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Convicted of Nazi Crimes at 97

A 97-year-old woman who worked as a secretary at a Nazi concentration camp was convicted by a German court on Tuesday of being an accessory to the murder of more than 10,505 people and 5 counts of attempted murder.

In what could be the last trial of its kind, Irmgard Furchner — dubbed the “secretary of evil” by German media — was handed a two-year suspended sentence for helping the Stutthof concentration camp to function during World War II.

The trial, which was briefly delayed when Furchner went on the run by fleeing in a taxi, took place in juvenile court because she was 18 and 19 years old when she worked as a secretary for the camp’s SS commander.

Furchner was charged with “aiding those in a position of responsibility at the former Stutthof concentration camp with the systematic killing of those imprisoned there, due to her work as a shorthand typist/secretary in the Camp Commandant’s Office between June 1943 and April 1945,” according to a court press release.

Her defense lawyer had asked for her to be acquitted, arguing that while it was clear that thousands of people were killed in Stutthof, the evidence did not show beyond doubt that Furchner knew about the systematic killing at the concentration camp, according to a press release by the court. In Germany, proof of intent is required for criminal liability.

Earlier this month, Furchner broke her silence and delivered unexpected final remarks. She said she was sorry for what had happened, she regretted that she had been at Stutthof at the time and that she had nothing left to say. Previously, Furchner had attended but remained silent throughout 14 months of court hearings.

More than 60,000 people died in the Stutthof concentration camp near Gdansk, in today’s Poland, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website — many by lethal injection and in the camp’s gas chamber, others from disease or starvation.

Dutch PM Apologizes for Slave Trade

It’s many centuries later, but this week, the Dutch prime minister officially apologized for more than two centuries of Dutch slavery.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered the official apology on Monday on behalf of the Dutch government, mere months ahead of the 160th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the country.

Speaking at the National Archives, which he called “the home of our national memory,” Rutte said the story that emerges from those millions of historical documents “often is ugly, painful and even downright shameful.”

By 1814, more than 600,000 enslaved African people were shipped to the Americas, mostly to Suriname on the northern coast of South America, by Dutch slave traders, Rutte said. In Asia, potentially more than 1 million people were traded in areas under the Dutch East India Company.

“For centuries, the Dutch State and its representatives facilitated, stimulated, preserved and profited from slavery,” the prime minister said. “For centuries, in the name of the Dutch State, human beings were made into commodities, exploited and abused. For centuries, under Dutch state authority, human dignity was violated in the most horrific way possible. And successive Dutch governments after 1863 failed to adequately see and acknowledge that our slavery past continued to have negative effects and still does.

“For that, I offer the apologies of the

14 Dutch government. Today, I apologize.” The Dutch government will be creating a fund for social initiatives in the The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 22, 2022 Netherlands and Suriname that will aim to give the history of slavery the attention and action it deserves. Rutte acknowledged that “it is true that no one alive now is personally to blame for slavery.” Still, he added, the Dutch state bears responsibility for the suffering. A year of commemoration will start on July 1, the 160th anniversary of when the Netherlands abolished slavery. On that date, the king, who Rutte said “feels very engaged with this subject,” will attend the commemoration ceremony.

UK to Relax Some Travel Restrictions

They are the rituals of modern travel: the frantic drinking from water bottles in airport security lines, the shampoos tossed into the trash, the fights over whether Bolognese sauce is a solid or a liquid.

And, as far as the British government is concerned, those days should end by June 2024.

On Thursday, the British government said that new technology at its airports could let it substantially relax and speed up security checks, allowing liquid containers of up to 2 liters in hand luggage and doing away with a requirement to extract big electronics, such as laptops or tablets, from carry-on bags.

Some airports say the world have started introducing similar technology and scrapping the requirements, but experts said that Britain was ahead of the game in making a countrywide announcement.

This is not the first time that Britain has made such an announcement. In 2019, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans for all major British airports to introduce the screening equipment that would lead to the relaxing of the liquids rule by this month. The investment in new technology was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, airports in Britain will have until June 2024 to upgrade equipment and screening processes, the government said.

All airports in Britain will be required to adopt the latest technology in screening carry-on bags, said Laura Wilson, spokesperson for the Department for Transport, but the technology could vary between airports and be put in place at different times. Mark Harper, the transport secretary, said he would ensure the use of the security technology at all “major” British airports by the June deadline.

The new screening equipment, which uses a type of X-ray technology, essentially provides a 3D image of the contents of a passenger’s bag and makes use of what the government said were “highly advanced threat detection algorithms.” It was tested in some airports over the past four years, and the British government said it proved effective.

Jeffrey C. Price, a professor of aviation at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, said that the United States — where some exceptions to the liquids rule exist — was also integrating more advanced technology in airport checks, but that the process was slow because the technology was expensive.

“We are years away from announcing a change to the current liquids rule,” R. Carter Langston, spokesperson for the

This week, the Bank of England unveiled new pound notes with King Charles III’s portrait that are expected to enter in circulation in mid-2024. Bank notes with the images of the late queen and the current king will circulate at the same time. (The Bank of England via The New York Times)

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 22, 2022 Argentina World Champs

The country of Argentina has been on a high since Sunday, when its soccer team won the gold in the World Cup in Qatar against rival France. On Tuesday morning, the winning squad arrived home in Buenos Aires to adoring crowds.

Captain Lionel Messi stepped off the plane first, holding the gold trophy aloft, followed by his triumphant team onto a red carpet at the airport, greeted by reporters, officials, and a live band.

As the team bus departed the airport, it was immediately swarmed by cheering supporters dressed in the national colors of blue and white. Videos show the bus inching forward slowly behind a police escort, surrounded by tens of thousands of people waving the Argentine flag and setting off firecrackers in the night.

Tuesday was declared a national holiday. Hundreds of fans lined the streets to peek at their champions during a victory parade.

Crowds of supporters had camped out at the team’s training site on Monday ahead of the team’s arrival, with photos showing fans spilling out of cars parked on its grounds. Some laid on blankets on the grass while others lounged on picnic chairs around coolers.

In Sunday’s game, Argentina took an early lead in the first half – but France roared back in the second half, reaching a 2-2 tie that forced the match into extra time.

Messi scored his second goal of the match to restore his team’s lead – but France’s Kylian Mbappé scored a second penalty to grab his hat-trick and take the final to a penalty shootout, which ended with triumph for Argentina after France missed two shots.

The triumph in Doha was Argentina’s third World Cup win and its first since 1986, when the legendary Diego Maradona led the team to victory in Mexico.

This was Messi’s last World Cup. The 35-year-old announced his retirement prior to Sunday’s game.

With the World Cup under his belt, Messi has cemented his status as one of the all-time soccer greats alongside Maradona and Brazil’s Pelé.

Protests Rock Peru

The death toll in protests that have convulsed Peru rose above 20 on Friday, with tensions centered in the highland city of Ayacucho, where eight people were killed in clashes between anti-government demonstrators and military officers.

The demonstrations and ensuing violence have hampered efforts by the new president, Dina Boluarte, to establish control over the country, with two ministers in her government resigning on Friday and protesters in the streets chanting, “Dina! Murderer!”

Despite authorizing the military to help restore order this week, Boluarte has struggled to contain the violent protests sparked by the abrupt downfall of her democratically elected predecessor, Pedro Castillo, who tried to illegally seize control of Congress and the courts last week. The protests have shuttered regional airports, choked off roads across large swaths of the country, and resulted in curfews being imposed on several provinces.

On Friday, hopes for a quick resolution to the crisis remained elusive. Congress rejected a proposed constitutional reform that Boluarte had hoped would calm tensions, and clashes resumed in Ayacucho and other regions. But efforts to negotiate an end to the tensions were hindered by a lack of visible protest leaders to take part in any dialogue.

“People want a fight, but there’s no head. There’s no direction,” said Alfredo Sauñe, a 43-year-old farmer from a highland region in Peru’s southern Andes who had traveled to the capital, Lima, to take part in demonstrations.

Like many other protesters, Sauñe wants new general elections and the shutdown of Congress.

The developments came two days after Peru’s government declared a nationwide state of emergency as it sought to quell widespread violence after last week’s ouster of Castillo, a leftist, when he tried to dissolve a Congress, controlled by right-wing parties, that was trying for the third time to impeach him.

Many demonstrators are also calling for a new constitution and the return of Castillo to power. But on Thursday, a judge ordered him to remain detained for up to 18 months in jail while prosecutors prepare a case against him for alleged rebellion, conspiracy, and abuse of power.

Patricia Correa, the outgoing education minister, posted a picture of her resignation letter on her Twitter account on Friday, saying the death of Peruvians at the hands of the government “has no justification.”

Minutes later, the resignation letter of the culture minister became public. (© The New York Times)

Philippines Communist Leader Dies

Jose Maria Sison, who launched one of the world’s longest-running Maoist insurgencies, died last week at age 83, the Communist Party of the Philippines announced on Saturday.

The former university professor died in the Netherlands, where he had lived in self-imposed exile since the collapse of peace talks in 1987, when the rebellion that has claimed tens of thousands of lives was at its peak.

“The Filipino proletariat and toiling people grieve the death of their teacher and guiding light,” a statement from the party said.

The Philippines’ defense ministry said Sison’s death could finally lead to an end of violence in the country, calling Sison the “greatest stumbling block” to peace.

“The death of Sison is but a symbol of the crumbling hierarchy” of the communist movement, it said, calling for remaining rebels to surrender.

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a chance.”

Sison had hoped to overthrow the government and establish a Maoist regime that would end “U.S. imperialism” in the former American colony. The U.S. State Department designated the communist party and its armed wing foreign terrorist organizations in 2002.

The struggle began in 1969, an outgrowth of the global communist movement at the time. Recruitment for the rebellion also benefited from Ferdinand Marcos’s 1972-1986 dictatorship, when the legislature was shuttered, the free press muzzled, and thousands of opponents tortured or killed.

At its peak in the 1980s, the group boasted about 26,000 fighters, a number the military says has now dwindled to a few thousand.

Since 1986, successive Philippine administrations have held peace talks with the communists through their Netherlands-based political arm, the NDF.

The 2016 election of former President Rodrigo Duterte – a self-declared socialist and a former student of Sison – brought a burst of optimism for peace talks.

But the talks later devolved into threats and recrimination, with Duterte officially cutting them off in 2017, declaring the group a terrorist organization and accusing them of killing police and soldiers while negotiations were underway.

After 90 Years, a Menorah of Defiance

Rachel Posner, a rabbi’s wife in Kiel, Germany, took a photograph in 1931 that she had no idea would one day resonate with people across the world: It was of her family’s Chanukah menorah, nine candles framed in a window through which a large Nazi banner could be seen hanging across the street.

“‘Death to Judah,’ so the flag says. ‘Judah lives forever,’ so the light answers,” she scribbled defiantly on the back of the photograph.

Now, 90 years since her family fled Germany with the menorah, it has returned, along with her descendants, to be lit for the first time in the country since the family escaped.

“It was a complicated decision, to come here. I had mixed feelings about going to Germany,” said Nava Gilo, Posner’s granddaughter.

She and her brother brought the menorah with them from Israel, where the family has made a home since fleeing Germany in 1933, before the country was established. They had never been to Germany and said they never had a desire to go to the place where their relatives had been persecuted or had died in the Holocaust.

Gilo said that changed for her this year after the mayor of the Posner family’s former hometown, Kiel, wrote to them. He invited them to visit an exhibition about their family’s history — and their iconic photo.

The Posner descendants decided not just to come to Germany but to bring the menorah with them.

For most of the year, the menorah is exhibited at the Yad Vashem museum in Jerusalem. The family donated it on the

20 condition that it could reclaim the heirloom every Chanukah. Its visit to Germany this year, orThe Jewish Home | DECEMBER 22, 2022 ganized by the German Friends of Yad Vashem, began with a trip to Kiel and ended Monday, the second night of Chanukah, with the lighting of the menorah on a windowsill at Berlin’s grand Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the German president. “We are experiencing the wonderful gift of reconciliation,” said the president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, at the start of the ceremony. “And today, we see that 90 years after this menorah was last lit in Germany, there is once again a daily Jewish life here.” (© The New York Times)

A Fatal Wave

Three beachgoers were killed by a “freak” wave in South Africa’s coastal city of Durban on Saturday, according to local emergency medical services (EMS).

“EMS responded to reports of a freak wave that swept a group of beachgoers against the pier causing multiple injuries,” spokesman Njabulo Dlungele said.

He added that a teenager was among the three people declared dead at the scene at North Beach, which was closed after the incident. The three people who died were swept out to sea by rip currents.

Another 17 people were injured, according to the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, which said in a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday: “The details of the incidents are still sketchy at this point, however, it is believed that a freak wave put many people into distress while swimming and they tragically drowned.”

A team of 35 lifeguards undertook a mass rescue effort, and paramedics attended to more than 100 people involved in the incident.

Durban is a popular destination for South African and foreign vacationers, with beaches flooded with visitors during the holiday season.

On Friday, Japan announced a new national security strategy that will double the amount earmarked for the country’s military defense, breaking with decades-long precedence on spending restraints as it seeks to strengthen its military capabilities to counter China’s rising power.

The new plan, approved by the Cabinet on Friday, reflects the geopolitical shifts that have swept the region since the previous version was released nearly a decade ago. In 2013, the document described China and Russia as strategic partners. Now it deems Beijing’s rise as the “greatest strategic challenge” to international order and toughens its assessment of a more belligerent Russia.

Speaking to reporters at a press briefing after the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan had reached a “turning point” in its history that necessitated the buildup.

“In Japan’s neighboring countries and regions, there is a more obvious shift toward attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by might,” he said, noting that Japan would take a wide range of measures, from military to diplomatic, to respond to the change

The new strategy represents the latest step in Japan’s years-long path toward building a more muscular military and reducing its dependence on U.S. forces. After decades of resistance to the idea, recent polls show that more than half of the country now supports at least some military buildup, amid China’s growing aggression toward Taiwan and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

That has allowed Kishida to push forward defense measures that would have been viewed as extreme even recently in officially pacifist Japan, including the acquisition of missiles that could be used to target bases in enemy territory in response to an attack.