German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle met with Israeli leaders Friday in Jerusalem, iterating his nation’s support for the Jewish state. "I'm using the word friendship, which is from our understanding more than a partnership,” Westerwelle told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “This is not only a strategic alliance; this is a friendship between societies, between peoples and between governments.” He added: "We will do what we can to support the security and a peaceful and …More

A female solicitor in Rawtenstall, England was fined for telling a colleague she “could not stand Jewish people.” [LT] The Yale University Slifka Center for Jewish Life was threatened with an arson attack on Shavuot. [NHR] John Galliano was removed from his upcoming teaching position at Parsons The New School for Design, after a protest by the school’s Jewish Students Union. [Forward] Two women have volunteered to attempt to save the Canadian Jewish News, which plans to close its operations …More

The fourth most wanted Nazi criminal was arrested in Germany yesterday. Hans Lipschis, 93, was taken into custody for allegedly aiding in the deaths of 1.5 million prisoners at Auschwitz. "[The suspect] appeared before a judge and was taken into custody,” said the prosecutor's office in Stuttgart. "The indictment against him is currently being prepared." Lipschis was deported from the US in 1983 for covering up his Nazi past, though he has long maintained he worked only as a cook at Auschwitz from 1941 …More

Iron dome batteries are deployed in northern Israel as tension with Syria heats up. [ABC] Ultra-Orthodox Jewish college wins $10.6 million in public funds. [NJ.com] Israel asks Google to re-think its move to change "Palestinian territories" to "Palestine." [JPost] France thanks Sephardic Jews for bringing chocolate to the nation. [Times of Israel] A high profile neo-Nazi terror trial begins in Germany. [Arutz Sheva] Survivors say "never again" at Mauthausen. [Arutz Sheva] Young Israeli scientists conquer …More

Israel received its fifth Dolphin-class submarine from Germany today, as part of an ongoing defense partnering between the two nations. The sub was unveiled in Kiel, Germany, at a ceremony attended by Israeli Navy Commander Ram Rothberg, Ministry of Defense Director-General Ehud Shani, and a convoy of German and Israeli officials. The vessel is part of six-sub deal between Israel and Germany, following a 2005 contract Germany’s Thyssen-Krupp Marine Systems. The fourth submarine was delivered to Israel …More

The rise of the ultra-nationalist party in Ukraine threatens an increase of anti-Semitism. [Forward] The small Jewish community of Dresden, Germany is appointing a hometown rabbi for the first time since 1938, when the town’s last synagogue was destroyed in Kristallnacht. [Forward] Descendants of Peruvian Jews have converted back to Judaism and plan to make aliyah to Israel. [Israel National News] Israel and Lebanon have increased troops patrolling their border following the aircraft seen flying low …More

Jorgen Nilsson, an officer in the Swedish military and a Knight Hospitalier in the Order of St. Lazarus, has arrived in Israel after a six-month journey on foot from his home in Sweden, Israel Hayom reported. Nilsson arrived in Jerusalem on Sunday, where he was given a medal of honor on behalf of the city. He took more than 7 million steps in a walk through Denmark, Germany, France, Italy and Greece on his way to Israel, and timed his journey so that he would arrive for the start of the First International …More

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to receive one of European Jewry’s highest honors, for her reputation of support for the Jewish community. Merkel will be awarded the Lord Jakobovits Prize for European Jewry on May 22 at the Great Synagogue of Europe in Brussels. The prize will be granted by the Conference of European Rabbis. Merkel received acclaim from the Jewish community in Germany last summer for her quick response to a proposed ban on circumcision. She has also worked to safeguard ritual …More

On April 18, 1945, factory owner Oskar Schindler wrote what was arguably the most important list of his life. The German entrepreneur was known for his business savvy and persuasive tongue, skills he put to the test in convincing Nazi authorities to resist deportation of more than 1,200 Jews, individuals who would go down in history as the “Schindlerjuden.” Schindler was born April 28, 1908, into a Roman Catholic family. As a schoolboy he worked in sales after his studies, showing an early aptitude …More

A battle between Germany and Poland heated up this week, as a popular Polish magazine ran a cover image of German Chancellor Angela Merkel dressed as a concentration camp prisoner. Conservative weekly Uwazam Rze ran the photo Tuesday with a headline reading, “Falsification of History: How the Germans Are Turning Themselves into Victims of the Second World War.” The debate started with a three-part miniseries produced by a state-run German television station in March. The series was wildly popular in …More

As anti-Jewish sentiment began to rise in Germany in the 1930’s, world Jewry took notice. While those on the outside looking in weren’t able to make immediate efforts to curb the alarming rate of Jewish restrictions under Nazi influence, a high number of advocates still let their voices be heard. In March of 1933, the American Jewish Congress took note of riots against Jews in Germany, where shops were being looted and general prejudice seem to be becoming the order of the day. An emergency meeting …More

A Nazi crimes agency in Germany will launch an investigation of 50 alleged former Auschwitz guards living in the country. Following a precedent set by the successful 2011 case against John Demjanjuk, the Central Office for Clarification of Nazi Crimes will begin reviewing cases in the coming weeks, according to reports from the German WAZ media group. The aim is to prosecute the individuals on charges of accessory to murder. The alleged guards, all around 90 years old, live throughout the country, the reports …More