Shorts: World

Anti-Israel article protested in Ireland

dublin (jta) | A Dublin cultural and lifestyle magazine has received more than 2,000 letters of protest after publishing an anti-Israel article by former Irish parliamentarian Justin Keating.

The torrent of correspondence began pouring into the Dubliner after Keating's column, which argues that Israel has no right to exist, was criticized by the media watchdog Web site HonestReporting.com.

The site compared the piece to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's recent call to "wipe Israel from the face of the map."

Keating's article claims that the Jews did not originally come from the land of Israel, but only "occupied some land 2,000 years ago for a historically brief period."




German company drops suit against Holocaust heirs

berlin (jta) | The Jewish heirs to a prime property in Berlin have won a major battle in their fight for restitution.

The KarstadtQuelle company dropped its lawsuit to retain four properties in former East Berlin that once belonged to the Wertheim family, which ran one of the biggest department store chains in pre-Hitler Germany.

The decision was greeted with enthusiasm by lawyers for the family and by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which has filed and fought the cases. Both hoped this signaled the company's readiness to face the inevitable — restitution of the properties, or their value.




Anti-Jewish attacks fall in Australia

canberra (jta) | Anti-Jewish attacks fell in Australia last year, but remain well above average.

The 322 recorded incidents remain 10 percent above the average for the past 16 years, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

Recorded incidents include arson attacks on synagogues, Nazi graffiti on Jewish-owned property, physical assaults on Jews and anti-Semitic content used in the vandalization of synagogues and Jewish schools.




Jewish woman voted Miss France

new york (jta) | A Jewish woman was chosen as Miss France by a jury of French celebrities.

Alexandra Rosenfeld, 19, who won the Dec. 3 contest, is a university student studying tourism and hospitality.

She beat out 44 other competitors to win the crown. The victory automatically makes her France's entry into the Miss Universe contest.