Weekly roundup of world briefs

Ukrainian refugees to join March of Living at Auschwitz for first post-COVID commemoration

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — Refugees from Ukraine are scheduled to join the March of the Living commemoration event at Auschwitz.

The refugees are among 2,500 people from 25 countries who have signed up for the mission to the former death camp, the first since March of the Living suspended such activities due to COVID-19, the educational group said in a statement. The March brings young people from around the world to Poland and Israel to study the history of the Holocaust.

The event on April 28 will culminate in the traditional two-mile march between the Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau camps near Krakow in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, the statement said.

One of the Ukrainian participants is Yefim Podlipsky, a Jewish refugee from Vinnitsa. He ran a tourism company before he fled Ukraine after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of the country.

Lila Buzeniuk, another Ukrainian refugee participating in this year’s event, also comes from Vinnitsa.

“The war divided our family and forced us to leave our home and our country,” Buzeniuk, a mother of three, said in the March of the Living statement. “But we survived and we are alive. We found shelter and refuge in a sister country,” she said of Poland. “Thanks to wonderful people we will live, we will remember — and never forget.”

Belgian state TV apologizes for video parodying ‘Schindler’s List’

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — A state-owned broadcaster in Belgium apologized for a video that parodies Steven Spielberg’s classic Holocaust movie “Schindler’s List” by dubbing alternative dialogue about an apparent cookie shortage over some of the film’s footage.

VRT, a public broadcaster which is owned and funded by the government of the Flemish Region of Belgium, on Monday said that it was removing the “inappropriate” April 7 video from its YouTube channel.

“Humor and satire should be allowed in out programming but it must never be the intention to hurt the feelings of others or laugh at their suffering,” a VRT statement read. “We recognize that this did happen here, we wish to express our heartfelt apologies.”

Some Jewish and Christian groups and Michael Freilich, an Orthodox Jewish lawmaker serving in Belgium’s federal parliament, had criticized the segment, which aired as part of the popular evening show “The Ideal World.”

It aimed to satirize reports in Belgian media about how the war in Ukraine could be causing shortages in the supply of the popular Cent Wafer cookie brand.

One character portraying a Jewish concentration camp prisoner is dubbed to say: “Goddamn, that shit boy is gone with the last family pack of Cent Wafers” about a character being led to Nazi gas chambers.

Among the organizations that protested the video was the Consultative Body of Christians and Jews in Belgium, which deemed it in a statement “disrespectful and tasteless” and called on VRT to use public funds to “promote higher values.”

An Israeli primetime comedy show “Eretz Nehedert,” or “It’s a Wonderful Country,” also referenced “Schindler’s List” in a sketch from last month that used the Ukraine conflict to satirize Israeli high-tech executives.

Israeli police block Jewish protest flag march in Jerusalem

(JNS) — Israeli Police blocked a right-wing flag march through Jerusalem on Wednesday that participants said was a response to what they see as a weak government reaction to Arab violence in the Old City.

The police said they allowed the marchers to walk towards the Jaffa Gate, though hundreds tried to pass by the police barricade. Police removed dozens of young protesters that had gathered near the Damascus Gate area to prevent tensions from rising.

Members of the Israeli government called the march, which was joined by Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir of the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party, a “provocation.”

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had ordered police to block Ben-Gvir from reaching the Damascus Gate, the entrance to the Muslim Quarter.

Ben-Gvir later tweeted on Wednesday evening: “Surrender to terrorism invites further surrender and missiles. You chose disgrace; you received disgrace.”

SJP holds march on Illinois campus protesting actions on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount

(JNS) — The Anti-Defamation League Midwest has denounced a march by members of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana that occurred on one of the intermediary days of Passover and stopped in front of the Cohen Center for Jewish Life, which houses the Hillel on campus.

According to a local media report, SJP said its march on Monday was to speak out against violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Palestinians have been throwing rocks and inciting violence from the holy site in recent days, leading Israel Police to take action, including entering the mosque compound to quell disturbances.

“Our students come here specifically to gather kosher-for-Passover meals,” Illini Hillel director Erez Cohen told WCIA News in Illinois. “They don’t really have anywhere else to go on campus and to be cornered in a way they need to pass through a crowd of shouting people to receive their religious needs is pretty awkward and unnecessary.”

In a tweet, ADL Midwest wrote: “SJP’s targeting of a Jewish institution at the University of Illinois to protest Israel policies is anti-Semitism. We are horrified that it occurred during a Passover celebration, and reports are an object was thrown at Hillel, crossing the line from protest to violence.”

The ADL went on to ask that local law enforcement and school officials launch a “full investigation and that those responsible for the act of violence be held accountable.”

Arizona votes to adopt IHRA definition of anti-Semitism

(JNS) — The state of Arizona has passed legislation to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism.

HB 2675, which passed on Tuesday by a vote of 49-4, ensures that the IHRA definition will be considered by state authorities when they investigate incidents of crime or discrimination.

The IHRA definition has been adopted or endorsed by 865 entities worldwide, including 37 countries, and the U.S. Departments of Education and State. Other states that have adopted the definition include Florida, Iowa, South Carolina and Tennessee. Only a few days before the Arizona vote, The Ohio State University also adopted the IHRA definition.

It followed a December pronouncement by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who issued a strong statement recently against anti-Semitism on college campuses in a letter to all 111 university presidents in the state calling for them to take a serious look at how Jews are treated at their campuses.

“Historically, anti-Semitism has been so deadly due to its evolving nature, making it difficult to identify and address. Arizona’s legislation is a first step in the right direction given that the IHRA definition addresses contemporary anti-Semitism and provides examples of such behavior,” said StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein in a released statement after Arizona passed HB 2675.

Gaza terrorists prepare tunnels for ‘battles to come,’ says report

(JNS) — Palestinian terrorists in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip are building tunnels as it prepares for the next war with Israel, according to a report.

A Palestinian Islamic Jihad official told AFP that the movement has defensive and offensive tunnel systems. The commander said the latter “is used for taking Israeli soldiers captive, repelling Israeli ground offensives and carrying out various field operations.”

The tunnels have electric lighting, a ventilation system and telecom cables. They also come complete with small rooms to store weapons and communication, according to the report.

Israel has fortified its border with Gaza by using a barrier that goes underground and is made of steel.

“We will let the days and the battles to come do the talking about the ability of the resistance to break through this so-called [Israeli] barrier,” Al-Quds Brigade spokesman Abu Hamza told AFP.

One fighter sitting near one of the tunnel entrances was reported as saying, “We’ve received instructions to mobilize and be on high alert to defend the Al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem. The rockets are on high alert, and we’re waiting for the leadership to decide.”

Report: Pro-Iran hackers target Israel Airports Authority website

(JNS) — A pro-Iran hacking group named Altahrea Team targeted the website of the Israel Airports Authority, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

The group said its actions were “revenge” for the assassination by the United States on Jan. 3 of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandes, the commander of the pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization Forces Shi’ite militias in Iraq, according to Maariv.

The IAA confirmed that its website had experienced a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, but stated that there was no harm to its operational systems or infiltration of its networks.

On March 15, multiple Israeli government websites went offline, likely due to a large-scale cyber attack conducted by “Iranian-aligned hackers,” Ynet reported.

The report cited the Israel National Cyber Directorate as saying “the attack was aimed at government and non-security websites, and not at public computer systems … for now.”

In November, The New York Times said Israel was behind a cyber attack on Iran’s fuel distribution system in the previous month that paralyzed the Islamic Republic’s 4,300 gas stations.

IDF to impose closure on Judea and Samaria until Saturday

(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday the closure of Judea and Samaria, as well as crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip, from Thursday until Saturday.

The decision follows a security assessment by senior defense officials, the military said, adding that the closure would be lifted on April 23 subject to the conclusion of a security assessment on Saturday.

According to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, during the closure Palestinian worshippers will continue to be allowed to arrive at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for Friday prayers, as has been the case throughout the Ramadan holiday.

In addition, humanitarian and exceptional medical cases will be allowed to cross into Israel.

The IDF said meanwhile that engineering work to strengthen the security barrier is continuing. In addition, deployments of backup security forces and the installation of technological means along the barrier are ongoing, as part of Israel’s efforts to plug gaps that have been exploited by terrorists in recent weeks to infiltrate Israel and conduct deadly attacks.

On April 17, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced a decision to lift the security closure imposed on Judea and Samaria, during the intermediate days of the Passover holiday, after it was imposed on April 15 and 16, at the start of Passover.

The decision was made in line with recommendations by security agencies, according to a statement by Gantz’s office, which added that the situation would be assessed on an ongoing basis.

Second Priestly Blessing at Kotel sees low turnout as tensions remain high

By Yori Yalon and Efrat Forsher

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — The second Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim) at the Western Wall, held on Wednesday morning, saw only a few thousand attendees amid high tensions in the Old City.

In previous years, the upper plaza of the Western Wall used to be full, but on Wednesday it saw only a handful of visitors. However, the plaza immediately next to the holy site was crowded.

Hundreds of police officers were deployed at the site and on the Temple Mount in an attempt to head off any ethno-religious attacks or attempts to harass the worshippers.

The relatively low attendance appears to be the result of the violent clashes that have overtaken the Old City of Jerusalem in the past few weeks.

Still, Tuesday evening saw an increased number of visitors to the Western Wall, and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said, “We expect there to be more participants in the Priestly Blessing, in the hope that things will stay quiet.”

This year, partly because of the fraught security situation resulting from the concurrent Passover, Ramadan and Easter holidays and partly because of remaining concerns about COVID-19, a decision was taken to hold the Priestly Blessing twice during Passover. The first event took place on Monday, without incident.

IDF strikes terror tunnel in Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire

(JNS) — Israeli fighter jets attacked a military target and a terrorist tunnel on Thursday in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

The IDF said the airstrike hit a tunnel leading to an underground storage area for raw materials used to manufacture rockets. “The attack will lead to significant damage to the rocket-production process in the Gaza Strip,” the Israel Defense Forces said on Twitter.

The IDF also released a video of the attack.

The rocket launched from Gaza on Wednesday night caused damage to a home in Sderot. A resident of the house says the rocket struck near some cooking gas canisters.

“It is a miracle no one was hurt,” he said, reported Ynet.

Israeli troops seize $1.2 million drug shipment on Egyptian border

(JNS) — Israeli security forces on Sunday foiled an attempt to smuggle narcotics into Israel from Egypt, seizing 200 kilograms of drugs worth an estimated 4 million shekels ($1.2 million), the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

IDF spotters had observed “a number of suspects” attempting to move the narcotics across the border into Israeli territory, and alerted a force to the area, the statement said. The drugs were transferred to the Israel Police, the IDF said.

The operation was the latest example of “ongoing efforts by the IDF and Israeli security forces to thwart drug smuggling attempts along the Egyptian border,” the military said.

Once largely the domain of police, the IDF has increasingly become involved in such incidents in recent years, due to concern that should drug smugglers prove an ability to reliably infiltrate the border, terrorists would be quick to follow.

The IDF is also active in thwarting drug smuggling attempts from Lebanon. On March 20, the IDF announced that, together with police and other forces, two Arab Israeli operatives suspected of smuggling and membership in Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure were apprehended.

IDF arrests uncle of terrorist who carried out Tel Aviv shooting

(JNS) — Israeli security forces on Friday arrested the uncle of Ra’ad Hazem, the terrorist who murdered three Israeli civilians in Tel Aviv on April 7, according to the Israeli military.

The uncle, identified by Ynet as Ahmed al-Sa’adi, a resident of the Jenin refugee camp, was arrested in Arabunna, near Jenin. He is suspected of assisting the terrorist.

Sa’adi was one of 12 Palestinian security suspects arrested over the weekend in counter-terror raids throughout Judea and Samaria, including in Qalandia, Al-Bira, Hebron and Jenin.

Separately on Friday, four minors, residents of Umm el-Fahm, were arrested following a violent disturbance in the city, Ynet reported.

The rioters, who carried Palestinian Authority flags, and chanted slogans about their willingness to sacrifice their lives for Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, according to the report.

When police arrived on the scene, the rioters burned tires, threw rocks and set off fireworks, causing police to respond with riot dispersal methods, according to Ynet. Police said more arrests could follow.

Umm el-Fahm Mayor Samir Sobhi Mahamed confronted the rioters, attempting to banish them from the scene, according to the report.