Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the U.S. Congress, should accept an invitation from Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former Nazi concentration camp in Poland. Mosberg, the honorary president of the Holocaust commemoration group From the Depths, issued the invitation on June 21, several days after Ocasio-Cortez falsely compared U.S. detention centres holding […]
What if a landlord in Toronto, New York City or Paris refused to rent or sell a condo to a Jewish person? Pundits and bloggers would vent their indignation. Politicians would denounce the racism. In short, the outrage would be heard around the globe, especially from Jews and their supporters. Several days ago, the mayor […]
During his confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate two and a half years ago, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the post of ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, vowed to refrain from making partisan comments while on duty. “Partisan rhetoric is rarely, if ever, appropriate for achieving diplomatic progress, especially in a sensitive and strife-torn region […]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is speaking from both sides of his mouth. A few days ago, after newly-appointed Justice Minister Amir Ohana claimed the government is not necessarily obliged to respect Supreme Court verdicts, Netanyahu slapped him down. On his Twitter account, he wrote, “Court decisions are binding on everyone.” But since the inconclusive […]
At a time when an Israeli rapprochement with the Palestinians has never been dimmer, the Trump administration would do well to declare its unreserved support for a bipartisan congressional bill that would enhance the prospects for peace. The bill would restore funding for Jewish and Arab coexistence and dialogue groups, endorse a two-state solution, and encourage […]
Thousands of young Israelis have immigrated to Germany and Austria in the past decade. By some estimates, upwards of 20,000 have made that move. It’s a deeply ironic development, given what happened in these countries during the 12-year Nazi interregnum. In most cases, the Israelis who’ve forsaken their homeland are the grandchildren of German and […]
By the end of the 19th century, the venerable Ben Ezra synagogue in Cairo was falling apart and was in dire need of repair. During the restoration, workmen stumbled upon a massive cache of mouldering documents in the dusty attic ranging from the sacred to the mundane. For approximately 1,000 years, the attic had been […]
Having announced that it will join forces with the Anti-Defamation League to fight the rising tide of antisemitism in Europe, Volkswagen, the German car manufacturer, has taken yet another step to make amends for its role in the Holocaust. Last week, Volkswagen said it will fund the operations of an Anti-Defamation League office in Berlin […]
As you savor a full-bodied cup of espresso coffee in your home or in a cafe, spare a thought for El Salvador. Ranked 11th among 55 coffee-producing nations and accounting for two percent of world production, El Salvador — the smallest republic in Central America — is synonymous with that crop. First cultivated in El Salvador […]
Ritesh Batra’s unassuming, poignant and likeable Bollywood film, Photograph, which opens in Canada on May 31, conjures up what might have been a successful romantic relationship in a better world. Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) ekes out a living as an itinerant photographer in Mumbai’s Gateway to India tourist attraction. He seeks out new customers by promising […]