RIO DE JANIERO (JTA) — The leading candidate to become Brazil’s next vice president says Israelis should leave the Middle East.
Interviewed by Jewish journalist Boris Casoy last week about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Sen. Jose Alencar said, “There is only one exit: Israel must buy territory somewhere else. Otherwise there will be an everlasting problem in that area. The United States could help.”
Clearly astonished, Casoy reminded Alencar that “Israel is a country that has existed for more than 50 years,” and asked why should Israel leave and not the Palestinians. Alencar, who is widely expected to become Brazil’s next vice president, replied that the “Palestinians occupy a much larger area and they are much superior in numbers.”
Flooded Dresden shul seeks funds for repairs
BERLIN (JTA) — A fund has been established to help pay for repairs to the new synagogue and community house in Dresden, Germany. The buildings were among those damaged in the recent floods that affected eastern Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Russia.
According to Peter Fischer, a board member of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the buildings suffered about $50,000 in damage. Wooden floors, electrical equipment and wiring and an elevator need to be replaced, Fischer said.
Contributions can be made to the Bank fuer Sozialwirtschaft in Mainz, Germany, to account number 181818, with the designation “Flutopfer” (flood victims) to be written on any check. The bank identification code is 550 205 00.
Biography examines ‘Brazilian Schindler’
RIO DE JANIERO (JTA) — A new book sheds light on the man known as the “Brazilian Schindler.”
“Quixote in the Darkness,” by historian Fabio Koifman, describes how Luis Martins de Souza Dantas saved some 425 Jews from the Holocaust by granting them diplomatic visas to enter Brazil.
Souza Dantas, who was in charge of the Brazilian diplomatic mission in France during World War II, later said he had been inspired by a “Christian feeling of mercy.”