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| Week ending Saturday, September 24, 2005 |
20 Elul, 5765 |
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Israel Mournes the Death of Famous Nazi Hunter:
Israel is mourning the death of legendary Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. Although he was a Holocaust survivor, eighty-nine members of his family were murdered by the Nazis. Wiesenthal made tracking down war criminals his life's work. He died early in the week at his home in Vienna, Austria at the age of 96. Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the International Human Rights NGO (named in Mr. Wiesenthal's honor) said, "Simon Wiesenthal was the conscience of the Holocaust. When the Holocaust ended in 1945 and the whole world went home to forget, he alone remained behind to remember."
Wiesenthal was born in the Ukraine on December 31, 1908. During World War II he was sent to a labor camp, but managed to escape. After the war, he began gathering evidence on Nazi atrocities on behalf of the War Crimes Section of the American military. In 1953 Wiesenthal received information that former senior Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was living in Argentina. He relayed the information to the Israeli government, but Israel had received erroneous information that Eichmann was living in Syria. It was only in 1959 that Eichmann's presence in Argentina could be verified. In 1962, Eichmann was abducted by Mossad agents in Buenos Aires, brought to Israel, and tried for crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Eichmann was found guilty and executed on May 31, 1962.
As Nazi war criminals died out, Wiesenthal turned his efforts to combating anti-Semitism. The Foreign Ministry said Wiesenthal "brought justice to those who had escaped justice." Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said, "The state of Israel, the Jewish people and all those who oppose racism recognized Simon Wiesenthal's unique contribution to making our planet a better place." Wiesenthal identified that through his work, some 1,100 Nazi war criminals were brought to justice. "When history looks back, I want people to know the Nazis weren't able to kill millions of people and get away with it," said Wiesenthal.
The burial ceremony was held in a Herzliya cemetery at noon on Friday. It is estimated that 2,000 mourners and representatives of the various branches of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and of the world media attended the funeral. Among those present were fellow Nazi-hunter Tuvia Friedman, MK Natan Sharansky, and a representative of the Austrian Ministry of Justice.
Shirat HaYam Refugees Establish A New Town:
Refugees from Shirat Hayam, one of the towns of Gush Katif recently destroyed by the Israeli Defense Force troops who were implementing the disengagement plan, have made a plan of their own. They are working at establishing the new town of Maskiot in the Jordan Valley. After the expulsion from their homes, Shirat Hayam residents moved temporarily to Kedumim in Samaria, and from there to Alon Shvot in Gush Etzion. This week residents reached an agreement with the head of the Jordan Valley municipality and with the settlement organization "Amana" to relocate and establish the community of Maskiot. Thus far thirteen families have signed up. A minimum of twenty families are required to set up a new community under the terms of the Expulsion and Compensation Law. Amana is looking for more families to meet the law's requirements.
Celebrate Thirty Years of Ethiopian Aliya:
On Tuesday a special ceremony was held in Kibbutz Shefayim (along the coast north of Herzliya) commemorating thirty years of immigration of Ethiopian Jews. Tebeka, the Legal Aid Center for Ethiopian Jewry, sponsored the event. Currently some 105,000 members of the Ethiopian Jewish community are living in Israel. This number includes 28,000 Sabras (those who were born in Israel). Among the guests was Uri Lubrani, a former Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia who was very instrumental in bringing thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
Bnei Menashe in India Formally Return to Judaism:
This past week, and for the first time, approximately 200 Bnei Menashe, living in northeastern India formally converted back to Judaism. The Hebrew term "Bnei Menashe" literally means the sons (children) of (the tribe of) Manasseh, which is one of the ten tribes exiled from the Land of Israel by the Assyrian empire over 2,700 years ago. A team of Israeli rabbis organized by the Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel accomplished the conversion. Some 7,000 of them reside primarily in the two Indian states, along the border with Bangladesh and Burma. Shavei Israel arranged for a team of six rabbinical court judges to travel to India in order to carry out the conversions. This was done with the approval of Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who had issued an historic ruling in which he formally recognized the Bnei Menashe as "descendants of Israel" and agreed to restore them to the Jewish people. Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund said, "It was an incredibly emotional and spiritual experience. There were men and women, young and old, many of whom had been longing to return to the Jewish people for decades, and finally their dream has come true." More... | Web site | e-mail
Last call - Sukkot Tour to Israel:
This is our final petition. After this week flight arrangements will no longer be possible. Join us as we explore Israel from a genuine Biblical Zionists perspective. Meet the people who are continuing the Biblical narrative in the Land today. See for yourself how ancient prophesies are being fulfilled. Discover how you too can participate in the ongoing process of Biblical Redemption. Join us for an opportunity of a lifetime, to see the real Israel from the viewpoint of those who are living the Bible today. The experience will change your life. The tour has been coordinated and will be guided by Associate Pastor Jon Klein (we thought you would enjoy both "young" and "more mature" photos. Some readers felt that it was a change in his hairstyle).
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