World Roundup: How to respectfully remove a mezuzah

From an online debate on mezuzah removal sparked by a non-Jewish Californian to a potential ban on the serving of kosher food in Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital, its our patented World Roundup, dated 20/01/2014.

Country: United States

California’s Jewish community was touched by the sensitivity shown by a non-Jewish tenant who asked an online forum how to respectfully remove a mezuzah left by his new flat’s previous residents. His enquiry sparked gushing praise, followed by a heated debate about how best to remove the parchment.

Country: Canada

Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital warned that complying with Quebec’s Charter of Values means it will be forbidden from serving kosher food. The new law also bans the wearing of religious headgear by public-sector employees. The hospital said it would defy the charter, known as Bill 60.

Country: Ukraine

Jewish groups expressed a “growing concern” after the Friday night stabbing of a Jewish man from Kiev, the second such attack in a week. The 28-year old religious student was attacked after leaving a synagogue, suffering significant blood loss. A week earlier a man was assaulted by a gang of four men.

Country: Italy

Italian Jewish groups have scheduled showdown meetings after a clash between left-wing Jewish speakers and other community members led security teams to intervene. One group, J-Call, claimed they suffered “heavy intimidation” at a debate, with protagonists chanting: “Go back to Gaza.”

Country: Germany

Berlin’s Chabad centre is to display documents evidencing Nazi war crimes that were found in a Jaffa flea market and later used in the Nuremberg Trials. They include a report about a 1938 meeting on “the Jewish question,” and details of Jewish-owned artwork confiscated on Hitler’s birthday.

Country: Morocco

The Dutch foreign minister is urging Morocco’s king to scrap a law that would criminalise trade contacts with Israeli entities. The bill, which has widespread support in the North African state, was blasted as “alarming” by Frans Timmermans, who has appealed to King Mohammed VI to veto it.