‘Education and Beyond’: Yael Foundation to hold third annual conference in Cyprus
(JNS) — More than 200 Jewish educators and thought leaders from across the globe are set to converge on Limassol, Cyprus next week for the third annual International Yael Foundation Conference.
The Feb. 3-5 event, titled “Education and Beyond,” will focus on advancing Jewish education and addressing its most pressing challenges.
Over the course of three days, attendees from 37 countries spanning four continents will engage key decision-makers, influencers and philanthropists in critical discussions on key issues affecting the Jewish people, including:
– Ensuring equitable access to high-quality Jewish and general education for every Jewish child, regardless of geographic location or community size;
– Combating rising antisemitic threats around the world;
– Exploring the evolving trends within the Jewish world post-Oct. 7, 2023.
The highlight will be a gala dinner during which the Yael Foundation Awards of Excellence will recognize outstanding achievements in promoting Jewish identity, educational innovation, community, continuity and resilience.
Founded in 2020 by Cyprus-based Uri and Yael Poliavich, the foundation, whose motto is “No Jewish Child Left Behind,” is a leading philanthropic initiative currently working in 35 countries and impacting 13,000 Jewish students.
Dutch venue axes Israeli’s show, allegedly blames it on police
(JNS) — Staff at a prominent standup comedy venue established by American Jews in Amsterdam canceled an Israeli comedian’s show and then falsely claimed police had ordered it, according to the performer.
Organizers at Boom Chicago told Yohay Sponder that his show, slated for Jan. 25, could not take place because they’d “talked to the police and they said it may be very hard to secure,” the comedian said during a Jan. 23 show.
“We called the police because we wanted to understand what’s the problem that’s waiting for us […] at another location,” said Sponder. “The police said: No, we didn’t talk to them,” he added.
The venue’s manager, Sponder continued, “was so nice, he wrote us an email saying: ‘Guys, I can totally help you, maybe we can find a place that’s a Jewish venue.’”
Sponder quipped: “Yeah, maybe in an attic, or maybe at Anne Frank’s House, it’s not that far.”
The canceled show had been fully booked, he noted.
The Jewish-American co-founders of Boom Chicago, Greg Shapiro and Pep Rosenfeld of Illinois, did not reply to JNS queries regarding Sponder’s claim by time of print.
Before Sponder publicized his version of the story, the club published a statement that did not mention police but cited heated comments on social media ahead of the show.
Polish MEP mars Holocaust ceremony: ‘Jewish genocide in Gaza’
(JNS) — A solemn ceremony marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day in the plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday was marred when a far-right Polish lawmaker shouted, “Let’s pray for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza.’’
While the assembly was observing a minute’s silence for the six million Jews exterminated by the Nazis, the MEP, Grezegor Braun, a member of the Confederation of the Polish Crown party, again shouted: “Thank you for praying for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza.’’
President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola retorted: “Can I ask for silence in the gallery?”
Metsola then asked for the MEP to leave the room and apologized to the crowd, before the ceremony ended with a musical performance of “Kaddish,” the Jewish prayer for the deceased, by Maurice Ravel.
Metsola opened the ceremony, which marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, with the words: “We can never forget and we must act.’’
‘Let’s see what happens,’ UN says of Israeli laws shuttering UNRWA office
(JNS) — With a pair of laws, which the Knesset passed in October, slated to go into effect on Jan. 30 shuttering the U.N. Relief and Works Agency office in Jerusalem, reporters asked at a United Nations press briefing on Wednesday whether the U.N. agency would comply with the Israeli laws.
“Let’s see what happens when the sun rises over Jerusalem tomorrow,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, told reporters.
The global body has “taken measures to ensure” that UNRWA staff members subject to the new legislation are “safe and that premises and records are also safe,” Dujarric said at the press briefing. Asked if Israel has told the United Nations that it will guarantee protection of UNRWA staff, Dujarric said, “I would not say that we’ve gotten any assurances.”
The U.N. spokesman echoed comments from Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, and said that the agency “will continue to deliver on its mandate until it physically cannot.”
“The secretary-general should recognize that UNRWA is a compromised entity that no longer enjoys the trust of governments essential to its operations,” Schaefer told JNS.
“Other U.N. and non-U.N. entities can provide humanitarian support to the Palestinian people,’ he said. “The secretary-general should spend time more productively by facilitating this shift and supporting the termination of UNRWA.”
Police in Australia seize explosives they say may have been intended to kill Jews
(JTA) — Police in Australia say they have seized explosives that they believe were intended for a plot to target Jews.
The explosives, as well as material containing details about Jewish institutions, were found earlier this month in a camper van in a suburb of Sydney. Police disclosed the find on Thursday amid rumors of arrests and a steady drumbeat of disquieting antisemitic incidents in the country.
The harm caused by the seized explosives, were they to detonate, could have dwarfed those incidents, police and local Jewish leaders said.
“This is undoubtedly the most severe threat to the Jewish community in Australia to date,” the Zionist Federation of Australia said in a statement. “The plot, if executed, would likely have resulted in the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil.”
The group is calling for more information about the incident as well as the arrests to be made public.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this month said the spate of recent attacks may be funded and organized by overseas actors.
Authorities in other countries have pinned antisemitic and anti-Israel attacks on Iran and Russia.
