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Friday February 16, 2007

Shorts: World

Study: Germans more ashamed of Nazis

Germans are increasingly ashamed of their country’s Nazi past, a poll found. Results of the German-Jewish Dialogue survey published this week found that two-thirds of Germans express “absolute” shame over the Holocaust, up from 60 percent in 1991.

According to the poll, the number of Germans who think there was “some good” in the Nazi regime has fallen slightly to 40 percent, from 41 percent in the previous study.

One thousand Germans were polled for the survey; no margin of error was given. Researchers involved in the study said respondents who were likelier to sympathize with the Nazis tended to be elderly or relatively uneducated. — jta

Right-wing crimes up in Germany

Crimes related to right-wing extremism and xenophobia in Germany appear to have risen to their highest levels in six years.

Preliminary figures for 2006 showed 12,238 crimes related to the right wing, according to the Internet edition of the Die Zeit weekly. Those figures are expected to rise by the time the final report is ready in May.

Last year, the preliminary total of 10,271 rose to nearly 16,000 when the report was completed. Of those, 958 were violent crimes. The Interior Ministry said it expects this year’s total to be higher.

So far, the 2006 figures show 726 violent crimes and 8,738 crimes related to propaganda, which in Germany includes acts such as the display of swastikas and Nazi slogans or songs, as well as Holocaust denial. — jta

Scottish Jewish judge cleared of charges that she was biased

The first female Supreme Court judge in Scotland was cleared of charges that her Jewish background influenced her decision to deny asylum to a Palestinian refugee.

Last week, three appeal judges dismissed claims that Hazel Cosgrove had not shown impartiality in the case because of her membership in the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists. The judges ruled that there was no evidence that Cosgrove had been “unconsciously or unwittingly influenced” in making her decision.

“We see no reason to suppose any intelligent and independently minded judge of the Court of Session, having taking the judicial oath and being well able to form her own views, would be influenced in this way,” the senior judge said in ruling on the appeal. — jta

Cult re-adopts swastika inside Star of David

The Raelian movement, an atheistic cult that claims humans were created by aliens, has reverted to its original symbol: a swastika inside a Star of David.

The movement, established by former French racecar driver Claude Vorhilon, says its swastikas are an ancient symbol of peace. The group stopped using the symbol in 1992, replacing the swastika with a cross, when it offended Jews they had approached for support.

Jews are important targets of the cult since Rael, Vorhilon’s adopted name, believes the ancient race of aliens he refers to as the Elohim created the human race in what is now Israel. The group has been trying to establish an embassy in Jerusalem for years, claiming the Elohim will return once the embassy is built, but the Israeli government has rebuffed the group’s efforts.

The Raelian Web site states that Raelians are “now joining with Hindus and Buddhists to educate the rest of the population about the true history of the swastika.” — jta

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