Czech Out Those Jews: Judaism in the Czech Republic

By Kayla Green How is it possible to judge the attitude toward Jews in the Czech Republic, a country where Jews have in recent history suffered not only from the devastating Shoah, but from stifling Communism, as well? Many westerners are quick to associate the country with anti-Semitism, and can cite the fact that between the beginning of the Prague Shoah, which began in 1938 (the longest Shoah in Europe due to appeasement in Munich), and Communism, which ended in 1989, Czech Jewry only had two and a half years of freedom. However, in only focusing on the past, one completely misses all the events and sentiments that paint a much rosier picture of Czech and Jewish relations. The Czech Republic is home to ten Jewish communities, 350 Jewish cemeteries and boasts the second largest synagogue in...

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When Good Intentions Meet Reality

By Symi Rom-Rymer In a recent posting on the Washington Post's OnFaith blog, a Rabbi and law professor recount their experience on a joint US Jewish-Muslim trip to the concentration camps of Germany and Poland.  According to the authors’ account, “the Muslim leaders were visibly shaken by what they saw” and even those who had previously expressed skepticism about the Holocaust were moved and encouraged those with similar doubts to visit the camps for themselves. Upon their return, the participating imams issued as statement saying in part, “We condemn any attempts to deny this historical reality and declare such denials or any justification of this tragedy as against the Islamic code of ethics…We have a shared responsibility to continue to work together with leaders of all faiths and their communities to fight the dehumanization of all peoples...

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