Weekly roundup of world briefs

 

February 18, 2022



Washington Commanders defensive tackle wishes he could dine with Hitler

By Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A defensive tackle for the NFL’s Washington team said that if he had his druthers he’d break bread with Adolf Hitler.

Jonathan Allen removed his offending tweet on Wednesday after Twitter blew up with outrage.

Allen, who was drafted by the newly renamed Washington Commanders in 2017, opened up in an “ask me anything” tweet, and a fan asked him who were the three people, dead or alive, he wanted to dine with.

He listed his grandfather, Hitler and the late pop star Michael Jackson.

The same questioner asked him why Hitler, and Allen said, “He’s a military genius and I love military tactics but honestly I would want to pick his brain as to why he did what he did. I’m also assuming that the people I’ve chosen have to answer all my questions honestly.”

Later he tweeted: “Early I tweeted something that probably hurt people and I apologize about what I said. I didn’t express properly what I was trying to say and I realize it was dumb!”

The team just last week underwent a name change in a bid to clean up its image in the wake of sexual harassment allegations in the front office and the use for decades of a team name that is a racist pejorative.

University of Vermont students, faculty reported 58 anti-Semitic incidents in 2021

(JNS) — A survey on the number of anti-Semitic incidents that occurred at North American colleges in 2021 revealed that the University of Vermont had the most with 58 reported cases.

The advocacy group Jewish on Campus, which partnered with the World Jewish Congress last year, collected testimonies from students last year regarding anti-Semitism on their campuses and released the data in a report on Monday. Following Vermont were Tufts University and George Washington University with 34 and 25 incidents, respectively.

The report largely focused on the United States and Canada, which together made up 95.5 percent of cases.

In all were 544 total reports from 11 countries, 41 U.S. states and 228 universities.

The incidents were self-documented by students, and the majority of submissions were by undergraduates. A small number were reported by graduate students.

The top three U.S. states with the highest number of reported cases were Massachusetts (74), Vermont (58) and New York (55).

Among all the incidents submitted to JOC in 2021, students were responsible for 316 of them and professors for 122. The report also showed that 72 percent of incidents took place in person while 28 percent happened online.

The University of Vermont responded to the report, saying, “We strive to maintain a safe and inclusive environment for all members of our community. Our stance on biased behavior is clear: We don’t tolerate it. We have multiple processes in place for incident reporting. And we have follow-up procedures that support impacted members of our community and hold accountable those responsible.”

Ex-Labour leader Corbyn to join webinar affiliated with Muslim Brotherhood

(JNS) — Former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is scheduled to participate in a webinar that will feature extremist figures affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Feb. 12 webinar—titled “2022, The Year to Combat Normalization: We Will Resist the Entity and Protect the Homeland”—is being organized by the Anti-Zionism Coordination (AZC) group, also known as Anti-Zionism and Normalization

The AZC is an umbrella organization composed of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations around the Arab world, from Jordan and Morocco to Sudan and Algeria. Several members of its “Supreme Committee” are also members of the Muslim Brotherhood branches in their respective countries, including Mahmoud Musa from Lebanon, Moath Khawaldeh of Jordan, Naser Al-Fadalah of Bahrain and Hamoud Kebour of Algeria.

Corbyn led the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, as well as the opposition, from 2015 to 2020. During his tenure, he was accused of anti-Semitism by members of his own party and by British Jewry leadership.

The Muslim Brotherhood is deemed a terrorist organization by the governments of Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Palestinian terror group Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In addition to its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the AZC’s leadership has also engaged in anti-Semitism. During a January 2021 webinar, AZC general manager Anas Ibrahim said that “every conflict [in the world] has a Zionist behind it.”

Two other sponsors of the webinar include the Boycott Campaign-Palestine and the Al-Quds International Institute, a group designated by the United States as a terror organization for being controlled by and acting for or on behalf of Hamas.

German foreign minister says Iran nuclear talks in Vienna entering ‘final phase’

(JNS) — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Thursday that nuclear talks with Iran are shifting into their “final phase,” and that despite Israeli reservations, a return to a nuclear agreement would make the region safer, according to a report by The Associated Press.

The remarks were made during a joint press conference held in Tel Aviv with her counterpart, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

AP noted that her remarks “come as negotiations between Iran and world powers reconvened this week in an effort to revive a 2015 nuclear accord that curbed Tehran’s nuclear program. That deal crumbled after the Trump administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018.”

In his own remarks, Lapid said that he and Baerbock discussed the nuclear talks and presented her with Israel’s position “that a nuclear Iran endangers not only Israel but the entire world,” noted the report.

Lapid described Iran as “an exporter of terror from Yemen to Buenos Aires” and called for an agreement to also reflect Tehran’s regional malign activities.

Baerbock said she was “convinced that a full restoration of the JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] would make the region more secure, including Israel; otherwise, we would not be having these talks.”

Talks with Iran reached a “very critical point,” she added, and Iran needed to come to the negotiations table “with a willingness to compromise and without maximum demands.”

“We want to do everything we can to ensure that with this agreement, Israel’s security is guaranteed,” said Baerbock.

Sa’ar moves ahead to try to decriminalize recreational cannabis in Israel

(JNS) — Israel’s Minister of Justice Gideon Sa’ar proposed new temporary regulations to decriminalize recreational cannabis on Wednesday.

If the new regulation is approved, recreational cannabis use would not be considered a criminal offense but instead be an administrative offense, like a traffic violation, reported Ynet.

“Many Israelis have been, in practice, made into criminals,” due to marijuana use, said Sa’ar.

He added that “it violates their personal rights and undermines trust between citizens and law enforcement.” He also mentioned that he was fulfilling a campaign promise.

The new regulation must be approved by the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

According to the report, smoking marijuana is currently illegal. A first offense is fined 1,000 shekels (about $310), and a second offense is 2,000 shekels ($620). A fourth offense is considered a criminal one.

The new regulation would prevent users from being prosecuted, and fines would be limited to 1,000 shekels for Israeli Defense Forces soldiers, police and minors, who are excluded from the new regulation.

Israeli prime minister to make first official visit to Bahrain

(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will depart on Monday for his first official visit to Bahrain, according to a statement from his office.

Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa invited Bennett to visit when the two leaders first met, at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November.

During the visit, the two leaders will discuss diplomatic and economic issues, with an emphasis on technology and innovation, as well as additional ways to strengthen bilateral ties, according to the statement.

Bennett is also scheduled to meet with the kingdom’s ministers of finance, industry and transportation, as well as with representatives of the local Jewish community.

Military ties between the two countries have also been strengthening.

On Feb. 2, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz also made his first official visit to Bahrain, heading a senior IDF delegation that included the commander of the Israeli Navy, Vice Adm. David Saar Salama; Military Secretary to the Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Yaki Dolf; and Zohar Palti, director of the policy and political-military bureau.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Central Command, told Israel’s Makor Rishon on Feb. 3 that said the importance of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain lay in strengthening military ties between the kingdom and Israel.

Cooper cited the Abraham Accords and the transfer of Israel from the U.S. military’s EUCOM (European Command) to CENTCOM (Central Command, responsible for the Middle East region) as two new factors that could be leveraged to further strengthen regional naval security.

Israeli COVID ‘Freedom Convoy’ takes to the streets

(JNS) — Vehicles set off on Monday morning from cities across Israel to participate in a “Freedom Convoy,” calling on the government to lift the state of emergency declared due to the pandemic, according to the event’s organizers.

The convoy, which includes trucks, tractors, cars and motorcycles, plans to travel to the Knesset in Jerusalem and dozens of bridges throughout the day. It is organized around a central message: “Take back the wheel”—meaning undoing the state of emergency and repealing the so-called “major corona law” granting the government special powers to deal with the spread of the virus, organizers said in a statement.

The project, inspired by the Canadian Freedom Convoy, was organized by laypeople and funded via a crowdfunding campaign.

The convoy has five additional goals beyond repealing the major corona law, according to the release: returning children to their normal routines, including an end to the mask mandate; a complete opening of the economy, including getting rid of testing and other COVID safety requirements; full disclosure of contracts and protocols that have been withheld from public review and consumption, such as the full contract between the Israeli Health Ministry and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer; ending the violation of individual privacy through street cameras or other illegal surveillance; and respecting individual human rights unconditionally by the government regardless of vaccination status.

“The recent morbidity wave has exposed government shortcomings and poor management of the crisis, which in turn has created a crisis of confidence,” according to the organizers. “Many government forecasts have failed to prove true; many promises haven’t been kept and citizens are realizing that their elected members in the Knesset are detached, improvising with illogical regulations, driven by personal interests and not by the wellbeing of the public. The role of the government is not to rule but to serve its citizens.”

Montreal Holocaust Museum initiates $80 million project to relocate to Jewish Quarter

(JNS) — The Montreal Holocaust Museum has undertaken an $80 million project to relocate into a new space in the city’s historic Jewish community.

The building on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal will feature interactive holograms of Holocaust survivors sharing their stories and house a new auditorium, memorial garden, classrooms and larger spaces for both permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Some 40,000 Holocaust survivors moved to Canada after World War II to restart their lives, 9,000 of them settling in Montreal.

The new facility will be near the city’s museum sector and major cultural district “in the neighborhood that once welcomed the Jewish immigrant community,” said museum president Richard Schnurbach.

“The choice of the former Jewish Quarter takes on even more significance as it merges with the history of over 9,000 Holocaust survivors who rebuilt their lives here in Montreal,” he added. “Our exhibition and collections will highlight their stories and celebrate their diverse contributions to the development and influence of our city.”

Started by Holocaust survivors, the museum has the largest collection of Holocaust-related material in the country, including more than 13,500 objects and 858 recorded video testimonies.

It will remain open in its current location until the move to the new building, which is expected to open in 2025. The architecture firm selected to design the facility will be announced in July following an international competition launched last year.

The project is made possible with contributions from the Ministry of Culture and Communications in Quebec ($20 million), the Azrieli Foundation ($15 million) and private donors who contributed to the museum’s fundraising campaign.

 

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