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.