Shorts: World

Britain won't change commemoration of Holocaust

london (jta) | British Prime Minister Tony Blair said this week that he would not adopt the proposal to change the British Holocaust Memorial Day to a British Genocide Day, which would serve as a memorial to Muslim deaths as well as Holocaust victims.

The Sunday Times of London reported that advisers to Blair were recommending that the day be replaced by a day that would include recognition of Muslim deaths in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Chechnya and Bosnia so that Muslim extremists couldn't exploit an impression that Jewish lives are considered more valuable than Muslim lives.

Jewish leaders are opposing the move to change Holocaust Memorial Day, which has been marked on Jan. 27 in Britain since 2001.




German candidate warm on Israel

berlin (jta) | A top candidate in the race for German chancellor has pledged to maintain strong ties with Israel and fight anti-Semitism.

"For us, relations with Israel are a personal treasure that we must preserve. We and the coming generations must therefore be aware of our history and the responsibility it entails," Angela Merkel, who could unseat Gerhard Schroeder as German chancellor in an upcoming election, said. The Christian Democratic Union candidate, who was raised in communist East Germany, said more education is needed in her country to combat growing anti-Semitism.

"We will fight with determination against this and use all legal means at our disposal. It is important to heighten the society's awareness of the meaning of anti-Semitism, which means the hatred of mankind," she said. If Merkel, 51, wins election, she will be Germany's first female chancellor.




French extremist to run again for president

paris (jta) | France's far-right National Front Party confirmed its leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, as its presidential candidate in the 2007 election. It will be Le Pen's fourth run for president and his second time facing current president Jacques Chirac.

Le Pen won 18 percent of the vote when he faced Chirac in 2002. Le Pen, who has been convicted of racism or anti-Semitism at least six times, has declared himself against the "Islamicization" of France.




Work starts on Romanian Shoah memorial

cluj, romania (ap) | Renovations began last week to create a memorial museum at a synagogue in a town from which hundreds of Jews were deported during World War II, in an effort to teach Romanians more about the Holocaust.

"It is the first memorial museum to be opened in Romania," said Lisa Heilbronn, the U.S. consul in the Transylvanian city of Cluj. She attended the two-and-a-half-hour ceremony in the town of Simleu Silvaniei about 270 miles northwest of Bucharest.

"We are pleased that young people are involved" in the renovation, said Heilbronn by telephone. "It is important that there is education about the Holocaust." Romania's former government last year officially accepted responsibility for the actions of Romanian authorities during World War II and promised to educate the public about the Holocaust.

An international panel of historians set up last year by the Romanian president said the wartime regime of Marshal Ion Antonescu was responsible for the deaths of 280,000 to 380,000 Jews and more than 11,000 Gypsies.




Bosnia to replicate 600-year-old Haggadah

sarajevo (ap) | It survived the Spanish Inquisition, Nazi invaders, the Bosnian war and the ravages of time. Now, for the first time, replicas of the Sarajevo Haggadah — a 600-year-old Jewish manuscript — are to be sold to the public.

A total of 613 replicas of the document are to be printed and made available by next Passover, Jakob Finci, the head of the Jewish community in Bosnia, told The Associated Press last week.

"We decided to print 613 replicas as there are 613 mitzvot," Finci said. The printing will begin this month.