World news roundup: Charedi sect migrates to Guatemala

The latest and greatest Jewish news from around the globe:

• Norway

Israeli President Shimon Peres told Oslo’s Jew to ‘never give up hope’ of peace, as he recalled attending services with then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin 20 years ago, when the Oslo Accords were signed. ‘I believe the chances are not lost,’ the 90-year old told some of the city’s 1,000-strong Jewish community.

•    Guatemala

Members of the Canadian Charedi sect Lev Tahor are migrating to the Central American country of Guatemala in violation of Ontario court orders. Dozens of children deemed at risk of serious psychological and physical abuse by judges have turned up thousands of miles away, sleeping on the floor in village shacks.

• The Netherlands

Raconteur Stephen Fry congratulated the team behind the Jewish LGBT boat that won a place on the canal-based Amsterdam Gay Pride parade 2014. There are only 80 places available for the world-famous event and teams must apply. Rumours that the boat would include the gay Jewish mayor of Maastricht proved unfounded.

• Latvia

A nursery school owned by an ultra-nationalist lawmaker has posted a ‘Jew-free’ sign on its gates. The Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism reported that the Pucite (Owlet) school in the Latvian capital of Riga had posted the ‘Judenfrei’ sign. Owner Imants Paradnieks refused to explain the sign.

• Argentina

Rabbi Abraham Skorka, the Pope’s good friend from his native Buenos Aires, will accompany the pontiff on his visit to Israel and the Middle East later this month. Pope Francis and Skorka will travel with their other mutual friend, Omar Abboud, the former secretary-general of Argentina’s Islamic Centre.

• Spain

After much debate, the Spanish town of ‘Kill Jews’ has finally voted to change its name. Many residents of the sleepy Castrillo Matajudios, which translates as ‘Kill Jews,’ are descendants of Jewish converts. While they insisted they never killed any Jews, they ditched the Inquisition-era name because ‘it sounds awful’.