Jewish News

Dutch Jews want fast punishment for anti-Semitism

Jewish groups in the Netherlands are calling for swifter punishment for Holocaust deniers as Parliament debates how to combat rising anti-Semitism.The Centraal Joods Overleg, an umbrella organization for Jewish groups, says it wants Holocaust deniers punished under rules usually reserved for drunk drivers, shoplifters, or football hooligans – among other measures.Under the snelrecht, or fast justice policy, prosecutors offer offenders ...

Dutch Goverment: No Apology for Holocaust Wrongdoing

The Dutch government refuses to apologize for the apathetic and detached attitude of the Dutch government in exile in London toward the more than 100 000 persecuted, deported and murdered Dutch Jews during the second World War.Queen Wilhelmina and her government found no time to protest or condemn what was happening in Holland under Nazi rule, with the cooperation of local ...

Dutch Chief Rabbi Passes Away at 101

The top spiritual leader of Holland’s Jewish community, Chief Rabbi Meir Just, has passed away at the age of 101. The rabbi died on April 9 after a brief hospitalization.Rabbi Just was born in Vizhnitz in 1908, son of the gabbai (assistant) of the Vitznitzer Rebbe. He studied in yeshivas in Grosswardein, Vizhnitz and Frankfurt in his youth, and later in a ...

Dutch bill against ritual slaughter will end up mostly harming Jews, as usual

A few weeks ago, the Party for the Animals submitted a private law to the Dutch parliament to prohibit religious slaughter without stunning the animal first. The party has two seats in Parliament. This should not be surprising in a country where – according to a National Geographic study – the average dog owner prefers the relationship to his pet ...

Dutch anti-ritual slaughter bill passes preliminary vote

The Dutch Jewish community was hurt and dejected after the parliament on Tuesday approved in an initial vote a ban on ritual slaughter – shechita – of animals.The bill sponsored by the tiny Animal Rights Party, the first such group in Europe to win seats in a national parliament, passed the lower house of parliament and must be approved by ...

Drop in Iran oil production even before fresh sanctions

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said recently that the draft UN Security Council resolution on sanctions against Iran is stronger than he expected, but it appears as though the US’ efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions have already yielded results in the form of a sharp drop in Iran’s oil production and a subsequent loss of billions of dollars. “Oil ...

“Dr. Death,” Jack Kevorkian, dies at 83

Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian, known as “Dr. Death” for helping more than 100 people end their lives, died early Friday at age 83, his lawyer said.Kevorkian died at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, where he had been hospitalized for about two weeks with kidney and heart problems, said Mayer Morganroth, Kevorkian’s attorney and friend.Kevorkian, recently found to have ...

Dozens injured, many of them children, when bus flips over in central Israel

46 people were injured when a bus carrying children and adults flipped over on Route 6, near Ayal Interchange in central Israel.The bus was on its way from an event in Jerusalem organized by a branch of the Islamic movement to Majd al-Karum, a north Israel Arab village.Medical and emergency teams have rushed to the site of the accident to ...

Dozens beaten, arrested in protests against Mubarak

Egyptian protesters demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule scuffled with security forces on Tuesday and dozens were detained, witnesses and security sources said.”Down, down, Hosni Mubarak,” a group of more than 200 chanted as they tried to gather in central Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Police hauled away a group of about a dozen protesters, shouting “freedom, freedom” near ...

Don’t you recognise me?: Starbucks to ditch name with new streamlined logo

It didn’t quite work for pop-star Prince, but now Starbucks is following his (bad?) example and is re-launching its famous siren symbol – minus the the company name.The ubiquitous Seattle-based coffee company is launching the new streamlined logo as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations.It’s rumoured that the company wants to expand beyond its image as a premium coffee house ...

Don’t Sell Eggs to Teens on Halloween

The shell-sheathed breakfast staple has joined smokes and booze as the hottest teenage contraband in Brooklyn, with police warning grocery store and bodega clerks not to sell eggs to teens this month to prevent miscreants from tossing them at windows, cars, pedestrians and each other on and around Halloween.“It’s been going on for decades. They want to have fun, and ...

Donald Trump to himself: ‘You’re fired!’

First there was Mike Huckabee’s statement on Saturday that he would not be running for president of the United States followed by Newt Gingrich shooting himself in the foot on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” and now Donald Trump has decided not to run.You could look at it as Trump telling himself, “You’re fired,” as a candidate.In what came as no ...