Weekly roundup of world briefs

Jewish man leaves $2M to French mountain town that hid him from Nazis

By Philissa Cramer

(JTA) — A man who died in December reportedly left a significant gift for the French town that shielded his family and thousands of others from the Nazis during World War II.

Eric Schwam, who died at 90 on Dec. 25, 2020, willed his estate to Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, the mountain town where his Jewish family hid for two years, according to CNN.

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in France is one of only two locales honored collectively by Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum for rescuing Jews. (The other is Nieuwlande, in the Netherlands.) The town and its Protestant villagers are estimated to have saved 2,500 Jews and more recently have taken in refugees from the Middle East and Africa.

The town is seeking more information about Schwam, who was 12 when he arrived in the area with his parents and grandmother as a refugee from Austria. According to French media reports, Schwam — a retired pharmacist in Lyon who married but had no children — had visited the town a decade before his death and indicated to its mayor at the time that he might honor it in his will. But the size of the gift, as much as $2.4 million, was a surprise.

Schwam requested that his gift be used to fund scholarships and local schools. “We are extremely honored and we will use the sum according to Mr. Schwam’s will,” Deputy Mayor Denise Vallat told CNN.

In Belarus, Marc Chagall’s synagogue is for sale to anyone willing to restore it

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — The remains of the synagogue in Belarus where the family of painter Marc Chagall used to pray are up for sale to anyone willing to restore the building.

The municipality of Vitebsk is seeking a nominal fee only for the dilapidated exterior walls of what used to be the Great Lubavitch Synagogue, according to the People’s News of Vitebsk. But the new owners of the synagogue, whose remnant walls are listed as cultural monument, need to preserve those walls and restore the 19th-century building’s architecture, though it does not need to serve as a synagogue.

The Great Lubavitch Synagogue in Vitebsk, which is located 155 miles northeast of the Belarusian capital of Minsk, was once one of more than 60 synagogues in the city of about 60,000 residents where half the population was Jewish before the Holocaust.

Khatskl and Feige-Ite Chagall and their nine children, including Marc, were regulars at the Lubavitch Synagogue, according to the Belarus Jewish news site Shalom.by.

Chagall, a Cubist painter known for combining many Jewish symbols in colorful works featuring dreamlike scenes, left Vitebsk for France, where he worked before immigrating to the United States to escape the Nazis. He died in 1985 at 97.

Vitebsk today only has a few dozen Jews. In 2017, that community saw its first opening of a synagogue in over a century.

Russian university fires lecturer who denied Holocaust

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — A prestigious university in Moscow said it would fire a professor who denied the Holocaust on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Vladimir Matveyev, a lecturer on international relations, told teachers from the St. Petersburg region on Thursday that “no gas chambers were found to kill people in concentration camps,” “the gas was used by the Germans for disinfection” and “Six million dead Jews are a fiction.”

In a statement that same day, the state-owned university, known as RANEPA, said it  “cannot accept” the lies told by Matveyev.

Matveyev was not representing the university on the video call in which he made the remarks, RANEPA said, and was participating outside his professional duties. RANEPA stands for Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day occurs on the date that Red Army troops liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp that the Nazis built in occupied Poland.

Menachem-Mendel Pevzner, a rabbi from St. Petersburg, said his office is pressing charges against Matveyev for hate speech and Holocaust denial, which are illegal in Russia, the news site Jewish.ru reported.

Alan Dershowitz nominates Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz for Nobel Peace Prize

By Ron Kampeas

(JTA) — Alan Dershowitz has nominated Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz, the Trump administration officials who shaped the Abraham Accords, for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dershowitz, the famed lawyer and pro-Israel activist, is an eligible nominator in his capacity as an emeritus professor at Harvard University, Reuters reported Monday.

Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a leading White House adviser, and Berkowitz, the top Middle Eastern envoy during the last administration, brokered normalization agreements 2020 between Israel and four Arab nations: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

The agreements have triggered overt signs of acceptance of Israel and of Jews not seen in decades in the region, including declarations most recently recognizing International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Israel was not at war with any of the countries and had sub rosa ties with each of them. At least three of the countries earned quid quo pros from the Trump administration in the deals, among them the sale of stealth combat jets to the UAE, which President Joe Biden has said he will review.

Dershowitz, who is close to Trump and was one of his defense lawyers in his first impeachment, alluded to the cloud that the former president is now under for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, a deadly riot that triggered his second impeachment.

“The Nobel Peace Prize is not for popularity,” Dershowitz wrote in his nomination, which Reuters quoted. “Nor is it an assessment of what the international community may think of those who helped bring about peace. It is an award for fulfilling the daunting criteria set out by Alfred Nobel in his will.”

Activists occupy UK building owned by Israeli defense firm Elbit to protest Israeli arms sales

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — Pro-Palestinian activists in the United Kingdom stormed a factory owned by the Israeli defense firm Elbit on Monday, occupying and vandalizing the building.

Several members of the Palestine Action and Extinction Rebellion groups in a joint action blocked the entrance of the Elbit Ferranti factory in Waterhead, a town located about 262 miles northwest of London, they wrote on social media.

Two climbed onto a ledge, pouring blood-red paint down the front and spray-painting the words “Shut Elbit Down,” according to the online edition of The Oldham Times, a regional paper.

The activists holed up in the building. Police have been informed of the action but have not made arrests.

Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists for years have protested the presence of Elbit offices and factory in the United Kingdom, where the Israeli firm has large-scale contracts with the British government. Some of the protesters allege that Elbit provides arms for violations of international law by Israel and other armies.

Last month, the British Ministry of Defense signed a contract of more than $100 million with Elbit to supply military sensors.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court frees men convicted of Daniel Pearl’s murder

(JNS) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal against the acquittal of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was sentenced to death in 2002 for the murder of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl and ordered his immediate release, as well as the release of three other co-defendants in the case.

In April, a Pakistan court commuted Sheikh’s death penalty to seven years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and acquitted three of his co-defendants, citing a lack of evidence. The court ordered his immediate release, as he had already served 18 years in jail. The Pearl family and the Sindh state government appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the decision and requesting that the death penalty be reinstated.

On Thursday, a three-judge panel denied both pleas by majority decision.

The head of the panel, Justice Mushir Alam, issued a court order that Sheikh and his co-defendants are to be released immediately if they aren’t required in any other case, according to Reuters.

The Pearl family was in “complete shock,” the family’s lawyer, Faisal Siddiqi, told Reuters, adding that the court decision was a travesty of justice.

“No amount of injustice will defeat our resolve to fight for justice for Daniel Pearl,” he said.

Last month, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would be ready to prosecute Sheikh in the event that the efforts to reinstate his conviction fail.

“The United States stands ready to take custody of Omar Sheikh to stand trial here. We cannot allow him to evade justice for his role in Daniel Pearl’s abduction and murder,” said Acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen in a statement.

In first real-world study, Pfizer vaccine shows high rate of effectiveness in Israel

(JNS) — Data released by Israel’s Ministry of Health and one of its top health-care providers indicate that the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer is proving to be highly effective in providing immunity from the virus.

According to the Ministry of Health, a total of 317 out of 715,425 Israelis who were fully vaccinated (at least a week after receiving both doses) contracted the virus, with only 16 coming down with serious cases in need of hospitalization.

At the same time, Maccabi Healthcare Services, one of the four health providers in Israel, reported that only 31 out of the 163,000 Israelis vaccinated by them caught the coronavirus after 10 days of receiving the second dose, which is when full immunity is expected.

In the control group of unvaccinated Israelis during the same period, some 6,437 were diagnosed with COVID-19.

“This is very, very good news,” Anat Ekka Zohar, Maccabi’s top vaccine statistics analyst, told The Times of Israel. “It is the first study in the world that looks at such a large number of fully vaccinated patients.”

The data from Israel is the first real-world look into the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine. Israel has been one of the leading countries in vaccinations per capita.

During its clinical trials, Pfizer achieved 95 percent efficacy, and medical professionals from around the world had been looking to Israel to see the results of the vaccine so far.

Ariel University awards first honorary doctorate to former US ambassador

By Ariel Kahana

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Israel’s Ariel University in Samaria announced on Sunday that it will award its first honorary doctorate to outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman “in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the diplomatic international relations between the USA and Israel.”

Ariel University president professor Yehuda Danon said “Ambassador Friedman and the American government’s acknowledgment that research and discovery benefit all people, regardless of location, faith or practice will allow researchers from Ariel University and their colleagues in the USA the opportunity to focus on their important scientific work and continue to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries.”

Friedman said in response that he was “deeply honored to be the first recipient of an honorary doctorate from Ariel University, a world-class academic institution that serves students of all faiths and nationalities. Ariel brings a future of peaceful coexistence right to the here and now.”

This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.

Senate confirms Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban-born Jew, as Homeland Security secretary

By RonKampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban-born son of a Holocaust survivor, as Homeland Security secretary on Tuesday.

National Jewish groups had sought the confirmation of Mayorkas, who had served under President Barack Obama as deputy Homeland Security secretary and was known to the groups.

The nomination had been subject to partisan tussling and the 56-43 vote was closer than for other Cabinet picks of President Joe Biden.

Jewish groups had pressed for a fast confirmation, citing the pressing need to counter right-wing extremism, particularly in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump marauders who sought to prevent Biden from assuming the presidency.

Republicans opposed Mayorkas’ pledge to reverse some of former President Donald Trump’s restrictive immigration policies, although the nominee’s views stated during his confirmation hearings comported with those of Biden. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., placed a hold on the Mayorkas nomination.

Mayorkas is one of a number of Jewish Cabinet secretaries, including Antony Blinken in the State Department, Janet Yellen in Treasury and Avril Haines as director of national intelligence.

Washington Wizards launch Hebrew Instagram for Israeli fans of Deni Avdija

By Gabe Friedman

(JTA) — The Washington Wizards are all in on Deni Avdija content.

The team, which made Avdija the highest-ever Israeli NBA draft pick last year, now has an Instagram account in Hebrew to cater to Israeli fans. It’s a first for an NBA team and adds to the team’s Hebrew Twitter account.

Yaron Talpaz, formerly the chief marketing officer for the Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club, will lead the Wizards’ Hebrew coverage, the team said in a news release.

Adding to its Hebrew media blitz, the team will also launch a Wizraeli podcast to “feature interviews with Wizards personnel and voices from around the NBA and Israel.” The first episode will include Avdija and former Israeli NBA player Omri Casspi.

“We are committed to growing the game of basketball and connecting fans all over the world, so expanding our reach in Israel with the addition of Deni is a perfect opportunity to extend our global efforts,” said Jim Van Stone, president of the Monumental Sports & Entertainment group, which owns the Wizards.

Avdija, 20, is averaging 6.6 points and 2 assists per game in his rookie season.

In study of 1,800 haredi Orthodox Jews in London, most have caught and beat COVID-19

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — In a study of 1,800 people from a single Jewish haredi community in London, 64 percent of those tested appeared to have contracted and beat the coronavirus, researchers said.

The study, which researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine conducted at the request of the community in question, looked into seroprevalence, which is the rate of past infection, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

Among working-age adults tested in the sample, seroprevalence was at 74 percent compared to 64 percent overall, according to the report, which has not been peer reviewed.

The researchers declined to name the community they tested to “avoid broader social tension,” the Financial Times reported.

The Office for National Statistics estimates that seroprevalence is at around 7 percent in the general population of the United Kingdom and 11 percent in London.

Haredi Jews display a higher seroprevalence rate because they have larger families than the average Briton, with closer contact between family and community members. The average number of children in haredi communities is more than twice the 2.3 national average, the researchers said.

In recent weeks, the British media reported at length about routine violations by haredim of emergency measures to stem the virus’ spread. However, one of the researchers behind the study, Michael Marks, said the violations do not account for the unusual prevalence of seroprevalence among haredim.

“The shape of the curve during wave one shows people did curtail their interactions,” he said.

Additional minorities, including Muslims and Asians, also displayed a higher-than-average infection rate in the United Kingdom.