World news roundup: Rabbi asked if he wants ‘a Jew salad’ or full-size

From illegal tents to ‘Jew salads’ we’ve got it all worked out so you don’t have to, in our weekly Jewish news roundup (29 Sept).

Nepal

The Chabad emissary to Nepal spent the beginning of Rosh Hashanah in a Kathmandu jail due to an admin error on his visa. Urgent appeals from the group saw Rabbi Chezki Liftshitz freed on the second day of the holiday. He returned to Chabad House in Kathmandu, where dozens of Jewish tourists spent the New Year.

Ukraine

An illegal tent city comprising 2,500 Jewish pilgrims in the central Ukrainian city of Uman has brought a $15,000 fine. Up to 25,000 Breslov Jews made the annual journey to the grave site of the group’s founder, Rabbi Nachman. The payment is part of a compromise agreement reached last week with city officials.

Egypt

An Egyptian blogger who called for ‘an end to Israel’ has been nominated for a prize awarded to those who ‘combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression’. Over 50 European parliament members put political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah forward for the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Netherlands

Six Dutch schools have pulled out of a charity drive after local councillors said the money would go to ‘groups with anti-Israel causes’. Likoed Nederland, a pro-Israel group, said one recipient, the Holy Land Trust, supported Hamas, while another, Defense for Children International, supported a boycott of Israel.

Russia

EU and US sanctions against Russia for its military involvement in Ukraine has led to increase cooperation with Israel in the field of agriculture. Russia said it would buy Israel produce after the EU banned entry of all dairy, meat, poultry and egg products from the West Bank, the Golan Heights and Jerusalem.

United States

A Mississippi rabbi has recalled how a restaurant owner asked him whether he wanted his salad ‘full-size or Jewish size’. Rabbi Ted Riter of Beth Israel Congregation said he was ‘in shock’ after the man clarified that this meant ‘small because Jews are cheap’. Riter said: ‘It was surreal, so I left.’