World news-roundup: French Jewish lawmakers wear kippa in parliament

Country:  France

Two French Jewish lawmakers wore their kippah (skullcap) in parliament last week, in a show of solidarity. It comes after the leader of the Marseille community urged members not to wear kippot for fear of attack. Since October, there have been three non-fatal stabbing attacks on Jews in Marseille.

Country: United States

British actor Jonathan Pryce stars as an Orthodox Jewish baker in the film ‘Dough’ in a Jewish film festival in Palm Springs this week. Pryce plays Nat Dayyan, who runs a failing East End bakery, until his Muslim assistant accidentally drops a bag of marijuana in the mix, which revives his fortunes.

Country: Australia

A Holocaust survivor was among the winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award in Sydney this weekend. Aharon Appelfeld, known for writing about genocide, won the Association of Jewish Libraries’ award for his first Jewish children’s book ‘Adam and Thomas,’ about two boys who survive the Holocaust.

Country: Switzerland 

Swiss diplomats were facing off against hundreds of angry rabbis outside the country’s embassy in New York following places to exhume a medieval Jewish cemetery in Zurich, to allow the expansion of a museum. Jewish authorities around the world have urged their Swiss counterparts to pull the plans.   

Country: Gambia

The Israeli ambassador to Gambia has been ‘warmly received’ by the president only a month after the country declared itself to be an Islamic state. Envoy Paul Hirschson, a former foreign ministry press officer who was born in South Africa, said: ‘They’re pro-Palestinian, but not shy to say I was here.’

Country: Malaysia

World Sailing bosses have expressed ‘deep regret’ that two Israeli sailors were refused visas to compete at last month’s world championships in Malaysia. The international sailing body called for ‘no discrimination’ after Under-19 sailors Yoav Omer and Noy Drihan were unable to defend their titles.