World news-roundup: Jewish woman becomes oldest living American

Country: United States

A Jewish woman aged 113 is now the oldest living American after the death of a 116-year old on Friday. Goldie Michelson, who lives in Massachusetts, was born in Russia in 1902 but emigrated to the U.S. when she was two years old. ‘I never thought I’d live this long,’ she said last year. ‘I just went on and on.’

Country: Brazil

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Brazil’s new president has appointed a supporter of the country’s large Jewish population as his foreign minister, and has put an Israeli-born economist in charge of the central bank. Michel Temer made the changes after the impeachment of Dilma Rouseff, who called Israel’s 2014 Gaza operation ‘a massacre’.

Country: Netherlands

Amsterdam city council is to give the capital’s Jewish community €10m to compensate for the way it forced Holocaust survivors to pay missed taxes on their return from Nazi death camps. Hundreds were sent bills and fines for rent arrears when they got back. The money will go to unspecified community projects.

Country: Belarus

A Russian-language Limmud has been held in the Belarussian capital of Minsk for the first time. Among the speakers whose families hail from the former Soviet state was former Israeli general Uzi Dayan, nephew of legendary commander Moshe. Organisers say 750 Jewish delegates attended, many from Israel.

Country: Belgium

There should be a complete ban on the ritual slaughter of animals in Belgium, a cabinet minister has said. Ben Weyts, animal welfare minister in the Flemish region, is the latest European politician to back calls to ban shechita. It is already outlawed in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.

Country: Iraq

A Kurdish Jew has said that he believes ‘hundreds’ of Jewish families are ‘in hiding’ in Kurdistan, the autonomous oil-rich northern region of Iraq, where he is one of only 40 self-identifying Jews. Sherzad Omar Mamsani, 40, who has survived three terrorist attacks, has just been given a government role.