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Resources updated between Monday, September 30, 2019 and Sunday, October 6, 2019

October 5, 2019

The Neue Synagogue in Berlin (File photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

A man armed with a knife attempted to run into a synagogue in central Berlin Friday evening, German media reported Saturday.

The man, apparently a Syrian refugee, was tackled by security personnel at the entrance to the Neue Synagogue. According to the Bild website, he was heard calling out "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Great" in Arabic) and "Fuck Israel."

German police said the man, identified as Murad M., was hit with pepper spray by guards and then subdued and disarmed.

Officials said he carried documentation identifying him as 23 years old, originating from Damascus and with a residency permit, which ends in December 2020. The incident occurred at around 5:30 p.m. according to Bild, likely shortly before the start of Friday's evening prayer service.

Police said the assailant had no prior record and was not known to authorities. The investigation was ongoing, but German media said that the man was released from police custody on Saturday morning.

The incident came a day after a staffer at Paris police headquarters who adhered to "a radical vision of Islam" stabbed four colleagues to death. Sources said he had worked in a section of the police service dedicated to collecting information on jihadist radicalization.

Syrian man crying 'Allahu Akbar' tries to run into Berlin synagogue with knife Document

The European Court of Human Rights (File photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

"Denial of the Holocaust is not a human right, a European court ruled on Thursday, throwing out a complaint by a German neo-Nazi politician.

Udo Pastoers, who served in the local parliament of the northeastern region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, was convicted in Germany in 2012 after giving a speech in 2010 in which he appeared to cast doubt on whether the Holocaust really happened.
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The ECHR judges ruled unanimously that Pastoers' complaint that freedom of expression had been violated was 'manifestly ill-founded and had to be rejected.'
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According to the ECHR, Pastoers in 2010 gave a speech to the local parliament where he stated that 'the so-called Holocaust is being used for political and commercial purposes.'

The court said his speech 'was a qualified Holocaust denial showing disdain to its victims and running counter to established historical facts.'..."

Holocaust denial not a human right, European court rules Article

Beit Ummar (File photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Bomb Explodes near IDF Forces in West Bank, Second Bomb Found Document

October 4, 2019

A clash between protesters and police in Hong Kong (Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Hong Kong: Face mask ban prompts thousands to protest Document

Iraqi protesters (File photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Iraq Forces Fire on Anti-Government Protesters in Bagdad Document

October 3, 2019

The memorial to victims of the bombing at the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires in 1994 (File photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Argentina sees 107% spike in antisemitism Article

A Belgian politician presented this painting featuring a large swastika at the Bog-Art Gallery in Brussels. (Courtesy of Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism)

In Belgium, Jewish leaders worry that antisemitism has gone mainstream Article

October 2, 2019

Ambassador Kelly Craft speaking at a U.N. press conference (File photo)

"Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon held his first working meeting with new US Ambassador Kelly Craft, and the two discussed working together to form a broad coalition against Hamas and Hezbollah.

According to a statement issued by Danon's office on Wednesday, the two discussed strengthening cooperation between the two countries, and steps that can be taken in the Security Council against Iran and its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah.
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Danon and Craft also spoke during their meeting about leading a combined diplomatic effort against the global rise of antisemitism."

U.S. AND ISRAELI AMBASSADORS TO U.N. TO WORK FOR COALITION AGAINST HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH Article

Boko Haram terrorists (File photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Boko Haram militants execute two Christian aid workers, release video footage Document

October 1, 2019

Geir Pedersen, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, speaking at a Security Council meeting (File photo)

"A new UN committee tasked with writing a Syrian constitution has excluded voices from one third of the country and may be given foreign powers a veto over which Syrian voices are allowed, according to reports. Despite claims by the UN's Geir Pedersen that the UN would have 'Syrians sitting together,' including voices from the diaspora, large groups appear to be excluded.

The committee was announced last week by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and will meet in Geneva on October 30. The committee is supposed to include 'members of President Bashar al-Assad's government and opposition representatives,' according to reports. The agreement was made between the 'Syrian Arab Republic' and the Syrian Negotiations Commission and is intended to be a 'credible, balance and inclusive Constitutional Committee that will be facilitated by the UN.'

Unfortunately, like many UN actions it is the precise opposite of the language embodied in its formation. Critics say it is neither balanced or inclusive, excluding voices from the larger Kurdish groups in eastern Syria and largely excluding most Syrians from the process, erring instead on the side of Assad and Turkish-backed opposition groups to have a veto over the participation of others..."

U.N. EXCLUDES ONE THIRD OF SYRIA, MOSTLY KURDS, FROM CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE Article