Holocaust Bill

Nazi death camp survivors mark 79th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation

A group of survivors of Nazi death camps will mark the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp during World War II in a modest ceremony Saturday in southern Poland. Some 20 survivors from various camps set up by Nazi Germany around Europe were to lay wreaths at the Death Wall in Auschwitz and hold prayers at the monument in Birkenau. They will memorialize some 1.1 million camp victims, mostly Jews. The attentively preserved memorial site and museum are located near the city of Oswiecim. Nearly 6 million European Jews were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust the mass murder of Jews and other groups before and during World War II. Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the survivors are to be accompanied by Polish Senate Speaker Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska, Culture Minister Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz and Israeli ambassador Yacov Livne. The theme of the observances is the human being, symbolised in simple, hand-drawn portraits. They are meant to str

Israel taps top legal minds, a Holocaust survivor, to battle genocide claim

Israel is sending top legal minds, including a Holocaust survivor, to The Hague this week to counter allegations that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The robust engagement with the International Court of Justice is unusual for Israel, which normally considers the United Nations and international tribunals as unfair and biased. The decision to participate rather than boycott reflects Israeli concerns that the judges could order Israel to halt its war against Hamas and tarnish its image internationally. Israel cannot run away from an accusation that is so serious, said Alon Liel, a former director general of Israel's Foreign Ministry and a former Israeli ambassador to South Africa. Israel, which as one of the parties in the case is entitled to send a judge, has tapped a former Israeli Supreme Court chief justice to join the court's 15 regular members who will rule on the accusation. It has also enlisted a British barrister and lauded international law expert as

Hamas attacks most murderous assault on Jews since Holocaust: US Congress

The brutal attacks by Hamas are the most murderous assault on the Jews since the Holocaust in Europe, influential lawmakers told eminent Indian-Americans who have rallied behind Israel. Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a barrage of air strikes in Southern Israel on last Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in response launched multiple attacks targeting Hamas' key infrastructure. So far, over 2,000 people have been killed in Israel and the Gaza Strip in the biggest escalation in decades between the two sides. "The terrorist attacks in Israel committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians over the last week are the most sweeping, murderous assault on Jews that have taken place since the Holocaust in Europe," Congressman Jamie Raskin told a group of Indian-Americans at an event organised by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS). Addressing a group of Indian-Americans from across the country, Ruskin said there is a need to distinguish between Hamas

Germany to give $1.4 billion to Holocaust survivors globally in 2024

The organisation that handles claims on behalf of Jews who suffered under the Nazis said Thursday that Germany has agreed to extend another USD 1.4 billion (1.29 billion euros) overall for Holocaust survivors around the globe for the coming year. The compensation was negotiated with Germany's finance ministry and includes USD 888.9 million to provide home care and supportive services for frail and vulnerable Holocaust survivors. Additionally, increases of USD 175 million to symbolic payments of the Hardship Fund Supplemental programme have been achieved, impacting more than 128,000 Holocaust survivors globally, according to the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, also referred to as the Claims Conference. Every year these negotiations become more and more critical as this last generation of Holocaust survivors age and their needs increase," said Greg Schneider, the Claims Conference's executive vice president. "Being able to ensure direct payments t

Reparations for colonialism and the complicated business of compensations

How does one calculate reparations? Who decides how the money will be spent? If it is to be distributed, who will get how much - and as cash, or in some other form - wonders T N Ninan

Tokyo Olympic opening ceremony director fired for a Holocaust joke

The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee fired the director of the opening ceremony on Thursday because of a Holocaust joke he made during a comedy show in 1998

Polish prez to sign controversial Holocaust bill despite global concerns

The law would set fines or a maximum three-year jail term for anyone who erroneously refers to Nazi German death camps as Polish

Israeli PM Netanyahu accuses Poland of denying history with Holocaust bill

Poland's rightwing-dominated parliament on Friday adopted legislation that sets fines or a maximum three-year jail term for anyone who refers to Nazi German death camps as being Polish