World Roundup: Teachers’ boycott backfires ironically

From Nazi hunters to ironic boycott backfiring and mysterious Jewish financiers in China, its our patented World Roundup, dated 6th January, 2014. [divider]

Country: Canada

A boy who set fire to a Jewish girl’s hair at school has been sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation by a Winnipeg court. The judge also ordered that he serve 75 hours community service but said the 2011 incident, despite prosecutors alleging he was heard saying: “Let’s burn the Jew”, was not racially motivated and unplanned.[divider]

 Country: United Arab Emirates

A Dutch football team has come under fire for refusing to pull out of an Abu Dhabi tournament after organisers refused entry to the team’s Israeli defender. Lawmakers said Arnhem-based team Vitesse should withdraw in protest, but the club said it didn’t get involved in politics and religion. [divider]

Country: France

Nazi hunters and fertility specialists were among the Jewish recipients of France’s prestigious Legion of Honour awards. Gynaecologist Dr. Rene Frydman, who pioneered IVF, received the accolade, as did husband and wife team Serge and Beate Klarsfeld for their work on preserving the memory of the Holocaust. [divider]

Country:  China

A mysterious Jewish American financier living in Hong Kong is reported to have pledged $600 million to help a Chinese tycoon bid for The New York Times. Chen Guangbiao, who would not divulge the secret funder’s identity, is trying to buy the paper from the Ochs-Sulzberger clan. [divider]

Country:  United States

A US teachers union that voted to boycott Israeli academics has itself ended up being boycotted and ostracised. Over 80 US colleges and universities have condemned the decision of the American Studies Association (ASA) to impose a ban on Israeli higher education institutions. [divider]

Country: Poland

A film based on a best-selling book by Israeli writer Uri Orlev will premiere this week in Warsaw. Based on a true story, ‘Run, Boy, Run’ tells of an 8-year old who escapes from the ghetto in 1942, eluding the Nazis using his initiative and with assistance from local Polish families. [divider]