World news-roundup: Guatemalan mayor indicted for expelling Jewish sect

Country: Guatemala

The mayor of a small Guatemalan town has been indicted for expelling a Jewish sect which fled there from Canada. The hermetic anti-Zionist Lev Tahor group left Quebec after police began investigating allegations of sexual abuse and neglect. Raids in 2013 found five children sleeping on a urine-soaked mattress.

Country: Russia

Jewish residents of Kaliningrad had a lucky escape last week when a huge 450-ft crane collapsed on one of the Russia’s largest Jewish community complexes. Only the crane operator was injured in the crash, but he is expected to make a full recovery. Safety lapses by the contractor have been blamed.

Country: Hungary

Budapest has honoured American-Jewish klezmer musician Frank London, who founded The Klezmatics band. A composer and trumpeter, London was a regular at Hungarian music festivals in the 1980s, and won international renown in 2007, when he won a Grammy. He was given the Order of Merit award.

Country: Netherlands

Dutch lawmakers continued their debate about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement with a non-binding vote to veto government funding of pro-BDS groups. Critics say this suppresses freedom of expression. It follows a recent debate on whether to ban West Bank produce from being imported.

Country: United States

Twelve girls are in protective custody after being found in the home of a Jewish man in Pennsylvania. Lee Kaplan, 51, was remanded in custody. The girls’ ages range from 6 months to 18 years. Kaplan is believed to have been ‘given’ the young teenage daughter of an Amish couple after financing them.

Country: Spain

A Spanish village formerly called Castrillo Matajudios (Kill the Jews) is to twin with an Israeli town. Newly-renamed Castrillo Mota de Judios (Jews’ Hill Camp) will link up with Kfar Vradim. The Spanish town’s mayor, Fernando Carderera, said it would mark ‘a new chapter’ and pledged to build a Jewish museum.