World and national briefs

By JTA

New Holocaust diary on sale in France

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The war diary of a Jewish woman living in occupied Paris arrives in French bookstores this month.

“The Journal of Helene Berr” was discovered by archivists from France’s Holocaust Museum more than 50 years after it was given to her fiancé, Jean Morawiecki, who escaped France to fight with the resistance.

Berr already is being called “France’s Anne Frank,” though she was 21 when she started her diary in 1942. Anne Frank, a Dutch girl, began her famed diary the same year but at the age of 13. Berr’s diary ends on Feb. 15, 1944. Berr died with her family in the Bergen-Belsen death camp, among the 70,000 Jews deported from France during World War II. The diary begins with descriptions of Berr’s life in France before the war came to the country, and ends with the description of a visit she received from a former prisoner of war in Germany who tells her about the persecution and extermination of Jews. The final words of the diary are “the horror, the horror, the horror.” The book is available at amazon.fr.

Lebanese blocking ad

NEW YORK (JTA)—The Simon Wiesenthal Center says the Lebanese government is blocking newspapers from running one of its advertisements. According to the Los Angeles-based Jewish organization, the Lebanese government has apparently blocked the Beirut-based Daily Star from running the ad, which calls for the United Nations General Assembly to convene a special session on suicide terror. Several other Arab newspapers did not respond requests to run the ad, which was timed to coincide with President Bush’s trip to Israel. It did appear in the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Ha’aretz and Jerusalem Post.

Children’s literature award winners named

BOSTON (JTA)—Newberry medalist Sidney Fleischman is among the winners of the 2008 Sydney Taylor Book Awards for Jewish children’s literature. The awards were announced this month by the Association of Jewish Libraries. Fleischman’s provocative new Holocaust-themed book, “The Entertainer and the Dybbuk,” for ages 9-12, won the award for older readers. “Strange Relations,” a coming-of-age novel by award-winning Sonia Levitin, won in the teen category. “Bedtime Sh’ma, A Good Night Book,” by Sarah Gershman and illustrated by Kristina Swarner, won for young readers.

Bush: U.S. should have bombed Nazi camps

NEW YORK (JTA)—The United States erred in not bombing Auschwitz during the Holocaust, President Bush said. Bush made the comment to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice while viewing an exhibit at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem of U.S. aerial photographs of the Nazi concentration camps, according to the memorial’s chairman, Avner Shalev. Shalev took Bush on an hour-long tour of the museum on Jan. 11; it was Bush’s second visit to Yad Vashem, a requisite stop for foreign dignitaries visiting Jerusalem. Avner reported that the president’s eyes welled up with tears twice during the tour. “I wish as many people as possible would come to this place. It is a sobering reminder that evil exists, and a call that when evil exists we must resist it,” Bush said.

Jewish population up

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The world Jewish population in 2007 rose to 13.2 million, according to a Jerusalem-based think tank. The figure is 200,000 more than in 2006, said a report released Jan. 13 by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute. In addition, the number of Jews living outside of Israel dropped by 100,000, and Israel’s Jewish population grew by 300,000, making it home to 41 percent of world Jewry. The 92-page report, which can be found at jpppi.org.il/JPPPI/Templates/ShowPage.asp, also discusses world reaction to the Second Lebanon War and tiers in Diaspora Jewry. The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute was established by The Jewish Agency for Israel in 2002 as an independent, nonprofit organization.

Anti-Semitic vandalism at Chicago cemetery

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Nearly 60 headstones at a Chicago Jewish cemetery were spray-painted with anti-Semitic graffiti. Swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans such as “juden ras” (German for “Jews out”), “Aryan Power” and a Star of David hanging from a gallows were found on headstones at the Westlawn Cemetery in northwest Chicago. About 46,000 people are buried there. The vandalism likely occurred on Jan. 6, according to Sheriff Tom Dart, who called the damage a hate crime.

Paul, Giuliani debate Israel

NEW YORK (JTA)—Republican presidential candidates Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani argued over Israel during a debate. During the debate on Jan. 10, sponsored by Fox News and held in South Carolina, Paul argued that the United States should keep out of the Israeli-Arab conflict and the Middle East in general. At one point he argued that one problem with America’s support for Israel is that it ends up robbing Jerusalem of its sovereignty. “In many ways, we treat Israel as a stepchild. We do not give them the responsibility that they deserve. We undermine their national sovereignty. We don’t let them design their own peace,” Paul said. He added: “And I just don’t see any purpose in not treating Israel in an adult fashion. I think they would be a lot better off. I think they, one time in the ‘80s, took care of a nuclear reactor in Iraq. I stood up and defended Israel for this. Nobody else did at that time.” Giuliani quickly rejected Paul’s argument as “absurd.” “The reality is that Israel is a close and strong ally of the United States,” Giuliani said. “America has only a few extremely reliable allies, special relationships.” He said the defense of Israel is of “critical importance to the United States of America, and it goes much deeper than just tactical things.”