World news roundup 16/10/2014: Syrian Jews smuggled out to Israel
World Roundup 16/10/14
Country: France
The City Council of Lille has frozen a twinning agreement with the northern Israeli city of Safed ‘in order to pressure the government and accelerate the resolution of the conflict’. French Jewish community leader Roger Cukierman said: ‘This decision corresponds with hateful attitudes to the Israeli people.’
Country: Italy
Film clips from 1923 showing Italian Jews, made public for the first time this month, have been recognised as among the country’s oldest home movies. The nine minutes of film were shot in 35 mm by industrialist Salvatore Di Segni. They show a wedding and family outings to the beach and mountains.
Country: Syria
Reports have emerged that one of the few surviving families of Syrian Jews were smuggled out of the country to Israel several months ago, arriving ‘with nothing’. The Jewish community in Syria is one of the most ancient in the Diaspora and was once concentrated mainly in Aleppo and Damascus.
Country: United States
New documents show Bill Clinton’s administration used an old Jewish law to excuse his sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. In an email, a senior aide argues that it did not meet the Talmudic definition of adultery, that being between a married man and a married woman, because Lewinsky was single.
Country: Switzerland
The Berne Art Museum, which was named as the sole heir of reclusive German art collector Cornelius Gurlitt, is to accept his bequest of masterpieces, many of which were looted from Jewish families. Gurlitt, who died in May aged 81, stashed hundreds of works by the likes of Chagall and Picasso in his Munich flat.
Country: South Africa
A group of South African Jews is suing a Jewish commentator from Johannesburg for posting an image portraying Archbishop Desmond Tutu as Adolf Hitler. Members of Jewish Voices for a Just Peace turned on Leon Reich after the 10 September cartoon, saying: ‘This is hateful and does not speak for the Jewish people.’
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.
