OSWIECIM (VINnews) — The Polish town of Oświęcim, situated adjacent to the site of the infamous concentration camp Auschwitz, was once the home of a thriving Jewish community, which numbered some 8000 Jews before the Second World War. At a special  ceremony Thursday in the town, the site which once hosted the Great Synagogue of […]

JERUSALEM (JNS) — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin praised Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis on Wednesday and expressed support for his recent article strongly criticizing British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. During a meeting between the two in London, Rivlin thanked Mirvis for his “clear voice and leadership,” the President’s Office said according to AP. In […]

PARIS (AP) — An Islamic State group affiliate claimed responsibility Thursday for a helicopter collision that killed 13 French soldiers earlier this week in Mali, while France said it will reassess its military operation in West and Central Africa after its deadliest toll in nearly four decades. The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara statement, […]

HONG KONG (AP) — Chanting “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong,” pro-democracy activists on Thursday urged the world to follow U.S. footsteps in supporting human rights in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, as police teams began a cleanup of a university earlier occupied by demonstrators. Waving U.S. flags, thousands crowded a public square in central […]

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Bolivia will renew diplomatic ties with Israel, a decade after it broke off relations with Israel over its 2008 Operation Cast Lead against Gaza. Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric made the announcement on Thursday. She told reporters that the decision to renew relations was made “out of respect for the sovereignty of […]

BERLIN (JNS) — The German government is planning to ban all activity of Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah in the country, German daily Der Spiegel reported on Thursday. Sources in the German foreign, interior and justice ministries told the news outlet that the ban could happen as early as next week. Such a move would put […]

MALMO (JTA) — The Swedish city of Malmo will allocate some $2 million to initiatives to protect its Jewish community from anti-Semitism. Malmo, a city where one third of the population is from Muslim countries, is home to several hundred Jews and has dozens of anti-Semitic incidents annually. Among the initiatives proposed by the city’s […]

DURRES, Albania (AP) — Hopes were fading Thursday of finding anyone else alive beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings in Albania, two days after a deadly quake struck the country’s Adriatic coast killing at least 46 people and injuring more than 2,000. By Thursday afternoon, search operations were winding down, and focused on one collapsed […]

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump have signaled their affection for each other so regularly it might be easy to miss rising fears that the head-spinning diplomatic engagement of the past two years is falling apart. Pyongyang has issued increasingly dire warnings to Washington to mind […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed two bills aimed at supporting human rights and pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. Trump signed the bills, which were approved by near unanimous consent in the House and Senate, even as he expressed some concerns about complicating the effort to work out a trade deal with […]