World Roundup – Probation for woman stealing from Jewish cemetery
From shouts of censorship to fraudulent Jewish cemeteries, we round up everything Jewish and controversial for your reading pleasure – dated 4 November.
Canada
Controversy has shrouded Montreal’s Limmud-inspired festival of learning after a panel moderator was disinvited after concerns were raised about her views on Israel. Sarah Woolf, who has questioned the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state, blasted the decision as “cut-and-dry censorship”.
Germany
Speaking ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germans to “show civil courage and ensure no form of anti-Semitism is tolerated”. She described Kristallnacht as “one of the darkest moments in German history”.
United States
A woman who pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Jewish cemetery has been sentenced to five years’ probation. Ilana Friedman ran the Staten Island cemetery with her husband, diverting almost $1 million including $540,000 in one year’s salary.
South Africa
The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) has slammed the supporters of a campaign to free Palestinian prisoners. Desmond Tutu was among those attending a launch event at Robben Island, where anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was inprisoned for 18 years.
France
The head of France’s Jewish community has said he fears the country’s far-right National Front party may win the next presidential elections in 2017. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front party, won nearly a fifth of votes in 2012 and has since been gain respectability.
Argentina
A rabbi has been elected to Argentina’s Congress after beating a candidate from President Kirchner’s party. Rabbi Sergio Bergman, 51, who wears a large multi-coloured kippah, founded a network that includes shuls, educational institutions, charities, a gay alliance and rural farms.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
