Shorts: World

British agents spied on Jews in the 1950s

london (jta) | Newly released documents reveal that the British government monitored some Jewish groups in the 1950s over fears that they could be infiltrated by communists.

Papers from the National Archives showed that the British intelligence agency MI5 investigated the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, tapping phone calls and observing public rallies.

Though the suspicions turned out to be unfounded, the government believed the group's opposition to fascism could make it a prime target for communist agitators.

They also investigated another organization, the Jewish Defence Committee, which was set up to combat anti-Semitism by the Board of Deputies, the representative body of British Jewry.




Bomber blames Mideast policy for London attacks

london (jta) | One of the suicide attackers who carried out the London bombings said in a video message that Britain was a legitimate target because of its Middle East policy.

In a message broadcast Sept. 1 on al-Jazeera, the Arabic news channel, Mohammad Sidique Khan said the attacks, which killed 52 people, were to protect and avenge "my Muslim brothers and sisters."

His message was followed by a 15-minute video featuring an al-Qaida leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who promised more attacks.

"The lands and interests of the states that took part in the aggression on Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan are considered targets for us, so anybody who seeks peace should stay away from these states," he said.




More British Jews move to Israel

london (jta) | More British Jews moved to Israel last month than in any other month since the beginning of the Palestinian intifada in 2000. More than 100 British Jews moved to Israel during August, most of them single, bringing the number for the year so far up to 324, the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported.

More than half of the new arrivals are Orthodox, with some 10 percent describing themselves as fervently religious; the town of Ra'anana has overtaken the capital, Jerusalem, as the most favored place for British immigrants to live.




Holocaust trial delayed in France

paris (jta) | A French court postponed the trial of a politician on trial for denying the Holocaust.

The criminal court of Lyon decided this week to postpone the trial of Bruno Gollnisch, the No. 2 man to National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Gollnisch is on trial for contesting crimes against humanity over comments he made last October questioning the way the Nazis used gas chambers.

The trial was delayed to allow the European Parliament to grant Gollnisch's request for parliamentary immunity before the trial begins. The new trial is slated for Nov. 29.




Danish day school marks 200 years

copenhagen (jta) | A Jewish day school in Copenhagen celebrated its bicentennial. Queen Margrethe II attended the Sept. 1 celebration at the Caroline School.

The school has an almost-unbroken record of teaching since its start in 1805, closing only between October 1943 and August 1945, during the Nazi occupation.