Shorts: World

Flag-waving apology at World Cup

wuerzburg, germany (jta) | Ghana apologized after one of its soccer players waved an Israeli flag at the World Cup.

John Pantsil's gesture during a weekend game against the Czech Republic was aimed at solidarity with the Hapoel Tel Aviv soccer team, which he usually plays for, but it raised eyebrows among Arabs.

A Ghana Football Association spokesman apologized Monday and said Pantsil had been cautioned. "He is obviously unaware of the implications of what he did. He's unaware of the international politics," the spokesman said. "He did not act out of malice for the Arab people or in support of Israel. He was naive."

FIFA, the organization overseeing the World Cup in Germany, said it had no problem with Pantsil's gesture.




Ukrainian shul receives Torah

dnepropetrovsk (jta) | The Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, received a Torah scroll saved during the Nazi era.

French businessman Alain Grin made the gift in honor of his business partner Gennady Bogolyubov, a Ukrainian business tycoon and president of the Jewish community in the central Ukrainian city.

The scroll was saved in a German synagogue during Kristallnacht in 1938 and was kept buried until after the war, when it was recovered and brought to Israel.

The scroll was presented to the synagogue of the Beit Baruch Retirement Home for needy Holocaust survivors.