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French crooner Charles Aznavour loved Jews. A new museum in Armenia will tell that story.
YEREVAN, Armenia (JTA) — His haunting French rendition of “La Yiddishe Mama” is legendary, as is his spirited performance of “Hava Nagila” in a duet with Algerian Jewish singer Enrico Macias. In 1967, he recorded the song “Yerushalayim” as a tribute to Israel’s Six-Day War victory.
Yet Charles Aznavour, a diminutive singer and songwriter later nicknamed the “Frank Sinatra of France,” wasn’t Jewish. Born in Paris into a Christian Armenian family that prized culture, the young tenor learned basic Yiddish while growing up in the city’s Jewish quarter. And when the Nazis occupied Paris in 1940, the Aznavourians (their original surname, before Charles shortened it) risked their lives to save Jews from deportation.
Aznavour died in October 2018 at the age of 94. During his nearly 80-year career, he recorded over 1,400 songs in seven languages, sold around 200 million records and appeared in more than 90 films. His duets with other stars, including “Une vie d’amour” with Mirelle Mathieu, and his witty multilingual lyrics — the 1963 hit “Formidable” is a prime example — thrilled audiences worldwide. In 1998, Aznavour was voted Time magazine’s entertainer of the 20th century.
May 22, 2024, will mark the 100th anniversary of Aznavour’s birth, and many events are planned next year to celebrate that milestone. A violent conflict in September between Armenia and neighboring Azerbaijan has made the rollout more difficult, but eventually, his admirers hope to inaugurate a large museum and cultural center in Yerevan to honor the various facets of Aznavour’s life — including the warm ties he cultivated with Israel and Jews.
“We started to work on this idea while my father was still among us,” said Nicolas Aznavour, 46, son of the famous chansonniere and co-founder of the nonprofit Aznavour Foundation. “He recorded the audio guide, so he’s the narrator of his own story.”
The foundation occupies a large building overlooking the Cascades, a series of giant limestone stairways that form one of Yerevan’s most prominent landmarks. A forerunner of the charity, the Aznavour for Armenia Association, was established in 1988 following the massive earthquake that struck Armenia — then a Soviet republic — killing 25,000 people, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and propelling Aznavour’s philanthropic work.
Since then, the family has raised money for humanitarian projects throughout Armenia, while also funding cancer and Alzheimer’s research and aiding victims of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake.
After Armenia’s bruising 44-day war in 2020 with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, the foundation delivered 175 tons of food, clothing, medical supplies and other aid to more than 42,000 ethnic Armenians displaced by the fighting.
Between that war, the COVID-19 pandemic and Azerbaijan’s recapture of the area three months ago — leading to the exodus of close to Karabakh’s entire population to undisputed Armenian territory — the foundation’s $10 million museum and cultural center has endured numerous delays.
Upon completion, one room of the future museum will contain the nearly 300 prizes Aznavour received from around the world during his lifetime. That includes the Raoul Wallenberg Award, presented to Aznavour in 2017 by Israel’s former president, Reuven Rivlin, in Jerusalem, in recognition of his family’s efforts to protect Jews and others in Paris during World War II.
Aznavour’s son was present when his father, then 93, received the medal from Rivlin on behalf of the singer’s parents and his older sister Aida, who is now 100.
“It’ll be an important part of the exhibit,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a recent interview. “My grandparents, who had fled the Armenian genocide in Turkey, settled in France but ultimately wanted to go to the U.S. And when they saw what was happening to the Jews, they could not stay idle.”
Nicholas Aznavour, left, with his father. (Aznavour Foundation)
That compassion is what led the family to shelter Jewish acquaintances in their small, three-room apartment at 22 rue de Navarin, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The eventual museum will consist of 10 rooms, taking visitors on a journey that begins with the Armenian genocide and continues with Aznavour’s early life in Paris.
“We want to tell the story of their resistance, how they helped not only Jews but also Armenian soldiers who were recruited by the Germans against their will,” said Tatev Sargsyan, chief operating officer of the Aznavour Foundation. “His father worked in a restaurant where the Nazis visited.”
According to a 2016 book by Israeli researcher Yair Auron, “Righteous Saviors and Fighters,” Aznavour and his sister would help burn the Nazi uniforms of Armenian deserters and dispose of the ashes. They also hid members of a French underground resistance movement who were being pursued by the Gestapo — something the modest Aznavour rarely talked about.
“It’ll be more of an immersive experience — something that you feel rather than just see,” Nicolas Aznavour said of the planned 32,000-square-foot museum. Hundreds of artifacts besides the medals and awards will be displayed, including Aznavour’s clothing, his favorite sunglasses and dozens of posters advertising movies in which he starred. (Among them: “The Tin Drum,” a 1979 German thriller in which Aznavour plays a kind Jewish toy vendor who kills himself after the Nazis vandalize his store and burn down the local synagogue.)
“Aznavour didn’t want this to be just a museum commemorating himself. He wanted it to be a cultural and educational center,” said Sargsyan. “He always spoke about the importance of empowering youth because he had so few opportunities when he was starting out in Paris. The idea is to create a platform for local musicians, and the museum is just one of the components.”
The foundation has formed a partnership with the French government to establish a French Institute within the future center, which will offer a wide range of cultural and educational activities. Among other things, there will be music lessons with hands-on experience in a recording studio. Artists will have the opportunity to perform live on stage.
In addition, experts will teach courses in film, theater and production. These classes will include film screening, featuring some of the 90 movies in which Aznavour himself starred.
Aznavour’s music remains immensely popular not only in France and other francophone countries such as Belgium, Canada, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco and Tunisia, but also in Argentina, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Russia and, of course, at home.
“Aznavour is a national treasure for the Armenian people,” said Lilit Papikyan, human resources manager at DataArt, a Yerevan software company. “His music evokes feelings of nostalgia, longing and pride in the hearts of all Armenians, both here and in the diaspora.”
Last April, the Tel Aviv suburb of Petah Tikva renamed a municipal park after Aznavour, in the presence of Mayor Rami Greenberg and Arman Hakobian — Armenia’s ambassador to Israel — as well as officials of the French Embassy and the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
“During World War II, the Aznavourian family saved numerous Jewish lives,” said community leader Artiom Chernamorian, founder of a nonprofit group called Nairi Union of Armenians in Petah Tikva. The suburb which is home to a sizable Armenian ethnic community. “This gesture symbolizes the unbreakable bond between the Armenian and Jewish people, two nations that have endured unspeakable tragedy.”
Aznavour receives an award from then-Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in 2017. (Aznavour Foundation)
Yet the influential singer wasn’t shy about calling out his Jewish friends over Israel’s refusal to officially recognize the Ottoman Turkish genocide of 1.5 million Armenians during World War I. Nor did he hold back criticism of Israel’s growing friendship with energy-rich Azerbaijan, which since 1993 has been ruled by the Aliyev family dynasty and is home to some 15,000 Jews.
This past March, amid warming ties between Israel and Turkey, Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Tel Aviv, becoming the first Muslim Shiite country to do so. The two now enjoy extensive economic links: Azerbaijan supplies over half of Israel’s crude oil imports and has also become its top buyer of weapons after India, a fact that clearly pains the younger Aznavour.
In early October, four days before the Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis sparked the current war in Gaza, vandals protesting Israel’s alliance with Azerbaijan desecrated Armenia’s only synagogue. They later posted on social media that “Jews are the enemies of the Armenian nation, complicit in Turkish crimes.” No arrests were made.
“I think it’s a complex situation,” Nicholas Aznavour told JTA. “We have friends who totally support recognition of the Armenian genocide. But more than the Turkish reaction, there’s a political reality, and the reality is that the interests of Israel align with those of Azerbaijan.”
Politics aside, that’s a “dangerous compromise,” he warned. “In the long term, it’s a bad strategy, because when you align yourself with dictatorships, it’s like putting one foot in the grave.”
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The post French crooner Charles Aznavour loved Jews. A new museum in Armenia will tell that story. appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Why the Shtisel Prequel ‘Kugel’ Is Sweet and Savory
A screenshot from “Kugel.” Photo: Courtesy of Abot Hameiri/Menuetto Film.
Many fans of the show Shtisel wanted that show to continue, but I jumped for joy when I heard that a prequel called Kugel was being made. Available on the streamer Izzy, the show is clearly part of the Shtisel universe but is a little different.
There is still romance, and there is still a lot of heart, a respect for religion, and a wild sense of humor. But before we get to the actors, let’s look at the characters.
The two main characters brought over from Shtisel are Nuchem and his daughter Libbi.
For Nuchem (Sasson Gabai) we learn what made him so cheap, what makes him bitter, where he gets his humor from, and how he came up with his catchphrase “cursed-evil doers.” For Libbi (Hadas Yaron), we see there is more to her than her desire to get married.
One of the most crucial storylines is that Libbi is a writer — and she is persistent. Her short stories garner a following, which may explain why she later appreciates that Kive is an artist in Shtisel.
The main new character is Yiddes (Mili Avital), who becomes involved with Nuchem.
It is no surprise that Gabai, Yaron, and Avital have all won Ophir Awards, which is Israel’s equivalent to the Oscars. The acting is stellar and one benefit of having fewer characters is that we can zero in on the lives of a few people. It was a good choice to put Nuchem and Libbi in another country: Belgium.
Gabai is tremendous and we don’t see him smoke in the first three episodes or hear his famous catchphrase. Nuchem is a flawed character; he does some bad things, but he also does good things. There are a few curveballs you won’t see coming. Overall, the show teaches us that we can find love in the places we least expect — even on a tram. Many fans will miss Michael Aloni not being on the show, but Kugel is well baked and stands up on its own.
Creator and writer Yehonatan Indursky is still on point, and he is able to pull at your heartstrings. Yes, perhaps the notes sound familiar, but slightly different. Yaron is outstanding and we believe it when a prospective husband is blown away by her kind soul. From seeing the first three episodes, it is clear that it was a mistake of Netflix to take Shtisel off the air and not do another season or this prequel — but it is Izzy’s gain.
Just like a burnt piece of kugel, all three characters feel burned in some way, but who will come out of it in the best position? Gabai and Yaron each have a great moment of acting simply by facial expression. For Gabai, it’s when he realizes a trick won’t work, and for Yaron, it’s when she feels insulted by an author who suggests that she take one of her workshops. And Avital has a fine scene where we think she might have an emotional explosion, but is restrained and it makes for a more interesting watch.
While unmarried men and women are forbidden to touch, there is a scene where a date rubs his fingers over her name on a siddur so it is as if he is connecting to her. Seeing Nuchem riding his bike is absolutely hilarious. This is a show that electrifies your kishkes, with the type of acting that is clever, nuanced, and unforgettable. If you are in love, you’ll find much to relate to on the show. If you’re not in love, it will likely make you want to go out on dates — and as long as you’re not cheap, you can take someone out for more than a piece of kugel.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Why the Shtisel Prequel ‘Kugel’ Is Sweet and Savory first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Retribution in Syria: What It Means for Israel and the Region
Syria’s newly appointed president for a transitional phase Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salam, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 2, 2025. Photo: Bandar Algaloud Saudi Royal Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS
The carnage in Syria is terrifying, horrifying, and gruesome — particularly if you are a member of a Syrian minority group — Christians, Druze, Kurds. Or Alawite.
Did no one think there would be retribution after the ouster of the brutal Alawite Assad regime?
When Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) commandeered Damascus in December, no one seemed very upset. After all, Bashar al-Assad had been responsible for more than 500,000 deaths during the Syrian civil war — including from starvation and chemical attack — plus creating 6 million refugees inside the country and another 5 million outside and wrecking the country from top to bottom.
But HTS has been sitting in Damascus — and Assad had tens of thousands of soldiers in historic Alawite territory around Latakia, where fighting recently broke out.
Some of those ousted soldiers appear to have attacked government forces, and they are paying for it. So are the other minority groups that Assad allowed to live in relative peace for a while with Iranian protection because they, like he, feared the majority, Sunnis.
And, as always, civilians are the victims, because once the forces of retribution are unleashed, they are hard to control — particularly as HTS is not the only armed terror group in the country.
HTS is Sunni, ISIS-adjacent, Al Qaeda-adjacent, and armed by and aligned with Recip Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly Islamist Turkey.
HTS evolved from Jabhat al-Nusrah, or “Nusrah Front,” Al-Qaeda’s former branch in Syria, which was designated a terror organization by the US in 2012, None of that appeared terribly important in the West.
HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (aka Abu Mohammed al-Jolani) is an international jihadist. He broke with Ayman al-Zawahiri — the leader of Al-Qaeda — in 2016, and HTS received its own terror designation from the US in 2018. He has no loyalty, moving from an alliance with Al-Qaeda in Iraq to the Islamic State in Iraq, to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria, to Al-Qaeda in Syria, to his own brand.
Al-Sharaa talked a fairly moderate game, but his alliance with Turkey should have been a tip-off. Turkey has been waging an ugly war against Kurds in the north of Syria — bombing towns and cities, and at one point cutting off water to a million people.
The history should have made you think that al-Sharaa was not going to be a peaceful neighbor to anyone. Anywhere.
Israel wasn’t taking chances.
Immediately, the IDF struck Syrian chemical weapons depots and “research facilities.” It struck the ports of Al-Bayda and Latakia, taking out dozens of sea-to-sea missiles with ranges of 80–190 km, each with significant explosive payloads. The Israeli Air Force targeted anti-aircraft batteries, airfields, and dozens of weapons production sites, neutralizing Scud missiles, cruise missiles, surface-to-sea, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, plus UAVs, fighter jets, attack helicopters, radars, tanks, hangars, and more. And the IDF conducted strikes on 130 ground assets in Syria, including weapons depots, military structures, launchers, and firing positions.
The IDF estimated it had eliminated 80 percent of the Assad arsenal. Voices were raised in the UN, the EU, and in the Middle East over Israel’s declaration that it would continue to hold slivers of the Syrian Golan. Syria’s Druze and Kurdish communities, however, asked for Israel’s protection, and at least one southern village asked to be annexed to Israel.
Still in December, the Biden administration started a conversation with HTS leadership in Damascus. Turkey promoted its ties with HTS and with al-Sharaa. As recently as last week, parts of the Washington “policy wonk” community were promoting an “alliance” between Turkey and Israel, led by the US, to cement a “moderate” Syria and pave the way for reconstruction funds to flow.
Try again.
Now, with the death toll mounting — and gory and heartrending videos from Syria flooding the Internet — al-Sharaa declared it necessary to “preserve national unity and domestic peace; we can live together.”
And where is the US? President Donald Trump, in his first term, directly punished the Assad regime for a chemical attack, and CENTCOM has been active in striking ISIS positions in Syria in his second. There appears to be no decision on whether to withdraw the roughly 2,200 American troops remaining in northern Syria.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, appears to be giving al-Sharaa a bit of wiggle room. “The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days … Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable.”
Good idea, but al-Sharaa and HTS are themselves radical Islamists. It is unclear that he can or wants to kill his Sunni allies on behalf of the Alawites, who decimated Syria’s Sunni population.
Retribution is a nasty game.
Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center and Editor of inFOCUS Quarterly magazine.
The post Retribution in Syria: What It Means for Israel and the Region first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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How Reuters and Getty Images Platform a Gaza Photojournalist Kissed by Hamas’ Sinwar
Yahya Sinwar, head of the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City on April 14, 2023. Photo: Yousef Masoud / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
On October 7, 2023, Gazan photojournalist Hassan Eslaiah held a grenade in one hand and a camera in the other, documenting Hamas’ massacre inside Israel. His exposure by HonestReporting, which brought to light a cozy photo of Eslaiah and former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, led to the end of his employment at CNN and the Associated Press.
Yet more than a year later, his work was still being offered for sale by Reuters and stock photo agency Getty Images, along with other compromised photojournalists in Gaza. (Getty only removed his work last week after an initial version of this story was published on HonestReporting’s website — and it remains available on Reuters).
Hassan Eslaiah (r) with former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (l)
An HonestReporting investigation revealed that the two media companies have been distributing the tainted content in collaboration with state-run Turkish agency Anadolu — an arrangement that seems to enable their profit without liability. Both companies have a global reach, with Reuters as one of the world’s largest news agencies and US-based Getty Images as one of the world’s largest image licensing companies.
Their databases also present images by Anadolu freelancers Ashraf Amra and Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, who Reuters officially distanced itself from after HonestReporting’s investigative team exposed Amra’s close relations with former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and his shared call with Abu Mostafa to invade Israel.
One of Abu Mostafa’s images, which is still for sale on the Reuters platform, has, according to Anadolu, been used as evidence in the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Unethical Content Distribution
Reuters partnered with Anadolu, which also collaborates with AFP and DPA to distribute its content, back in 2019. Reuters said that “these partnerships will help us create the most comprehensive collection of real-time, multimedia news content anywhere in the world.”
Anadolu’s partnership with Getty Images started in 2013, with Getty’s Senior Director of photography for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa saying at the time: “I am very excited at the prospect of seeing the Anadolu Agency represented by Getty Images around the world … I believe that the Anadolu Agency and Getty Images will benefit greatly from this partnership.”
Indeed, the partnership proved useful not only for the companies, but also for the compromised Gazan photojournalists who can no longer work directly for Western media.
Currently, Reuters offers for sale over 200 Anadolu photos by Hassan Eslaiah (spelled Hasan Eslayeh on their platforms). Most of the photos show Hamas’ hostage release ceremonies, including the barbaric handover of terrified Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud amid a mob of terrorists (which other Western media also picked up):
Eslaiah’s easy access and proximity to the action isn’t surprising. He enjoyed the same conditions on October 7, 2023 when he infiltrated with Hamas into Israel:
And here is footage of Eslaiah after he crossed into Israel and took photos of a burning Israeli tank. He then captured infiltrators entering Kibbutz Kfar Azza.
Note that he is not identifiable as a member of the press. But AP & CNN deemed it acceptable to use his services. pic.twitter.com/fA0VI2df2i
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 8, 2023
The fact that Eslaiah was fired from CNN and AP after we exposed him in November 2023 seems not to have affected his livelihood, with Reuters and Getty Images distributing his propagandist material under the cover of the partnership with Anadolu.
And until last week, Getty Images had no qualms about charging $175-499 dollars for each photo, presumably also including a cut for Anadolu and Eslaiah himself.
Reuters keeps the pricing confidential, but adds a disclaimer distancing itself from the content. The disclaimer seems like a cop-out because on its collaborations page, where Anadolu is listed, Reuters praises its partners’ “compelling content.”
In other words — Reuters and Getty Images make a profit, while abdicating responsibility for spreading the manipulative photos of a Hamas sympathizer, whose pockets are presumably also lined.
Platform for Manipulation
The same business model also seems to work for Gazan photojournalists Ashraf Amra and Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa. Reuters officially cut ties with them after we exposed in January 2024 that Amra was honored by former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and hosted an Instagram Live with Abu Mostafa in which they called on Gazans to infiltrate into Israel on October 7.
Here’s Amra getting a kiss from Haniyeh in 2023 and receiving an honor from the unlamented Hamas leader in 2012. pic.twitter.com/VdWXN6wB32
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 23, 2025
But as Anadolu contributors, Amra and Abu Mostafa are both featured on the Reuters platform — Amra with over 5,000 photos and Abu Mostafa with over 300. On Getty, Amra is less prominent but over 150 photos of Abu Mostafa are offered for sale, including video clips.
These photos don’t just sit in the databases. Reuters and Getty are among the world’s largest digital distribution platforms used by thousands of media clients worldwide.
Recently, Getty clients like The Times of London and the Daily Express were happy to buy Amra’s Anadolu photo showing the moment when Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov “kissed” the head of his Hamas captor:
CNN did the same with Amra’s Anadolu photos of Israeli hostages Eli Sharabi and Or Levy via Getty Images.
And last year, Anadolu weaponized one of Abu Mostafa’s photos — still on sale in the Getty Images and Reuters platforms — as evidence at the ICJ case accusing Israel of committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
According to Anadolu, the photo “shows the mass burial of the Fatayer family members in a designated area in Gaza due to the lack of available space in some cemeteries.”
Fayq’s photo in Getty Images database
Fayq’s Photo in Anadolu website
Fayq’s Photo in Reuters Database
Sadly, the court didn’t know the photo was taken by a “journalist” who was thrilled by the massacre of Jews and called on Gazans to infiltrate the border, to enjoy the abduction of “settler” women.
But more Reuters and Getty’s own responses, it may be time for US Attorney General Pam Bondi to take an interest. In December 2023, following HonestReporting’s exposure of photojournalists who infiltrated Israel on October 7, 14 state attorneys general wrote a letter to The New York Times, AP, CNN, and Reuters calling them out for using hires with ties to Hamas and reminding them that providing material support to terrorists and terror organizations is a crime.
The letter even specifically mentions the case of Hasan Eslaiah and ends by calling on the media outlets to “ensure that you are taking all necessary steps to prevent your organizations from contracting with members of terror organizations. We urge you in the strongest terms to take care that your hiring practices conform to the laws forbidding material support for terror organizations.”
Despite whatever action may be taken, these propagandists have found a deceitful way to continue spreading their lies to the international media.
And the international media can, for at least the time being, enjoy the “goods” without getting their hands dirty.
UPDATE
Within a few hours of publication of this article on HonestReporting’s website, Getty Images, to their credit, removed all content that was flagged by HonestReporting, including a Ramzi Adel video that called Jews “dogs,” and content from Hassan Eslaiah, Ashraf Amra, and Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa.
The same cannot be said for Reuters, however, which gave us the following statement referring to the Connect platform it operates: “Reuters Connect is a commercial marketplace with content from more than 100 news organizations, allowing media customers the option to select the content that is most relevant to their news cycle. This content is clearly labeled and is not endorsed by Reuters.”
HonestReporting is a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post How Reuters and Getty Images Platform a Gaza Photojournalist Kissed by Hamas’ Sinwar first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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