World round-up: reaching out to Israelis in Sin City
Rediscovering mikvahs, composing music for a Haggadah – it’s at times like this that the world of Jewish news seems so beautiful and pure. But, let’s face it, it wouldn’t be Jewish news if it didn’t have at least a sprinkling of scandal and a pinch of sin. Here, in all its glory, is the world as we know it today.
Bosnia
A young concert accordionist has composed a piece of music that celebrated the 600-year journey of a Haggadah from Spain to his home city of Sarajevo. Merima Kljuco became fascinated with the odyssey after reading a book by award-winning journalist Geraldine Brooks, who covered the Bosnian War.
The Netherlands
A Dutch Jewish community has rediscovered two ancient mikvahs that had been forgotten after the Holocaust. Large parts of the 19th-century ritual baths were unearthed last week in the city of Groningen. Community leaders said the seven-foot deep baths were slightly damaged but ‘remarkably well-preserved’.
Italy
An embezzlement scandal has shaken the Jewish community of Milan after an audit showed that millions of dollars had been removed from the community’s bank accounts over several years. Milan Jewish community president Walter Meghnagi said the thief had used ‘subtle and deceptive ways’ to bypass controls.
Australia
A team from the University of Sydney has recommended circumcising infant males to avoid diseases in a new study that compares the practice to vaccination. The researchers, led by Prof. Brian Morris, showed that half of uncircumcised males will contract an adverse medical condition caused by their foreskin.
Russia
Moscow’s 100,000 Jews can now partake of their midnight revelry in the city’s first kosher nightclub. Owners of the Shachar Club, which only offers kosher food and drink, say they want to offer Muscovites ‘a slice of the Tel Aviv nightlife and thus allow Moscow Jews to immerse themselves in that scene’.
United States
The Israeli-American Council has opened an office in Las Vegas so it can better connect to Israeli expats, 10,000 of whom live in Nevada, in or around Sin City. The Israeli-born wife of billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson will chair the office, which will work to increase local support for the Jewish state.
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