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1. Over 93% of Taiwanese are adherents of a combination of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. For the most part they are peaceful and non violent creeds. There is no indigenous Jewish community on the island of 23 million people off China's southeastern coast, and most Taiwanese are reportedly confused by distinctions among European populations and religions. Emile Sheng formerly of Taipei's Soochow University, and now an official in the city's municipal government, said the Taiwanese don't really understand what Nazism is, are not anti-Jewish and don't even know what it means. Against this backdrop of a people who are, for the most part, innocent of antisemitic hatred, a group of Taiwanese university students has set up a Nazi political movement to infect the society. The National Socialism Association currently has 20 paid-up members, with another 800 who have used the group's Web site to indicate an interest in joining, according to its founders. The site is emblazoned with a Nazi swastika and says the group's ranks are reserved for people who do not dislike Adolf Hitler, whose regime systematically murdered 6 million Jews during World War II. Rafi Gamzou, director of the Israeli representative office in Taipei, deplored the emergence of the Nazi movement in Taiwan, calling it an upsetting and worrisome phenomenon. He said the educational sector of Taiwan should question itself about how a group of young people, some with academic backgrounds, decided to worship the monstrous Adolf Hitler. National Socialism leaders said the group would hold its inaugural convention in the central city of Taichung on Saturday 17 March. Mostly teenagers and high school students are expected to attend. (Sources: J.Post/IHC)
2. The 2006 index of Jewish-Arab relations released this week, highlights the predominate fears among Jews and Israeli Arabs. Some 63.3% of Israeli Jews will not enter Arab towns in Israel and 68.4% fear a civil uprising on behalf of Israeli Arabs. According to the poll, 80 percent of Jews said that in future agreements dealing with the borders and demographics of Israel, the state must retain a Jewish majority. Furthermore, 64.4 % of Jews polled feel that Israeli Arabs pose a security risk to the state through their high birthrate, and 83.1% said Israeli Arabs are a security risk due to their support of the Palestinians. The polls reveal that 62 percent of the Arab population in Israel fear that land known as the triangle area will be ceded to a future Palestinian state; and 60% say they fear a mass expulsion from Israel. 73.8% fear violence from Israeli authorities, and 71.5 % from Israeli citizens. The polls seem to suggest that in spite of the difficulties, a majority of Israeli Arabs find citizenship in Israel preferable to being banished and made to live under PA jurisdiction. (Sources: Haaretz/IHC )
3. Emergency rooms in Israeli hospitals, over the past few days, have been nearly empty. People needing treatment are avoiding medical centers due to fear of the deadly bacteria, klebsiella pneumoniae, that is sweeping through Israeli hospitals. The bacterium has infected more than 500 people and taken the lives of nearly a third of those who have become ill. Presently intensive care units are packed with patients who have been infected and more than 3000 beds are urgently needed. Strict quarantine and sanitation measures are being taken in the nation’s hospitals as the infection is resistant to antibiotics. The Health Ministry met recently with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to request millions of dollars of emergency funds to control the outbreak and invest in new hospitals. The public has reacted to the news reports by avoiding hospitals altogether. The implications become even more menacing as threats of war increase daily. (Sources: INN/IHC)
4. The stones and dust of the Land always yield evidence as to the contiguous Jewish community in Israel. Most recently, the ruins of an ancient Jewish community just north of the Holy Temple have been uncovered in the course of preparing tracks for the new light-rail system in Jerusalem. Recent digs have unearthed a major set of remains of a Jewish town from post-Second Temple times. Houses, public buildings, a mikveh, roads and alley stretch across this 100 acre strip of land. Stone utensils have been found and many coins, including a rare gold one depicting Trainus Caesar who began his reign 30 years after the Second Temple was destroyed. Nearly 1,000 4th-to-6th graders have visited the site on school trips. It is another corner of Jerusalem, the city of unfathomable history and secrets that should be seen by all who visit her. (Sources: INN/IHC)
t8Not many people in history can match the courage, faith and sheer dedication to humanity as that of 97 year old Irena Sendler who risked her own life to save the lives of 2500 Jewish children in Warsaw during World War II. If ever there was a moving story this is it. She was honored by the Polish parliament on Wednesday but was too frail to attend the ceremony. In 1965 she was honored by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations” and was later given Israeli citizenship as a gesture of deep gratitude. Readers are encouraged to read the story of this woman – a real saint.. Check her name under any Search on the Internet. (Source: IHC)
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