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Friday November 9, 2007

Shorts: World

Skyscraper planned for Warsaw Ghetto

Poland’s Jewish leaders have unveiled plans for a glass skyscraper in the heart of the Warsaw Ghetto.

The as-yet-approved building — projected to rise 680 feet — would tower over the Nozyk synagogue, Warsaw’s only remaining shul, dramatically altering the look of the historic neighborhood.

The skyscraper would include a new house of prayer, a kosher restaurant and vast commercial space, giving Warsaw’s growing Jewish community a place to expand its activities and providing a source of profit for the future. — ap

Neo-Nazi march banned in Prague

A Czech court banned a neo-Nazi march planned for Prague’s Jewish Quarter.

The Young National Democrats march was scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 10, the anniversary of Kristallnacht. The far-right group plans to march the same day on a different route in the Old Town.

About 1,400 police officers will be “ready to use force,” Prague Mayor Pavel Bem said.

Three counter-demonstrations by Jewish and anti-racism groups are planned for the same day, including a Shabbat celebration in front of the medieval Old-New Synagogue — jta/ap

Nazi criminal found in Vienna

A notorious Nazi war criminal is currently living in Austria.

Erna Wallisch, 85, who was recently found by a British historian to be living alone in a flat outside Vienna, has been aided by a group of Nazi sympathizers led by Heinrich Himmler’s daughter.

Wallisch is on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s list of the top 100 most wanted living Nazi war criminals. Several eyewitnesses saw her beating children to death and escorting scores of people to their deaths during her tenure as an SS guard at the Majdanek camp.

The Austrian government has said it would not take action against Wallisch because of a statute of limitations on prosecution. — jta

Chabad school burned in Ukraine

Vandals set fire to the Simcha Chabad Day School in Kiev last week. No arrests have been reported.

Ukraine has been hit by a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in the past two months. Ukrainian law enforcement has been criticized for its lax response.

“Ukrainian authorities must take strong measures to stop the activities of all groups that incite interethnic and interfaith hatred in the country,” said Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, one of the chief rabbis of Ukraine. — jta

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