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German Authorities Reopen Probe Into Deadly 1970 Arson Attack on Jewish Elderly Home

An installation in downtown Munich commemorating the Feb. 13, 1970, arson attack on a Jewish community center in which seven elderly people died. Photo: @springermunich/X

Law enforcement in Germany has reopened a long-dormant investigation into the 1970 arson attack on a Jewish community center in the city of Munich that killed seven elderly residents, according to German media.

“On Jan. 31, 2025, the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the arson attack on the Israelite Religious Community’s nursing home,” senior prosecutor Andreas Franck told the German tabloid newspaper Bild last week.

Franck, who also serves as the antisemitism commissioner of the Bavarian judiciary, will be leading the probe. He was recently contacted by a witness with new and “credible” information about possible perpetrators, Bild reported.

Fifty-five years later, the long-forgotten Feb. 13, 1970, attack, which took place during a wave of terrorism against Israeli and Jewish targets, remains unsolved.

One week before the arson, Palestinian terrorists opened fire on passengers lined up for a flight to Tel Aviv at Munich Airport, killing one person and injuring 23.

According to a report from German police at the time, the Palestinian terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for the Munich Airport attack denied any involvement in the fire at the Jewish community center.

On the night of the arson attack, unknown individuals set fire to a four-story building that housed a community center, a retirement home, and a synagogue, with 50 people inside, leaving 13 injured. Police later ruled the attack as arson after finding a gasoline can in the stairwell.

Five men and two women were killed in the attack: Regina Rivka Becher (59), David Jakubowicz (59), Rosa Drucker (59), Georg Eljakim Pfau (63), Leopold Arie Leib Gimpel (69), Siegfried Offenbacher (71), and Meir Max Blum (71). Among the victims, Jakubowicz and Pfau were survivors of Nazi concentration camps.

In 2012, fresh evidence suggested that the attack may have been carried out by an anti-Zionist anarchist group. However, Munich prosecutors later determined that the information was “inaccurate.”

In 2013, an anonymous source claimed in an article for the German magazine Focus that a member of the far-left extremist group Tupamaros West-Berlin (TW) was responsible for the attack. The investigation was closed in November 2017.

At the time of the arson, the West German government offered a reward of 75,000 marks ($20,500) for information leading to the capture of the arsonists responsible for the atrocity.

Then-West German President Gustav Heinemann condemned the attack, saying he was especially outraged because the victims had already endured immense suffering in their lives.

The post German Authorities Reopen Probe Into Deadly 1970 Arson Attack on Jewish Elderly Home first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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The Media Reports Hamas Propaganda, and Hamas Still Implicitly Threatens Them

A Palestinian Hamas terrorist shakes hands with a child as they stand guard as people gather on the day of the handover of Israeli hostages, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Western media outlets simply ignores that everything that comes out of Gaza is pre-approved by Hamas, and anyone who breaks their rules is threatened.

All of the information that the media is reporting from Gaza this week is what Hamas wants them to say. The only source for the death toll counts and the allegation that most of the dead are women and children come from Hamas and no one else.

One Telegram message from the Al Qassam Brigades makes this explicit.

Although Israeli airstrikes targeted some Hamas leaders, the terror group warned journalists not to report on their names until they get permission:

Urgent Directive and Warning:

We call on activists and media professionals to stop circulating the names of individuals involved in the attacks carried out by the occupation in the Gaza Strip, and to adhere to the statements issued by official authorities.

When a group that wears ski masks and carries weapons gives a directive, it is a threat, not a suggestion.

The main reason that the media doesn’t report on Hamas’ complete control of the media is exactly because it is a threat, not a suggestion. They do not want to appear cowardly or to admit that they are following Hamas rules, so they simply do not report on things like this.

That means that the truth is withheld from readers, and that false information is provided as fact — as a means to damage Israel and advance Hamas’ agenda.

The post The Media Reports Hamas Propaganda, and Hamas Still Implicitly Threatens Them first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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‘Moderate’ Palestinian Authority Tells Its People That Jews Poison the Water

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, Sept. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has once again used medieval blood libels of Jews, saying that Jews poison the wells. Such libels are meant to justify hatred and terror against Jews, just as they did in Europe in the Middle Ages.

After Israeli police helped return a flock of sheep stolen from Israelis by Palestinians, a PA official said the following on television:

Click to play

Advisor to Head of The Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall Ayed Morrar: “There was an attack on the village of Ras Al-Auja, and they [settlers] took all the livestock they could find, between 800-1,500. Some claim that a total of 1,500 animals were stolen …  Moreover, they poisoned the water to kill the Palestinians’ livestock.” [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, March 9, 2025]

Ayed Morrar has a history of antisemitism. Just three months ago, he spread the libel that Jews are only in the Land of Israel because it is good for them financially and they would do anything for money.

Official PA television regularly features officials and reporters repeating the well-poisoning libel, such as when a columnist said that Israel was “liable to poison the water” and a reporter said that Jewish rabbis “permit poisoning water wells.”

This recurring libel is patently false because both Israelis and the Arabs of Judea and Samaria drink water from the same Mountain Aquifer.

Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is PMW’s Founder and Director. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.

The post ‘Moderate’ Palestinian Authority Tells Its People That Jews Poison the Water first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Gal Gadot Gets Emotional Becoming First Israeli to Receive Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Actor Gal Gadot gestures during the unveiling ceremony for her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, US, March 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Israeli actress Gal Gadot received a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, on Tuesday, and its unveiling was attended by her family and close friends, including “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins and her “Fast & Furious” costar Vin Diesel.

Gadot, 39, is the first Israeli actress and the 2,804th person to be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame, which is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Her star is located on 6840 Hollywood Boulevard adjacent to the El Capitan Theatre. The actress, who was born in Rosh HaAyin, Israel, and stars in Disney’s new “Snow White” remake as the Evil Queen, attended the unveiling ceremony with her husband, Yaron Varsano, and four daughters – Alma, Maya, Daniella, and Ori.

“This is very surreal, and I feel like I’m the luckiest woman. I feel very humbled and grateful,” Gadot said on stage at the event while getting visibly emotional.

“I’m just a girl from a town in Israel,” she continued, garnering loud applause from the audience. “And I could never imagine such a moment. I never dreamt of becoming an actress and I never knew that these things are possible. To me it’s even more than any award because we can share it with the world. I’m not taking it home. This is for everybody. This star will remind me that with hard work and passion and some faith anything is possible.”

Gadot thanked her fans for their love and support and told them: “If a girl from Rosh can get a star on the Hollywood [Walk of Fame], anything is possible.” She also shared a message in Hebrew with her friends and family watching the event being live streamed from Israel. Gadot looked into the camera and said in Hebrew she loves them and even though they are far away, they will always be close to her heart.

The actress concluded by thanking her husband and her children. She told her daughters in part: “Everything I do, I do for you. Being your ima [mother] is my greatest, greatest privilege and the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done. Thank you for being a part of the circus. You allow me to fulfill my dreams, and I hope that you know you can do the same. You inspire me every day to strive to be a better person – strong and kind and brave, just the way that you are — and I hope that you’re proud.”

Diesel spoke on stage at the unveiling about his close relationship with Gadot, whom he starred alongside in the “Fast & Furious” film franchise. Diesel cast her to play Gisele Yashar in 2009’s “Fast & Furious” and it was Gadot’s first film role. She went on to reprise the role in “Fast Five,” “Fast & Furious 6,” and “Fast X.”

Diesel praised Gadot as an “incredible actress” and also called her family, saying that she was in his life when he became a father and is now known as “Auntie Gal” to his children. The actor also talked about the support Gadot gave him after the death of his friend and “Fast & Furious” costar Paul Walker in 2013.

“After Paul left, Gal was the first one at my house to wipe my tears,” Diesel said. “I just love her so much.”

Gadot thanked Diesel for her big movie break during her own speech. “Vin, you took a chance on a complete unknown and invited me to the ‘Fast & Furious’ family. Talk about starting big,” she told him on stage. “It was my first movie ever and your faith in me completely changed the course of my life. Thank you so much for your trust, for showing up, and your love. I love you and we’re always family.”

Jenkins – who directed Gadot in 2017’s “Wonder Woman” and also the 2020 action film “Wonder Woman 1984” – described Gadot as a “movie star” and her “best friend forever on set.” She shared some of her fondest memories with Gadot, which included them living together during the COVID-19 pandemic, and listed some of her favorite things about the Israeli star.

“[Gal] never stops from giving powerful performances, somehow always being the happiest, kindest, most loving, most heroic person on the set,” Jenkins said. “You never complain and … she is Wonder Woman. She is the most wonderful, kind, gracious person, [and] what a gift to have somebody like that embody a hero that I care so much about. There are so many reasons to be in this industry [and] I’m so honored to walk through this with someone who’s really here to make the world a better place. And it’s a much better place with you in it.”

Gadot called Jenkins “my Wonder Woman behind the camera.” She added: “I’m so grateful that the world has brought us together. Working with you has taught me to trust myself and my powers as an actress and it was only after our movie [‘Wonder Woman’] that I finally started to call myself an actress. Thank you for your inspiration and for being such a friend.”

Others who attended the unveiling of Gadot’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame include Israeli actress Shira Haas, “Snow White” director Mark Webb, and the film’s producer Marc Platt. “Snow White” lead actress Rachel Ziegler did not attend.

“Being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a testament to Gadot’s incredible talent, dedication, and impact on the entertainment industry,” said Ana Martinez, Walk of Fame producer. “It is a recognition of her hard work and contributions to the world of entertainment that will forever be immortalized on Hollywood’s iconic sidewalk. Gal Gadot is well deserving of this honor.”

The post Gal Gadot Gets Emotional Becoming First Israeli to Receive Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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