Russia wants its Jews back
Russia reportedly is trying to lure back Russian Jews who immigrated to Israel.
Israeli intelligence officials believe that a cultural center recently opened by the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv is designed to promote the repatriation of Jews who emigrated from Russia.
During last week’s parliamentary elections in Moscow, the cultural center sent emissaries throughout Israel to encourage ex-Russians to vote. According to Ha’aretz, the cultural center is headed by a former KGB spy whose appointment Israel briefly tried to block.
The Russian Embassy was not available for comment on the report. There are more than 1 million Israelis from the former Soviet Union. — jta
Former publisher gets 6 1/2 years
Former Jerusalem Post publisher Conrad Black was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison this week.
Black, 63, was convicted July 13 on three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice for bilking millions of dollars from shareholders of his Hollinger International newspaper publishing conglomerate.
The non-Jewish Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords was ordered to report to prison in 12 weeks; he remains free on a $21 million bond. — jta
Vandals strike Antwerp synagogue
One of Antwerp’s two main synagogues was vandalized this month.
Many of the Machsike haDass synagogue’s windows were broken on the side of the building that sits alongside train tracks. The vandals gathered stones from the tracks to smash the windows.
According to the Belgian anti-Semitism watchdog Web site www.antisemitisme.be, it was the fifth anti-Semitic incident in Antwerp in the last month and the third case of anti-Semitic vandalizing. — jta
Lawsuit against Wikipedia dropped
A German government official dropped charges against Wikipedia for displaying Nazi symbols.
Left Party deputy chair Katina Schubert had filed charges with Berlin police last week saying the online encyclopedia’s German-language site contains too many Nazi symbols, citing in particular an article on the Hitler Youth movement.
The symbols are banned in Germany except for educational and artistic purposes. Schubert withdrew the complaint last week after speaking with Wikimedia Deutschland, which began removing some of the symbols.
Wikimedia Deutschland said the symbols are clearly used for informational purposes. — jta
Dichter dodges U.K. arrest threat
Israel’s internal security minister canceled a trip to Britain out of concern he would be arrested for alleged war crimes.
Avi Dichter was scheduled to attend a British conference next month on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking efforts, but backed out at the behest of the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
Political sources said there was concern that pro-Palestinian activists in Britain could seek to have Dichter arrested and tried for his role in a 2002 Israeli airstrike that killed a top Hamas terrorist along with 14 civilians in Gaza. Dichter was head of the Shin Bet security service at the time. — jta
British airline adds Israel flights
Britain’s second-largest airline will begin flights to Israel next year.
British Midland announced this week it would begin a daily flight between London’s Heathrow Airport and Ben Gurion Airport in March.
British Airways and El Al already offer several London-Tel Aviv flights a day. Since last month, Britain’s low-budget carrier Thomson has been offering flights three times a week to Ben Gurion from Luton Airport. — jta
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California