1 Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 2/20 Aktuelles Aus Israelischen Tageszeitungen

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

1 Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 2/20 Aktuelles Aus Israelischen Tageszeitungen Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 2/20 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 15.-31. Januar Die Themen dieser Ausgabe 1. Internationale Gedenkveranstaltung zum 75. Jahrestag der Befreiung des Vernichtungslagers Auschwitz- Birkenau ........................................................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Israel auf dem Weg zur dritten Wahl .............................................................................................................................. 4 3. Umstrittener Friedensplan .............................................................................................................................................. 6 4. Medienquerschnitt ........................................................................................................................................................... 9 1. Internationale Gedenkveranstaltung zum Juden "das ultimative Symbol jüdischer Hilflosig- 75. Jahrestag der Befreiung des keit". Mit dem Staat Israel habe man dagegen heute Vernichtungslagers Auschwitz-Birkenau "eine Stimme, ein Land und ein Schutzschild". Zu Israels Regierungschef Benjamin Netanyahu nutzte den aus aller Welt angereisten Rednern gehörte die internationale Gedenkveranstaltung 75 Jahre an Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier, der be- die Befreiung des Vernichtungslagers Auschwitz- tonte, dass es keinen Schlussstrich unter das Erin- Birkenau, um einen Appell an die Staatengemein- nern geben dürfe. Deutschland müsse seiner histo- schaft zu richten, sich geschlossen dem Iran entge- rischen Verantwortung gerecht werden, sagte genzustellen. Er forderte eine "gemeinsame und Steinmeier, der als erstes deutsches Staatsober- entschlossene Haltung gegen das anti-semitischste haupt in der Holocaust-Gedenkstätte Yad Vashem Regime der Welt, das Atomwaffen entwickeln und sprach. Er versicherte: "Wir bekämpfen den Antise- den einzigen jüdischen Staat zerstören will", so mitismus! Wir trotzen dem Gift des Nationalismus! Netanyahu in der Holocaust-Gedenkstätte Yad Wir schützen jüdisches Leben! Wir stehen an der Vashem. Der Iran unterdrücke sein eigenes Volk Seite Israels. Dieses Versprechen erneuere ich hier und bedrohe die Weltsicherheit. Israel werde alles in Yad Vashem vor den Augen der Welt." Die Rede tun, was nötig sei, um den „Staat und unser Volk zu des deutschen Bundespräsidenten fand allgemein verteidigen". Staats- und Regierungschefs aus fast große Anerkennung in den israelischen Meiden. 50 Ländern erinnerten in Jerusalem an die Befrei- ung des Vernichtungslagers am 27. Januar 1945. Should liberation of Auschwitz be celebrated Nach Angaben des israelischen Außenministeriums with luxe dinner parties? handelt es sich um das größte Staatsereignis seit (…) seventy-five years after the liberation of the Staatsgründung. Nach Schätzungen wurden in Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, anti- Auschwitz-Birkenau rund 1,3 Million Menschen Semitism has reared its ugly head once again, and ermordet, die meisten davon Juden. Netanyahu world leaders who are set to gather in Jerusalem würdigte den Kampf der alliierten Mächte und deren must make it clear: Never again! (…) unless bold Sieg über Nazideutschland. Sie hätten dafür einen statements are made during the event, the visit of immensen Preis zahlen müssen. "Aber gerade heu- world leaders this week will be nothing more than a te müssen wir sagen: Für sechs Millionen Juden, public relations stunt, an insult to the memory of the darunter 1,5 Millionen Kinder, wurden die Tore zur victims and survivors of Auschwitz. (…) The Hölle zu spät geschlossen." Auschwitz sei für die liberation of Auschwitz was not a festive occasion for 1 anyone. The vast majority of Jews brought to that this faint hope. How dehumanizing, to insist on hellhole were not alive on the day of its liberation. denying a people’s last recourse to even an (…) Having survived the camp and the hellish uncertain, belated, modicum of justice. How march, 30,000 of them were cast into yet another degrading to do so while standing on the shoulders inferno – concentration camps inside Germany from of Holocaust survivors, insisting that this is which they were not liberated until the first week of somehow being carried out in their name. (…) May of that year. The Russian troops who liberated Shame on you, Prime Minister Netanyahu. Shame, Auschwitz found survivors numbering anywhere also, on any world leader who goes along with the between 2,000 and 7,600 people, depending on the travesty of equating a people’s attempt to achieve source. They were left behind because they had not justice with anti-Semitism. Taking this cowardly been able to walk. (…) Why is the government of position does not only betray the Palestinians’ hope Israel celebrating the liberation of these people with for freedom and dignity. It joins in the slow death of a luxe dinner party at the President's Residence in the lessons that have guided humanity for the past Jerusalem? An army of producers, chefs and some 75 years and are now drowning in the rising 200 waiters working to come up with updated dishes authoritarian tide around the world. This is not the suitable for specific pallets. I read the reports in world that humanity tried to build after World War II disbelief. Are you out of your minds? (…) No (…). ceremony or presentation would be as clear and Hagai El-Ad, HAA, 23.01.20 powerful a message as the attendance of those with numbers burned into their left arms as if calling out Who is the Fifth World Holocaust Forum for? in a loud voice: We are here! (…) It’s not for us. It’s not for the Holocaust survivors, Shoshana Chen, YED, 22.01.20 their children, or their children’s children. (…) only 60 of the 780 places at the ceremony in Yad Netanyahu exploits the Holocaust to brutalize Vashem were allotted to survivors and their escorts. the Palestinians (…) The ceremony thus welcomed 47 world leaders Benjamin Netanyahu did not invent the idea of to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz, but it leveraging the Holocaust for political gain. Yet, like welcomed less than 47 survivors. (…) if it’s not for so much else in current Israeli politics, he is taking us, who is it for? It is for future generations who will even that low to new depths. (…) Israel’s prime quickly forget, who want to forget, and who would minister intends to exploit the Fifth World Holocaust deny the Holocaust. A ceremony before 47 world Forum (…) to call on world leaders to publicly back leaders speaking multiple languages may help in Israel’s self-serving position that the International preserving the memories of the unspeakable horrors Criminal Court in The Hague has no jurisdiction in visited on our parents and our people – men, the occupied Palestinian territories. Netanyahu women, children, and infants. It may shed began this exercise barely 48 hours after ICC international light on the six million Jews, 1.5 million prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced (…), that children – nearly all of them Jewish, of the 220,000- she is ready to open an investigation into potential 500,000 killed in the Romani Genocide, and of the war crimes in the West Bank and Gaza (…). 5,000-15,000 homosexuals killed by the Nazis. It Wasting no time, Netanyahu responded that "new may remind many of the dangers of rising anti- edicts are being issued against the Jewish people - Semitism and racism; and it will hopefully remind anti-Semitic edicts by the International Criminal attending world leaders of their responsibility to Court." This cynical reframing is staggering, both protect their citizens from this scourge. (…) the intellectually and morally. The Palestinians who live central (…) ceremony at Yad Vashem (…) was also under Israel’s occupation are a people bereft of for our prime minister. It was a reminder to him that rights. (…) Israeli prosecutors and judges process more than 150,000 Holocaust survivors – nearly a Palestinians in the occupied territories through a third of those remaining in Israel – live under the "justice system" that delivers an almost 100 percent poverty line. That under his watch (…) these conviction rate. At the same time, this system works Holocaust survivors cannot afford to heat their to ensure impunity for Israeli security forces who kill, homes and many must decide whether to buy food abuse or torture them. For Palestinians, quite or medications. (…) literally, the International Criminal Court is their court Varda Spiegel, TOI, 23.01.20 of last resort. Yet Netanyahu, backed by Israel’s entire political leadership, is trying to quash even 2 Honoring Holocaust victims means fighting anti- existence they can hold their head up high in the Semitism countries in which they live, and if necessary, if (…) An event of this magnitude has never been held things take a turn for the worse, they can always in Israel before to memorialize the six million come home. (…) When the sun finally shone on our members of our people (…) who were struck down national renaissance, it found us beaten and by the most evil killing machine known to bruised, limping like our ancestor Jacob after his humankind. This impressive event reflects an struggle with the angel. The leaders of the world international consensus regarding recognition of the who came to Jerusalem also salute the miracle of dreadful uniqueness of the Holocaust of the Jewish our people's rebirth (…). Seventy-five years after people and the imperative to "Never Forget!" (…) (…) the memory of Auschwitz is no longer just
Recommended publications
  • 2016 Annual Report
    Research. Debate. Impact. 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 1 Table of Contents Message from the President and the Chairman of the Board 4 Sixth Meeting of IDI's International Advisory Council 8 The Center for Democratic Values and Institutions 11 The Center for Religion, Nation and State 23 The Center for Governance and the Economy 29 The Center for Security and Democracy 35 The Guttman Center for Surveys and Public Policy Research 41 IDI in the Media 47 Our Team 50 Our Leaders 51 Our Partners 52 Financials 53 Message from the President and the Chairman of the Board Dear Friends, 2016 was a year of change and upheaval throughout the jobs available to Haredim. The government adopted most of democratic world. Set against the tumult of Brexit and the the recommendations and is now in the process of allocating US elections, Israel seemed at times like an island of stability. a half-billion-shekel budget in line with these proposals. This However, under the surface, Israeli society is changing, and IDI success story illustrates the potential of turning relatively small took on a leading role in identifying those changes and working philanthropic investments into large-scale transformational with policymakers to address them. change by affecting policy and legislation on the basis of outstanding applied research. As the report that follows lays out, 2016 was a year rich in activity and achievements. In this letter, we have chosen to single Several new scholars joined our team in 2016. Ms. Daphna out the impact one program had on government policy in the Aviram-Nitzan, former director of research for the Israel employment area.
    [Show full text]
  • The Israeli Anti-Boycott Law: Should Artists Be Worried?
    Peled.Note-final for publisher (Do Not Delete) 4/24/2014 4:42 PM THE ISRAELI ANTI-BOYCOTT LAW: SHOULD ARTISTS BE WORRIED? INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 752 I. THE ORIGIN AND SCOPE OF BOYCOTTS AGAINST ISRAEL ............... 752 A. The Arab League Boycott ................................................. 752 B. The Palestinian BDS Movement: Combining the Goals of the Arab League, the Methods of the African National Congress, and the Rhetoric of Apartheid ....................... 753 C. International Manifestations of the Cultural Boycott on Israel ............................................................................... 756 D. Domestic Manifestations of the Cultural Boycott on Israel ............................................................................... 759 II. LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE TO THE BDS CAMPAIGN: THE LAW FOR PREVENTION OF HARM TO THE STATE OF ISRAEL BY MEANS OF BOYCOTT................................................................................ 762 A. Textual Analysis of the Anti-Boycott Law ........................ 763 B. Legislative History of the Anti-Boycott Law ..................... 766 C. Applicability of the Anti-Boycott Law to Foreign Nationals Located Abroad.............................................. 768 D. Potential Domestic Israeli Application of the Anti-Boycott Law ................................................................................. 772 III. THE ISRAELI SUPREME COURT SHOULD FIND THE ANTI-BOYCOTT LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL .....................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Letterhead 2014.07
    Wednesday, July 16, 2014 This most recent wave of rocket attacks on Israeli population centers serve as a reminder that asymmetric warfare poses a fundamental challenge to Israel’s national security, international standing, and democratic character. For a democracy like Israel, finding a way to defeat terrorist organizations within the bounds of the rule of law is essential for three reasons: first, no independent government can tolerate a threat that sends masses of its citizens to the shelters at a moment’s notice; second, no society can long remain free if it continually sacrifices its liberties on the altar of national security; and third, no democracy can maintain its standing among the family of enlightened nations if it does not adhere to the international norms of armed conflict. Twelve years ago, in the midst of a deadly wave of suicide attacks, the leadership of IDI established the National Security and Democracy Program. Born out of a dialogue with the leadership of the Israel Defense Forces, this flagship program seeks to help Israeli decision makers develop effective counterterrorism policies that strike a balance between national security, civil liberties and the rule of law. To help concerned parties in Israel and around the world understand the legal aspects of this extraordinary conflict, the leaders of IDI’s National Security and Democracy Program have put together a brief outlining the basic legal concepts involved and the boundaries of permissible action according to standard interpretations of existing international law. The authors of this brief are internationally recognized experts on the legal aspects of asymmetric warfare and counterterrorism.
    [Show full text]
  • Burden Sharing and the Haredim
    8 Burden Sharing and the Haredim On March 12, 2014 the Knesset passed, on its which scholars should remain exempt, but also third reading, Amendment 19 to the Military states that draft evaders will be subject to arrest if Service Law, which aims to widen the participation quotas are unmet. !e comprehensive exemption of Ultra-Orthodox young men and yeshiva granting all Haredi yeshiva students aged 22 students in military and civilian national service. and over who join the workforce is of particular !is amendment also aims to promote their significance. integration into the working population. On April 17, 2014, the Ministerial Committee on Background: !e History of Burden Sharing in Military Service set concrete steps for the amendment’s implementation the Exemption (!e Arrangement and follow up. !ese were given the force of a for Deferral of Army Service Cabinet resolution. Under the new arrangement, by Yeshiva Students) the amendment will take full e"ect on July 1, Compulsory military service applies under the 2017, following an adjustment period. When in Security Service Law (Combined Version) of 1986. full force, the military or civilian national service According to this law, Israeli citizens are subject inductees will number 5,200 a year (two thirds to conscription at age 18 unless granted an of the age cohort according to current figures). exemption. Exemption was the subject of lively Until then, yeshiva students will be able to defer debates between yeshiva heads and the political their enlistment and receive an exemption at age leadership in the early days of the state. !e 22, as long as the yeshivot meet their recruitment executive committee of the Center for Service targets, which will be implemented according to to the People considered the conscription of the mandated schedule: in 2014, a total of 3,800 yeshiva students, and in March 1948 authorized Haredim are expected to join the IDF or national a temporary army service deferment for yeshiva service; in 2015, 4,500; and 5,200 in the years that students whose occupation was Torah study.1 follow.
    [Show full text]
  • Guide to Speakers on Israel 2004-2005
    Consulate General of Israel to New England We are pleased to present to you the 2004-2005 edition of the Consulate General of Israel’s Speakers Bureau “Guide to Speakers on Israel.” We are grateful for the vast wealth of resources that our speakers can provide to you and to us. Our speakers come Guide to Speakers from many different walks of life, vary in their fields of expertise, and can address a wide array of topics. Unlike the picture of Israel that is depicted through news reports, these on Israel speakers paint diverse views of life in Israel – politics, technology, arts, and culture – as seen through their own eyes. Each individual can provide his or her own views about the daily challenges and achievements that affect Israelis and Americans alike. We encourage you to use these speakers as a window into the diverse and rich culture that is Israel. We thank you for your continued support and hope you will take advantage of this excellent resource. We encourage you to bring these speakers to both familiar and unfamiliar audiences – their messages are universal. Hillel Newman 2004-2005 Consul 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Three Easy Steps to Book a Speaker 1) Choose your speaker or topic. When requesting a speaker, you Welcome .................................1 Professors & Researchers can either request a specific speaker by name, or you can simply How to book a speaker............3 Tal Ben-Shahar .................... 19 provide us with a general topic, and the Speakers Bureau staff will Ehud Eiran........................... 20 match the topic with an appropriate speaker. A list of speakers Consulate Officials Tamar Frankel.....................
    [Show full text]
  • INSS Insight No. 1257, February 6, 2020 Five Insights from the Fifth World Holocaust Forum Michal Hatuel-Radoshitzky
    INSS Insight No. 1257, February 6, 2020 Five Insights from the Fifth World Holocaust Forum Michal Hatuel-Radoshitzky The fifth World Holocaust Forum was held in Jerusalem on January 23, 2020, with the participation of 47 world leaders an unprecedented number when compared with previous forums – marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz- Birkenau. Some of the countries that exhibited a unified front against antisemitism are not expected to stop criticizing or condemning Israeli policy in other international forums. Therefore, it is important to address concrete arguments against Israeli policy seriously, while avoiding as much as possible labeling them as tainted with antisemitism. In addition, Israel should establish a direct line to government representatives of those countries to demand concrete and determined action against antisemitism. Moreover, Israel should establish dialogues with the representatives of diaspora Jewish communities as part of a long term process of strategic thinking about the State of Israel’s role in dealing with rising antisemitism. One issue that should be discussed in these dialogues is the development of a response to the challenge of the receding memory of the Holocaust. The Israeli establishment should likewise expand cooperative efforts with civil society organizations beyond the area of Holocaust remembrance. The fifth World Holocaust Forum was held in Jerusalem on January 23, 2020, with the participation of 47 world leaders an unprecedented number when compared with previous forums. Marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the event was entitled “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism.” The World Holocaust Forum was established in 2005, to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and since then has convened to mark significant milestones in Holocaust commemoration.
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional Record—House H558
    H558 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 27, 2020 We all look for heroes. We look to Olympics in 2026 in Milan, Italy. May Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I Washington. We look to celebrities. I God bless Kaylee, and we look forward rise today also to commemorate what know where my heroes are, and one of to watching her on TV. is an anniversary we shouldn’t have them, without a doubt, is Daniel. May f ever had to commemorate and be here God bless him. for, again, the 75th Anniversary of the f COMMEMORATING INTERNATIONAL liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY Mr. Speaker, I have been to the con- CONGRATULATING VIRGINIA ON centration camps. I have seen the train ERA RATIFICATION The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. GOLDEN). Under the Speaker’s an- tracks where they brought in loads of (Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of nounced policy of January 3, 2019, the people in railcars and they herded peo- New York asked and was given permis- gentleman from New York (Mr. ZELDIN) ple like they were cattle. I have seen sion to address the House for 1 minute.) is recognized for 60 minutes as the des- the ovens. I have seen the gas cham- Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New ignee of the minority leader. bers. York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratu- Mr. Speaker, I saw where Dr. Josef GENERAL LEAVE late leaders in Virginia for their his- Mengele performed experiments on Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask toric vote to become the 38th State to people as if they were lab specimens; unanimous consent that all Members ratify the Equal Rights Amendment many of them women.
    [Show full text]
  • Jerusalemhem Volume 91, February 2020
    Yad VaJerusalemhem Volume 91, February 2020 “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism” The Fifth World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem (pp. 2-7) Yad VaJerusalemhem Volume 91, Adar 5781, February 2020 “Remembering the Holocaust, Published by: Fighting Antisemitism” ■ Contents Chairman of the Council: Rabbi Israel Meir Lau International Holocaust Remembrance Day ■ 2-12 Chancellor of the Council: Dr. Moshe Kantor “Remembering the Holocaust, Vice Chairman of the Council: Dr. Yitzhak Arad Fighting Antisemitism” ■ 2-7 Chairman of the Directorate: Avner Shalev The Fifth World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem Director General: Dorit Novak Tackling Antisemitism Through Holocaust Head of the International Institute for Holocaust ■ 8-9 Research and Incumbent, John Najmann Chair Education for Holocaust Studies: Prof. Dan Michman Survivors: Chief Historian: Prof. Dina Porat Faces of Life After the Holocaust ■ 10-11 Academic Advisor: Joining with Facebook to Remember Prof. Yehuda Bauer Holocaust Victims ■ 12 Members of the Yad Vashem Directorate: ■ 13 Shmuel Aboav, Yossi Ahimeir, Daniel Atar, Treasures from the Collections Dr. David Breakstone, Abraham Duvdevani, Love Letter from Auschwitz ■ 14-15 Erez Eshel, Prof. Boleslaw (Bolek) Goldman, Moshe Ha-Elion, Adv. Shlomit Kasirer, Education ■ 16-17 Yehiel Leket, Adv. Tamar Peled Amir, Graduate Spotlight ■ 16-17 Avner Shalev, Baruch Shub, Dalit Stauber, Dr. Zehava Tanne, Dr. Laurence Weinbaum, Tamara Vershitskaya, Belarus Adv. Shoshana Weinshall, Dudi Zilbershlag New Online Course: Chosen Issues in Holocaust History ■ 17 THE MAGAZINE Online Exhibition: Editor-in-Chief: Iris Rosenberg Children in the Holocaust ■ 18-19 Managing Editor: Leah Goldstein Editorial Board: Research ■ 20-23 Simmy Allen The Holocaust in the Soviet Union Tal Ben-Ezra ■ 20-21 Deborah Berman in Real Time Marisa Fine International Book Prize Winners 2019 ■ 21 Dana Porath Lilach Tamir-Itach Yad Vashem Studies: The Cutting Edge of Dana Weiler-Polak Holocaust Research ■ 22-23 ■ Susan Weisberg At the invitation of the President of the Fellows Corner: Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Netanyahu Soundly Defeats Chief Rival in Israeli Elections
    Middle East Netanyahu Soundly Defeats Chief Rival in Israeli Elections By Jodi Rudoren, March 17, 2015 TEL AVIV — After a bruising campaign focused on his failings, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel won a clear victory in Tuesday’s elections and seemed all but certain to form a new government and serve a fourth term, though he offended many voters and alienated allies in the process. With 99.5 percent of the ballots counted, the YNet news site reported Wednesday morning that Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud Party had captured 29 or 30 of the 120 seats in Parliament, sweeping past his chief rival, the center-left Zionist Union alliance, which got 24 seats. Mr. Netanyahu and his allies had seized on earlier exit polls that showed a slimmer Likud lead to create an aura of inevitability, and celebrated with singing and dancing. While his opponents vowed a fight, Israeli political analysts agreed even before most of the ballots were counted that he had the advantage, with more seats having gone to the right-leaning parties likely to support him. It was a stunning turnabout from the last pre-election polls published Friday, which showed the Zionist Union, led by Isaac Herzog, with a four- or five-seat lead and building momentum, and the Likud polling close to 20 seats. To bridge the gap, Mr. Netanyahu embarked on a last-minute scorched-earth campaign, promising that no Palestinian state would be established as long as he remained in office and insulting Arab citizens. Mr. Netanyahu, who served as prime minister for three years in the 1990s and returned to office in 2009, exulted in what he called “a huge victory” and said he had spoken to the heads of all the parties “in the national camp” and urged them to help him form a government “without any further ado.” “I am proud of the Israeli people that, in the moment of truth, knew how to separate between what’s important or what’s not and to stand up for what’s important,” he told an exuberant crowd early Wednesday morning at Likud’s election party at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds.
    [Show full text]
  • World Holocaust Forum 2020
    European Commission - Press release Presidents von der Leyen, Sassoli and Michel attend the ‘World Holocaust Forum 2020' in Jerusalem Jerusalem, 23 January 2020 Today, President Ursula von der Leyen together with Presidents of the European Parliament, David Sassoli and the European Council, Charles Michel are in Jerusalem, where they will be joining world leaders at the ‘World Holocaust Forum 2020: Remembering the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism'. The Forum is organised ahead of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January, which will mark 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Ahead of this important anniversary, the 3 Presidents issued a joint statement, in which they said: “The Holocaust was a European tragedy, it was a turning point in our history and its legacy is woven into the DNA of the European Union. Remembering the Shoah is not an end in itself. It is one cornerstone of European values. A Europe that places humanity at its centre, protected by the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights. […] As the numbers of survivors is dwindling, we will have to find new ways to remember, embracing the testimonies of the descendants of survivors. […] We have a duty to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jewish communities as they feel again threatened across Europe - most recently in Halle, Germany. All EU Member States stand united in the determination that any form of racism, antisemitism and hatred have no place in Europe and we will do whatever it takes to counter them. […] We cannot change history, but the lessons of history can change us.” On Monday, Vice- Presidents Věra Jourová and Margaritis Schinas will be in Poland to participate in the 75th anniversary of liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz- Birkenau.
    [Show full text]
  • POST-ELECTIONS UPDATE April 2015
    POST-ELECTIONS UPDATE April 2015 Israel’s Arab Citizens and the 2015 General Elections: Post-election Review In the General Elections of 2015, Arab citizens achieved greater prominence in Israel and on the world stage than any time in recent history. Successful creation of the Joint List – a merger of the 2 Arab and 1 Jewish-Arab parties that formerly represented Arab society in the Knesset – raised the profile of Arab political domestic aspirations in Israel and inspired Arab voters to come out in higher numbers. In addition, controversy surrounding PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments about Arab voters in the last hours of the campaign made headlines within Israel, the Jewish diaspora, and among Israel’s international relations. Now, with 13 mandates, the Joint List is taking its first steps to address issues important to the Arab community and cement its place in the 20th Knesset. Arab voting participation rates, election results, and controversial campaigning all set the tone for the new reality in which the Joint List is takes its place as the third largest political party. Election Results The Joint List secured 13 seats in the new Knesset (12 filled by Arab MKs and 1 by Jewish MK from Hadash.) This is two seats more than the Arab and Jewish-Arab parties secured by running individually in 2013. Joint List leaders hoped to win as many as 14-15 seats, enough to function as an obstructive block to a right-wing government. Thus, the result comes with some disappointment. At 13 seats and a right-wing government, Joint List MKs may find it “difficult to present significant achievements to the constituents, achievements that will prove to them that the unification was worth it.”1 Overall there are fewer parties in the 20th Knesset (the number dropped from 14 to 10 due to the higher electoral 1 Eldar, Shlomi.
    [Show full text]
  • Canada 2020 International Religious Freedom Report
    CANADA 2020 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT Executive Summary The constitution guarantees freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion, expression, and the right to equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination based on religion. The government does not require religious groups to register, but some registered groups may receive tax-exempt status. In November, the Quebec Court of Appeal reduced the sentence of a man to 25 years before eligibility for parole after he pled guilty in 2018 to six counts of first-degree murder for the 2017 killing of six worshippers at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec. In November and December, a Quebec court concurrently heard challenges by four groups of plaintiffs, including the National Council of Canadian Muslims, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the English Montreal School Board, a Quebec teachers union, and individuals to strike down as unconstitutional a provincial law prohibiting certain categories of government employees from wearing religious symbols while exercising their official functions. The law remained in force through year’s end. Provincial governments imposed societal restrictions on assembly, including for all faith groups, to limit the transmission of COVID-19, but some religious communities said provincial orders and additional measures were discriminatory. Quebec authorities imposed a temporary mandatory COVID-19 quarantine on a Hasidic Jewish community in a suburb of Montreal that some members said was discriminatory because it applied only to Jews, although the religious community had initiated the quarantine voluntarily. Some members of Hutterite colonies in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta said they experienced societal discrimination outside their communities due to provincial governments publishing outbreaks of COVID-19 in Hutterite communities.
    [Show full text]