World news-roundup: Two Iranian Jews arrested for writing ‘death to Haman’
Country: Iran
Two Jewish 17-year olds have been arrested in Tehran for writing ‘death to Haman’ in Hebrew on a wall in the Iranian capital. Haman, the villain of the Purim story, plotted to murder Jews in ancient Persia. Police looked set to release them after being told it was a holiday prank and not malicious.
Country: Greece
The mayor of Athens has signed a declaration against anti-Semitism, saying: ‘The first value in civilised society is human dignity.’ The Greek capital has seen several anti-Semitic incidents in the last year, including vandalism at the city’s main Jewish cemetery and on Holocaust memorials.
Country: Canada
A Jewish Canadian playwright has won a $150,000 prize – but almost lost out because the notification email went into her spam folder. New mother Hannah Moscovitch, 37, was awarded the 2016 Windham Campbell Prize by Yale University. In its four year history, three of the winners have been Jewish.
Country: France
Six Jewish vigilantes from the Jewish Defence League have been jailed in Paris for a ‘savage gang attack’ on Gaza fundraisers in 2009. The mob used iron bars, baseball bats and bike chains and chanted ‘Death to Arabs’ and ‘Long live Israel.’ A judge heard how they targeted ‘anybody who looked Muslim’.
Country: Argentina
New Argentinian president Mauricio Macri has told Jewish leaders that he will seek justice for victims of the 1994 terrorist attack on a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires which killed 84 people, and for Alberto Nisman, a prosecutor who felt there was a cover-up. He later died in mysterious circumstances.
Country: Germany
Refugees must join the fight against anti-Semitism if they want to live in Europe, Germany’s foreign minister has said. Speaking in Berlin, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: ‘This applies to whoever lives with us, whether they have been here for years, [or] whether they are staying or just temporarily.’
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