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Medieval German synagogue added to UNESCO World Heritage list
(JTA) — A United Nations committee designated a group of medieval Jewish buildings in Erfurt, Germany, as a World Heritage Site on Sunday.
UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also gave the World Heritage designation to a ruins site near the West Bank city of Jericho, angering Israeli officials by describing its location as in the “State of Palestine.”
The designation in Erfurt, a former East German city, was cause for celebration — the announcement, which came at the close of Rosh Hashanah, was broadcast live at the local city hall, where applause broke out. Three buildings were honored by the Paris-based U.N. agency: Erfurt’s Old Synagogue, which dates back to the late 11th century; a mikveh, or ritual bath, which is now situated under a newer building; and a 13th-century stone building that captures what Jewish life was like there in medieval times.
The announcement was good news for the new year, according to Reinhard Schramm, chairman of the Jewish regional organization for the state of Thuringia. Speaking to local media, he expressed thanks to all those who had worked on the application and said his delight at the news was tempered by worries about growing nationalism and antisemitism.
“It is important for Jews to feel that they are welcome in Erfurt,” he said. There are about 650 Jews living in the entire state of Thuringia today.
The Old Synagogue dates back to the 1090s, when its first stones were laid. A pogrom in 1349, triggered by antisemitic canards blaming Jews for the Black Plague, wiped out the entire local Jewish community. Exact numbers are unavailable, but historians say those who were not killed were either driven out or took their own lives. Researchers also suggest that the synagogue’s use as a warehouse, restaurant and dancehall over the centuries may have been what kept the Nazis from destroying it.
There were 831 Jews in Erfurt before Hitler seized power; after the war, under East German control, the city counted some 120 Jews. A new synagogue was opened in 1952.
In 1988, the forgotten synagogue was rediscovered by the Independent Institute for Building Research and Documentation. Ten year later, the city bought it from its then-owner, who had wanted to establish a beer hall and brewery there but never undertook renovations. In 2007, the community’s ritual bath — used as a cellar for centuries — was finally recognized and preserved.
Today, the synagogue houses a museum that contains, among other items, the so-called Erfurt treasure: a collection of jewelry, coins and other precious items that once belonged to a Jewish merchant or moneylender.
Now, Erfurt reportedly plans to construct a World Heritage Center near its city hall. There also is a proposal to move the Jewish community’s center to the new site, and to open a kosher restaurant.
Kerstin Pürschel, German’s ambassador to UNESCO, called the body’s decision an important step toward honoring the common roots of Judaism and Christianity in Germany. It is the second Jewish site in Germany to be protected by UNESCO: Two years ago, they added locations in the Rhine River cities of Mainz, Worms and Speyer — seen as a region where Yiddish first developed — to the list.
The West Bank city of Jericho, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, is seen as one of the world’s oldest continually lived in places. A spring still in use near the prehistoric ruins site was included in the UNESCO recognition.
“The natural resources and strategic location of Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan made it … a major node of human development for millennia,” the Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry wrote to UNESCO, according to The Washington Post. “Today’s residents drink water from the same springs and irrigate the same fields” as ancient Jericho residents.
Israel’s foreign ministry blasted UNESCO’s decision in a statement, calling it “another sign of the Palestinians’ cynical use of UNESCO” and the “politicization of the organization.” Israel, which has nine World Heritage sites, left UNESCO in 2019, citing what it calls the U.N. body’s bias in its description of Palestinian and Israeli sites.
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The post Medieval German synagogue added to UNESCO World Heritage list appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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‘With or Without Russia’s Help’: Iran Pledges to Block South Caucasus Route Opened Up By Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – Iran will block the establishment of a US-backed transit corridor in the South Caucasus region with or without Moscow’s help, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying on Saturday by the Iran International website, one day after the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Mr. Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Ali Akbar Velayati said of the so-called Zangezur corridor, the establishment of which is stipulated in the peace deal unveiled on Friday by US President Donald Trump. The White House said the transit route would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” the Khamenei advisor added.
Baku and Yerevan have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting or forcing almost all of the territory’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Yet that painful history was put to the side on Friday at the White House, as Trump oversaw a signing ceremony, flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace deal with Azerbaijan—a pro-Western ally of Israel—is expected to pull Armenia out of the Russian and Iranian sphere of influence and could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran.
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UK Police Arrest 150 at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group
People holding signs sit during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had arrested 150 people at a protest against Britain’s decision to ban the group Palestine Action, adding it was making further arrests.
Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square, the force said on X.
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, chanted “shame on you” and “hands off Gaza,” and held signs such as “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
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‘No Leniency’: Iran Announces Arrest of 20 ‘Zionist Agents’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian authorities have in recent months arrested 20 people charged with being “Israeli Mossad operatives,” the judiciary said, adding that the Islamic regime will mete out the harshest punishments.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told Iranian media. However, it is understood that an unspecified number of detainees were released, apparently after the charges against them could not be substantiated.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program. The fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment.
In recent weeks Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program even as it was severely damaged during the war.
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the official told Fox News.