Quote of the Day

"This report is a call to action—and we will heed that call. The Department of Justice’s top priority is to reduce violent crime in America, and hate crimes are violent crimes. They are also despicable violations of our core values as Americans."

- US Acting Attorney General Whitaker statement on the FBI's 2017 hate crime statistics

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FBI Report Shows 17% Spike in Hate Crimes in 2017

According to an FBI report released yesterday, hate crimes across the US rose 17 per cent - increasing from 6,121 to 7,175 - in 2017. There was a 37 per cent increase in antisemitic hate crimes, with more than 900 reports of crimes targeting Jews and Jewish institutions.

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Two Police Hurt in Jerusalem Stabbing Attack

Two officers were injured today in a stabbing attack at a police station in Jerusalem's Armon Hanatziv neighbourhood. The attacker was restrained by other officers on the scene, according to police.

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State Department to Reward Up to $5 Million for Key Hamas, Hezbollah Leaders

Up to $5 million is being offered for information or identification that leads to the capture of three terrorist figures, the US State Department announced yesterday. The terrorists include Hamas leader Saleh al-Aruri and Hezbollah leaders Khalil Yusif Mahmoud Harb and Haytham ‘Ali Tabataba’i.

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Ceasefire Goes into Effect Following Rocket Barrage

An unofficial Egyptian-brokered ceasefire has reportedly gone into effect following the barrage of some 460 rockets fired at Israel from Gaza. Hamas and other militant groups announced the ceasefire yesterday afternoon, while Israel's security cabinet released a statement saying the IDF would continue to act if necessary. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended the Gaza ceasefire, while other ministers voiced opposition to it - including Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman, who resigned over the ceasefire.

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Ecuador Honours Late Diplomat Who Saved Jews from the Nazis

Several Ecuadorean officials attended a ceremony on Friday in Quito to honour and restore the late Manuel Antonio Munoz Borrero as a member of the country's foreign service. The WWII-era consul to Stockholm was removed from his position in 1942 after saving over 100 Jews from the Nazis by granting them humanitarian passports.

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Einstein's 1922 Letter on German Antisemitism Sells at Auction

A letter written by physicist Albert Einstein to his sister in 1922 has sold at an auction in Jerusalem for $32,000. In the letter, Einstein describes the "economically and politically dark times" brewing in Germany and antisemitic sentiment that was on the rise prior to the Nazis gaining power.

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Israeli Scientists Develop Implanted Organs That Won’t Be Rejected

Israeli researchers report that they have invented the first fully personalized tissue implant, engineered from a patient’s own materials and cells. This new technology helps create any kind of tissue implant with minimal risk of an immune response that leads to the body rejecting the implanted tissue.

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From the Arab World

US-led coalition airstrikes killed 28 people in an eastern Syria holdout of Daesh on the Iraqi border, Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday. Twenty-two of those killed were civilian members of Daesh families, nine of which were children. The coalition has been backing a Kurdish-led alliance called the Syrian Democratic Forces, which suspended its fight against the terrorists last month but said it resumed battle on Sunday.

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Holocaust Education Conference Looks at Responsibility & Accountability

Join Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and educators from across Ontario for the National Policy Conference on Holocaust Education on January 26 and 27. This two-day conference will feature in-depth panel discussions on Holocaust research, the impact of the Holocaust and best practices in Holocaust education.

To register, contact us at education@fswc.ca.

Learn More About the National Policy Conference

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Report Antisemitism and News of Concern to FSWC

If you would like to report antisemitism or news of concern to Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, please email aborisovsky@fswc.ca.

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