Detectives investigate Nazi salutes at the Dachau concentration camp

October 25, 2021

Local police in Bavaria, Germany, say two men allegedly filmed themselves in Dachau giving the Nazi salute in front of Jourhaus, the entrance to the concentration camp. While there were allegedly three visitors with them, it was two who gave the salute.
The alleged perpetrators recorded themselves displaying the offensive sign. a witness also apparently recorded the event. The perpetrators said they were drunk, and they gave the salute “as a joke.”
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COVID Diary- Reflections from Our Advisory Board Member Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs

Every Day during the Corona crisis our Advisory Board Member Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs (NL) writes a diary, on request of the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam, which is published on the website of the NIW, the only Jewish Dutch Magazine. Rabbi Jacobs is the head of Inter Governmental Relationships at the Rabbinical Centre of Europe. We will be regularly publishing a selection of his informative, sometimes light hearted, but always wise pieces.
For our Dutch readers you can follow the diary every day at NIW home page: https://niw.nl
Inspired by a wise old lady who very carefully asked my opinion about insulting people, for example in a cartoon, I came to the conclusion that freedom also needs boundaries.
 
The first question is, of course, what is insulting? I read recently in a paper that “It is to be feared that airline (ELAL) policy will only become more orthodox”. What’s the meaning of this? And what is Orthodox?
 
To obey the law or not, if that is what is meant by orthodox, is not the same as good or bad. I remember Gerhard and Beppie Caneel, survivors of the war. Good, sweet, gentle people through and through. Both came from the war seriously damaged and yet always cheerful.
 
They came to the shul every Shabbat, but otherwise they did not really live according to Jewish law. My Judaism is my heart, Gerhard often said. And that was a visible truth. But they were considered Orthodox by members of the congregation who only appeared in the synagogue on the High Holidays, that is, three times a year.
 
And people who only entered the synagogue on the Day of Atonement thought those High Holiday Jews were orthodox and me probably very orthodox.
 
In other words: who sets which boundary where? And the most important question: should there be boundaries? Why all those boxes? I am Jewish and just as Jewish as Beppie and Gerhard. And whether I am good? That is determined Above! But I know 100% that Beppie and Gerhard were good people through and through. And so I find “the fear that the ELAL will become more orthodox” a polarising statement. And polarisation is dangerous, whether in word or image.
 
And so I asked some survivors what they think about that wise old lady’s concern about consciously insulting believers. All survivors I approached shared her view that there should be limits to free speech. Everyone may think that his way of thinking is the only correct one, but there must be room for others to have a different opinion. If I condemn a different religion or way of life in razor-sharp words, it should be possible. But if my conviction calls for killing or discriminating against the other, then I must be called to order and put under lock and key because of sedition.
 
But what if I just insult? If that is allowed, why are we, as a Jewish community, so excited about the floats in Aalst? Anything and everything is possible, right?
 
Some years ago I was confronted with an educational audiovisual program from the churches. The images were formed with sand. There were images and a narrator. The subject was the origin of Christianity. Supporters and opponents of the new religion were all Jews.
 
But in the broadcast, the opponents had long noses, all looked very angry and gave the impression that they were bad people. How will those images affect the youthful viewers of that program? We went to the makers of the program with a minister friend, with the result that they adjusted the entire program. Their intention was absolutely not to incite hatred! I am a staunch fanatical super ultra-orthodox advocate of freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. But what if violence ensues as a result of being insulted?
 
What then? That old wise lady is of the opinion that insulting is also wrong. I share her opinion.
 
I find it unacceptable to destroy fellow human beings spiritually, deeply hurting them. And so I can protest against the float in Aalst because I experience it as insulting.
 
The Jew with a long nose, tons of money and dollar signs. I can also go to court. But violence against a float that proclaims a message that I find dangerous, taking the law into your own hands or calling for the right to take into your own hands: no way!
 
And so I think that old wise lady, herself a survivor of the Shoah, is right. Anything and everything is allowed, but not unlimited. And that is why I was so delighted that I was allowed to lay a wreath in front of the Jewish monument with Mayor Marcouch in Arnhem last Sunday, despite corona.
 
An Islamic mayor and a Jewish rabbi stood hand in hand (because of corona only in spirit) to demonstrate that what could happen then must never happen again. And a few hours later, during the virtual commemoration of Kristallnacht, the Protestant Churches declared loud and clear in a statement that together, from a deep sense of belonging, we will fight against anti-Semitism and for friendship.
 
Freedom of expression, of the press, of belief: Certainly. But…with limits!

JEP Unites 150 Young Professionals from Across Europe in Porto for a Dynamic Weekend of Networking and Learning

During the weekend, JEP (Jewish European Professionals) orchestrated an event that brought together 150 young professionals from across Europe in the dynamic city of Porto, Portugal. It was an enriching experience brimming with networking opportunities, learning, and enjoyment!

Taking Action Following the Murder of Yeshiva Student, Dvir Sorek (ת.נ.צ.ב.ה)

A day after Dvir funeral EJA chairman, Rabbi Margolin had sent letters to High Representative Mogherini, H.E. Mr. David Maria Sassoli MEP, H.E. Mr. Donald Franciszek Tusk and Mr. David James McAllister MEP, urging them to condemn the glorification of violence and radicalisation by the Palestinian Authority, and make clear that incitement will not be tolerated by the EU, in order to ensure that the murderer of the 19-year-old Dvir Sorek does not receive such payments/stipends.

 

Israel’s President Herzog to attend Sunday’s inauguration of National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam

Herzog’s visit to the Netherlands is part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to free the hostages held by terrorist group Hamas. In this context, he will have a series of diplomatic meetings focusing on efforts to return the hostages brutally held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as on raising awareness of the need to combat the worrying rise in antisemitism in Europe and around the world following the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, Herzog’s office said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will attend on Sunday the inauguration of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam.

The official ceremony will be held in the city’s famous Portuguese Synagogue, in the presence of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, together with the President of Austria, Alexander van der Bellen, Dutch Prime Minister  Mark Rutte, the President of the Bundesrat or German Federal Council, Manuela Schwesig, the Mayor of Amsterdam, and Jewish leaders from around the world.

Herzog’s visit if part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to free the hostages held by terrorist group Hamas. In this context, he will have a series of diplomatic meetings focusing on efforts to return the hostages brutally held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as on raising awareness of the need to combat the worrying rise in antisemitism in Europe and around the world following the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, Herzog’s office said.

The President will be joined by the family of the late Major (Res.) Yitzhar Hoffman, who fell in battle against terrorists in January. The Hoffman family was saved in the Holocaust by Dutch citizens who were later recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.

On the same day, he will visit The Hague,  where he will meet with Prime Minister Rutte President van der Bellen of Austria, and other senior officials. The President is also expected to meet with families of Israeli hostages visiting the country.

In each of his meetings, Israeli President Isaac Herzog (pictured) ”will raise the ongoing and vital struggle to secure the release of all the hostages held by Hamas.”

He will also meet with leaders of Jewish communities in the Netherlands, and will visit the Jewish school in Amsterdam.

‘’In each of his meetings, President Herzog will raise the ongoing and vital struggle to secure the release of all the hostages held by Hamas. He will also emphasize the important need to combat global antisemitism, and stress the centrality of Israel in the Jewish world,’’ his office said.

According to the Dutch media, pro-Palestinian activists are expected to protest the presence of President Herzog. “We value freedom of speech,” said a spokesman for the National Holocaust Museum. “We just say: keep it dignified. Keep in mind that Holocaust survivors will also be present.”

The National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam which will be inaugurated on Sunday and will open to the  public the next day, tells the story of the Nazi persecution and murder of the Jews of the Netherlands. It is the first and only museum to tell this story.

The Museum is mocated on Amsterdam’s Plantage Middellaan where hundreds of Jewish children were saved here during the war.

Visitors will learn about how it was possible for the Holocaust to happen, who the victims were, and the perpetrators – and how we can make sure that this never happens again.

Authentic elements emphasize the role played by the building during the war, like the fence where children were passed over from the adjacent kindergarten to members of the resistance.

The National Holocaust Museum is located in the old Jewish neighbourhood in the heart of Amsterdam. It is also home to the Jewish Museum and Jewish Museum junior, the Portuguese Synagogue and Hollandsche Schouwburg.

Prior to the Holocaust, 140,000 Jews were living in the Netherlands. During the 1930s, the community was active in helping Jews leave Germany, so that by the outbreak of the war, some 30,000 had found sanctuary in the Netherlands.

During the Holocaust, many of the Dutch collaborated with the Germans, while many others strove to rescue their Jewish neighbours. By the end of the war, over 100,000 Dutch Jews had been murdered. Some 10,000, including 3,500 children, had been hidden.

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