Anne Frank may get posthumous Dutch citizenship

amsterdam (ap) | A television channel has touched off a national dispute by nominating Anne Frank as a candidate for the greatest Dutch person in history, even though the Jewish teenager who became a symbol of Dutch courage during the Nazi occupation never had Dutch citizenship.

Members of parliament campaigned last weekend to grant the young author of the renowned wartime diary posthumous citizenship. But Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk said there was no provision in the law to do so.

Jewish orphanage attacked in Ukraine

kiev (jps) | Criminal proceedings have been launched against four men in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk after a recent attack on a home for Jewish orphans, the Web site of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) reports.

The incident took place shortly after midnight on Sept. 22, when heavy stones were thrown through the front windows of the Jewish “Warm House for Schoolchildren,” smashing the glass.

“Thank God that the children were asleep in another part of the building; otherwise these stones would have seriously injured them,” said Yulia Morgunova, the center’s director.

Romania marks Shoah remembrance

bucharest (jta) | On the country’s first Holocaust Remembrance Day, Romania’s president admitted Romanian Jews suffered during the Holocaust.

“We must not forget or minimize the darkest chapter of Romania’s recent history, when Jews were the victims of the Holocaust,” Ion Iliescu told a joint session of the Romanian Parliament on Tuesday, Oct. 12.

The country established the memorial day after a government statement last year denying that the Shoah took place on Romanian territory sparked an uproar.

Hungarian politicians blast neo-Nazis

budapest (jta) | The four parties in Hungary’s Parliament criticized a neo-Nazi group and the group’s planned rally.

“The Hungarian Parliament strongly condemns those who attempt to revive and propagate ideologies that contravene Hungary’s democratic political system as well as the letter and the spirit of its constitution,” said the statement deploring the Hungarian Future Group and its demonstration set for Friday, Oct. 15, the 60th anniversary of the fascist Arrow Cross coup in Hungary.

Czech Holocaust memorial defaced

prague | A Holocaust memorial in the Czech Republic was defaced.

Brown paint was splattered on the Star of David memorial in Bohumin. It was the second time the memorial was defaced since it was installed in July.

Moscow Jewish soccer team wins

moscow (jta) | A Moscow Jewish soccer team won an amateur soccer tournament for minorities.

In a penalty shoot-out, Maccabi Moscow defeated an Armenian team 5-4 to win the Moscow Interethnic Soccer League, an amateur championship that enlisted 16 minorities’ teams for its first season.

The Maccabi players included Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Arkadi Mil-Man, and Ilya Averbukh, figure skating world champion and the Olympics silver medalist, who was one of the best forwards of the tournament.

British leader says thanks for rescue

london (jta) | British opposition leader Michael Howard paid tribute to Britain for saving his family from Nazi-era Europe.

In his keynote speech at his party’s annual conference Oct. 5, the Conservative leader described the debt he felt he owed Britain for providing him with a safe refuge.

“My grandmother was one of those killed in the concentration camps,” Howard told delegates in an emotional speech. “If it hadn’t been for Winston Churchill, and if it hadn’t been for Britain, I would have been one of them, too. That’s why when I say I owe everything I am to this country, I mean it.”