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Germany will compensate Kindertransport survivors $2,800 each

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Germany has agreed to compensate those who fled Nazi Germany as children on the so-called Kindertransport with a one-time payment of approximately $2,800 each. The new agreement, negotiated by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany with the German government, comes 80 years after the first rescue transports of children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland to England. The British government had agreed to take a contingent of children under the age to 17 after the anti-Jewish pogrom of Nov. 9, 1938, known as Kristallnacht, made it more clear than ever that Jews in those countries were not safe. More than 10,000 Jewish children and youths were rescued. Many saw their parents for the last time as they said goodbye at train stations in the German Reich. According to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the last transport from Germany left on Sept. 1, 1939, the day World War II began. The last transport from the Netherlands left for Britain on May 14, 1940, ...
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French Jewish cemetery defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti near Strasbourg

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Several tombstones were defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti at a Jewish cemetery near the French city of Strasbourg. The incident was discovered Tuesday in Herrlisheim, a northern suburb, the CRIF umbrella of French Jewish communities said in a statement.  “CRIF = ZOG” and the digits 88 were written on the tombstones. ZOG stands for “Zionist occupation government,” and the number is code for Adolf Hitler. It’s the four time in two months that graffiti featuring far-right anti-Semitic rhetoric has been discovered in sites linked to Jews in the eastern Alsace region. In two incidents, Jewish mayors were the targets. Also Tuesday, Strasbourg saw one of its main avenues renamed for Simone Veil, a Holocaust survivor and former minister who died last year. Later in the day, three people were killed and 12 injured at a Christmas market there in a shooting attack by a Muslim radical, police said. The suspect, they said, may have fled into Germany. Separately, the Paris 13 university i...
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Catholic school sued by Jewish teacher who ‘had to stare at a Swastika every day’

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A West Orange man says that St. Joseph Regional High School did nothing to stop anti-Semitism he endured while teaching there -- then fired him when he complained about it. Jacob Rabinowitz filed a lawsuit Dec. 4 in federal court in Newark accusing the school of religious discrimination, unlawful retaliation and creating a hostile work environment. Named as defendants were the all-boys high school located in Montvale and the Archdiocese of Newark, which oversees the school. “The issues involve a first-year teacher who did not raise any complaints about anything until after he received a less-than-satisfactory evaluation,” Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the diocese said. "It is important to note, however, that the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) reviewed Mr. Rabinowitz’s complaint earlier this year and advised him that it was unable to conclude that the school violated any federal statutes.“ The nine-page complaint says that Rabinowitz was hired to teach pre-calcu...
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N.Y. Catholic schools will boycott new state survey, inspection program

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In a major rebuke to the state, leaders of New York's more than 500 Catholic schools say they will boycott a proposed new review system in which local public school officials are supposed to inspect the parochial schools and determine whether they offer a “substantially equivalent” education. “The parents who choose our schools can have great confidence in the academic rigor of our schools,” said James Cultrara, executive secretary of the state Council of Catholic School Superintendents. But, he added, “We simply cannot accept a competing school having authority over whether our schools can operate.” Cultrara was referring to recently enacted guidelines from the state Education Department calling for local public school officials to begin inspecting non-public schools, including Catholic and other private schools, to ensure that students are exposed to the same basic topics such as English and math, that are covered in public schools. Under these new guidelines, once local offi...
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A lot of the bread in the US will no longer be kosher

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The largest baking company in the United States will be removing kosher certification from nearly all of its bread and rolls. Bimbo Bakeries USA confirmed to JTA that it will be removing the certification. The company produces brands including Arnold, Sara Lee, Stroehmann, Freihofer’s and others. Two of its major brands, Entenmann’s and Thomas, will remain certified kosher. So, kosher eaters, your crumb doughnuts and English muffins are still safe. A couple of rye breads also will retain their certifications. “Removing the kosher certification from some of our products was strictly a business-process decision to enable more efficient operations, and it was one we did not make lightly,” Bimbo said in a statement. “Thomas’ and Entenmann’s products as well as Arnold’s and Levy’s Rye Breads will remain kosher-certified. It is important to note that we have heard our consumers’ concerns and are working with kosher certification organizations and discussing alternative solutions.” The c...
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Study: Half of online clothing purchases get returned

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It won't just be the ugly Christmas sweater your aunt is giving you. A new report predicts half the clothing purchased online this holiday season will be returned for one reason or another. Adobe Analytics reports online holiday sales have already reached $14.12 billion, a 20 percent gain from last year. Of that, clothing sales totaled $2.78 billion. If these numbers hold up, there will be a lot of clothing going back to the stores that sold it. An independent study says poor fit is the most common reason clothing purchased online gets returned. Despite advancements, experts say the clothing industry has come up short in finding a way for consumers to order clothing that fits perfectly. The research by BodyBlock AI surveyed 1,200 consumers and found that 91 percent of those who ordered clothing online were not satisfied with the fit. While consumers know their general size, they often encounter differences in fit, depending on the style and the manufacturer. There are ways aro...
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Trump Tower is one of the city's biggest consumers of energy

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As president, Donald Trump has pulled the U.S. out of an international emissions treaty that would fight global warming, pledged his support for carbon-belching fuel sources such as coal and rejected the scientific consensus that the climate is warming because of man-made causes, with effects that will be catastrophic to society and the environment. As a landlord and developer for years in New York, Trump through his real estate company, the Trump Organization, built and operated several buildings in the city that guzzled energy and reflected his dim view on environmental stewardship. Trump Tower, the office and residential condo tower where the Trump Organization has its headquarters, has an Energy Star score of 44, 30% below the median, according to energy data released by the city. An Energy Star score is based on a formula developed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate energy efficiency while taking into account extenuating factors such as property type and...
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