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In emotional ceremony, heirs to ‘Cabaret’ inspiration Fritz Grünbaum take back 7 Egon Schiele works stolen by the Nazis
(JTA) — They had seen the pictures before, in the collections of the museums that owned them until earlier this year. But the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, a Viennese cabaret performer killed in the Holocaust, said the works had conveyed a powerful effect now that they had been restored to Grünbaum’s estate.
“When viewing these artworks, imagine Fritz and Elisabeth in their lively Vienna apartment, singing, dancing, cracking jokes,” Timothy Reif, a distant relative, said in his remarks during a somber ceremony in downtown Manhattan Wednesday afternoon. He was referring to Grünbaum’s wife, who is presumed to have been killed by the Nazis in 1942. “Remembering their lives defeats Hitler’s plan to erase this brave Jewish man’s name from the book of history.”
Reif and other heirs and co-executors had been called to the ceremony to receive seven pieces by the 20th-century Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele that were part of Grünbaum’s vast art collection. They were seized earlier this year from a number of prestigious museums and collections by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, as part of an effort to repatriate art stolen by the Nazis.
“On behalf of my entire family, I offer our deep gratitude to each of you here today, for all you are doing and have done for the cause of justice,” Reif said.
Grünbaum was killed in the Dachau concentration camp in 1941, and the significance of the ceremony’s timing, during the Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, was apparent to the attendees.
“It’s not lost on me where we are on the calendar that our ceremony coincides with the Jewish High Holidays, the time of reflection,” Bragg said to a room of about 100 attendees Wednesday afternoon. “This ceremony has reminded me that despite the horrors of the tragic destruction caused by the Nazis, it is never too late to teach the world about incredible people like Mr. Grünbaum.”
Onlookers view works by Egon Schiele from Fritz Grünbaum’s extensive private collection, now returned to his heirs in a ceremony in New York on Sep. 20, 2023. (Jackie Hajdenberg)
David Frankel, one of the co-executors of Grünbaum’s estate, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the timing “heightens the sense of awe surrounding all of this and the emotional investment that the DA’s office and assistant DA [Matthew] Bogdanos has put into this.”
On Thursday, Grünbaum’s heirs will give the works to Christie’s, which will auction them for charity later this year. The profits are set to go to artists in underserved communities, similar to a previous auction of restituted artworks that Grünbaum’s estate organized in the fall of 2022.
Grünbaum was said to be the inspiration for the master of ceremonies character in the Broadway musical and subsequent film “Cabaret.” In addition to his work as a comedian, librettist, film and radio star, Grünbaum was also known for his political activity and outspoken opposition to antisemitism. In 1910, he famously slapped an Austrian officer after the officer made antisemitic remarks, and then was challenged to a duel in which he was injured. He later became a vocal critic of the Nazis in a Viennese daily newspaper.
“They should remember him as not only as a great artist, but also an anti-Nazi,” Frankel said. “Someone who stands up for human rights and was courageous enough to risk his life to do it.”
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The post In emotional ceremony, heirs to ‘Cabaret’ inspiration Fritz Grünbaum take back 7 Egon Schiele works stolen by the Nazis appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
The post Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
The post Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
The post Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue first appeared on Algemeiner.com.