Daily Archives: April 23, 2016

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

France & U.K. Feature | French Jewish Immigrants

The Exodus of French Jews

A rise in anti-Semitic sentiment and attacks in France has left many French Jews in fear of their future in the country. As the U.K. debates its European Union status, French Jews have leveraged the free mobility that comes with E.U. membership to cross the English Channel and build a new life in London. Thousands of Jewish families have reportedly fled France for the U.K., now the second-most popular destination for French Jews after Israel, according to the Jewish Agency. Better economic opportunities have amplified immigration to London, where rabbis have reported significant increases in the numbers of French Jews in their synagogues and Jewish schools. The New York Times and BBC investigate the causes of the exodus and how the largely Sephardic French Jews have been integrated into London’s predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish community and multicultural society as a whole.

Read:
“London Becomes a Leading Destination for French Jews After Attacks” (The New York Times)
“Why French Jewish people are moving to London” (BBC)

Additional reading:
Breaking the Cycle of Violence (Human Rights First report)
“Anti-Semitic Incidents Explode in France — Report” (Forward)
“6 in 10 French people think Jews are responsible for anti-Semitism, survey finds” (The Independent)
“Jewish Leaders in Paris Speak of Community in Fear” (VICE News)

(Image Credit: Andrew Testa/The New York Times)

Age, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Interregional Feature | Holocaust Survivors

Finding Healthcare Justice for Aging Holocaust Survivors

With the youngest among them now in their 70s, Holocaust survivors are facing late-in-life issues compounded by the traumas from the policies of targeted persecution just over seven decades ago. Dementia has returned some to the nightmares of their youth, while social isolation, physical ailments, and other mental health issues stemming from the violence of the period have left many with high care needs as they age.

In the U.S., home to more than 100,000 survivors (most Jewish), politicians have begun calling on the German government to do more for victims, arguing that current caps on assistance leave many survivors struggling. While reparations have expanded since the 1951 establishment of the Claims Conference, questions over who shoulders the burden for late-in-life care have yet to be resolved. The increasing needs that come with aging have reignited debates about Germany’s obligations to those its government systematically disenfranchised, impoverished, and subjected to physical and mental anguish that outlived the liberation of the final concentration camp.

Read:
“As Holocaust Becomes More Distant, Survivors’ Needs Intensify“(The New York Times)
“Federal grants to assist Holocaust survivors draw praise, concern” (The Sun-Sentinel)
“Harrowing story of the Holocaust survivors still fighting for a dignified life 75 years on” (The Daily Mirror)
“Romanian Holocaust survivors aging without benefits” (Ynetnews, July 2015)
“Holocaust survivors deported from France can now apply for reparations” (The Washington Post, November 2015)
“Germany to Pay 772 Million Euros to Survivors” (Der Spiegel, May 2013)

(Image Credit: Kacper Pempel/Reuters, via The New York Times)

Ideology + Affiliation

Bangladesh News | Intellectuals

Professor murdered in northwest Bangladesh as attacks on intellectuals continue
  • Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, an English professor at Rajshahi University, was found nearly decapitated near his home after neighbors heard screams and alerted his family.
  • Siddiquee is the latest in a series of attacks by fundamentalist militants against academics and writers with progressive leanings.
  • Three other professors at the university have been murdered by fundamentalists since 2004.

Read more:
“RU Professor Rezaul Karim hacked to death” (Dhaka Tribune)
“Bangladesh Police Suspect Islamist Militants in Professor’s Killing” (The New York Times)
“Bangladesh professor hacked to death by Islamist militants” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Md. Abdullah Iqbal/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images, via The New York Times)