polish law: ‘History cannot be changed’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening (27th) responded to Poland’s bill to outlaw mention of Poland’s role in the Holocaust.
According to the bill, those who mention “Polish death camps” or blame Poland for murdering Jews would face up to three years in prison.
“The law is baseless, I strongly oppose it,” Netanyahu said. “One cannot change history and the Holocaust cannot be denied.”
“I have instructed the Israeli Ambassador to Poland to meet with the Polish Prime Minister and express to him my strong position against the law,” he added.
(israelnn.com)
Muslim World League Chief: Holocaust atrocities shook humanity to its core
Secretary-General of the Muslim World League Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa labeled the Holocaust a Nazi crime that shook humanity in depth and resulted in atrocities that no fair, loving and just person can deny.
In a letter on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Al-Issa expressed “great sympathy with the victims of the Holocaust, an incident that shook humanity to the core, and created an event whose horrors could not be denied or underrated by any fair-minded or peace-loving person.”
“Islam protects the innocent, and holds accountable anyone who attacks or kills a single innocent soul,” he added.
(imra.org.il)
Army foils attempt by 2 Palestinians in IDF uniforms to infiltrate Jewish settlement
A Palestinian, dressed as an IDF soldier was arrested Sunday evening (28th) outside the Jewish settlement of Itamar, and searches are being carried out for another suspect also in an IDF uniform who got away.
IDF troops are interrogating the suspect who was caught to determine whether the pair had been attempting to carry out a terror attack, Hadashot news reported.
(timesofisrael.com)
PA officials claim Palestinian borders include all of Israel
The Palestinian Authority continues to bestow plaques upon various honorees that depict Palestinian territory as comprising all of Israel, a phenomenon recently documented by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).
Among the recent examples of this practice are the PA National Security Forces and PA Ministry of Education distributing honorary plaques with a PA map that eliminates the existence of the Jewish State. District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila Ghannam received a plaque like this in mid-January depicting the PA’s Israel-free version of Palestinian borders.
This practice is consistent with statements by PA officials describing “Palestinian land” as covering the area “between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.”
(pmw.org; worldisrealnews.com)
IDF spokesman in rare Lebanon op-ed: ‘Lebanon has become large Iranian missile factory’
IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis published a rare op-ed by an Israeli official on a Lebanese opposition website, in which he said,” Lebanon has become – both by its own actions and omissions – and by a blind eye from many members of the international community, one large missile factory.”
It’s no longer just a place of transfer of arms, funds or consultation, Iran has de-facto opened a new branch, the Lebanon branch. ‘Iran is here,’” he said.
He also said that “Billions of dollars are flowing from Tehran through Beirut to anywhere in the Middle East where there is evil and terrorism.”
(ynetnews.com; afp.com)
Assad: ‘Attack again, and I’ll launch a missile at Ben Gurion Airport’
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday (28th) sent a threat to Israel through Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that if Israel attacks targets in the country again, Syria would respond by firing Scud missiles at Ben-Gurion Airport. “Syrian honor is above all else,” Assad told Putin, who replied that he would convey the message to Israel.
(israelnn.com)
Kinneret rose nearly 6 inches
Because of the rains the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) water level rose almost 6 inches since Thursday (25th).
According to Israel’s Water Authority, the current water level is over 3 feet below the lower red line, making it the lowest measurement in 100 years.
(water.gov.il)
