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Tickets Sold Out Through March for First Full-Scale Replica of Anne Frank’s Hidden Annex in NYC
Inside “Anne Frank The Exhibition” in New York City. Photo: John Halpern
The first full-scale recreation of the secret annex where Anne Frank hid for two years from Nazis occupying The Netherlands during World War II opened for its world premiere in New York City a week ago to such success that tickets are sold out for two months, organizers told The Algemeiner on Monday.
“We’ve been sold out every day and we are now sold out through March, which is wonderful,” said Michael Glickman, who is the New York representative for the Anne Frank House and the former director of the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive [from] both adults, students, and everyone in between.” He added that the exhibit has already had more than 10,000 visitors in just its first week.
“Anne Frank The Exhibition” is being hosted at the Center for Jewish History, which houses the world’s largest Jewish archive outside of Israel, and is a collaboration with the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam. It opened on International Holocaust Remembrance Day last Monday and is scheduled to close on April 30.
The first of its kind, the recreation of the annex is meant to be a limited release exhibit that will travel to other cities in the country, Glickman said. The immersive exhibit also marks the first time that the annex has been completely recreated outside of Amsterdam, and the first time that dozens of artifacts will be seen in the United States — many of which have never been displayed publicly.
Thirteen-year-old Frank, her parents, older sister, and four other Jews hid in the annex to evade Nazi capture in Amsterdam starting in 1942 until they were discovered and arrested in 1944. The annex is also where Frank penned her famous Holocaust diary while hiding in rooms located in the back house of her father’s company in Amsterdam. When Frank and the others were arrested in 1944, she was first transported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and then with her sister they were sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, where they both died of typhus in February 1945. Frank was 15 and her sister was 18 or 19.
The Anne Frank House assembled a team of fabricators, designers, and builders to reconstruct in New York City the five rooms where Frank, her family, and others lived in hiding during the Holocaust. The rooms are filled with furniture and personal possessions, including Frank’s first photo album from 1929-1942; her typed and handwritten invitation to her friend for a film screening in her home; and poetry handwritten by Frank in her friends’ poetry albums. Also on display is the Oscar won by Shelley Winters for the 1959 film “The Diary of Anne Frank.”
The exhibit spans more than 7,500 square feet and features over 100 original artifacts from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. A large chunk of the reconstructed annex was made in The Netherlands and shipped over to New York City on freight liners, according to Glickman. “This exhibit came together in record time,” he added. “I’ve been doing these sort of things for a very long time in my career [and] I’ve never seen anything happen as fast. From start to finish, this was a 10-month process.”
Frank’s father, Otto Frank, has a personal connection to New York. He worked in New York City from 1909-1911, before he met and married his wife, Edith. Otto’s roommate at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, Nathan Straus, Jr., invited him to come to New York and work at his family’s department store, Macy’s. Otto worked for about six months as an intern at Macy’s and afterwards worked as an intern at a bank until he left New York in the spring of 1911. The former university roommates maintained contact after Otto returned to Europe.
Years later, Nathan tried to help Otto and his family secure visas to the United States to escape Nazi-occupied Europe, but was unsuccessful. Otto was the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust. After World War II, when he returned to Amsterdam, his former assistant, Miep Gies, gave him Anne’s diary. She had retrieved it from the annex after the Frank family was arrested, hoping to give it to Anne one day. Otto published his daughter’s diary — Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl — first in Dutch, German, and French, and it has since become one of the most translated books in the world. Otto died in 1980 at the age of 91.
The Anne Frank House, an independent nonprofit organization, was established in 1957, in cooperation with Otto. For nearly seven decades, it has preserved the annex where the Frank family hid during World War II.
“Anne’s legacy is remarkable, as represented in the diary she left us, and as one of the 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered at the hands of Nazi officials and their collaborators,” Ronald Leopold, executive director of the Anne Frank House, said in a released statement. “Through this exhibition, the Anne Frank House offers insights into how this could have happened and what it means for us today. The exhibition provides perspectives, geared toward younger generations, that are certain to deepen our collective understanding of Anne Frank and hopefully provide a better understanding of ourselves.”
“By bringing this exhibition to New York — a place with many ties to Anne’s story— the Anne Frank House is expanding the reach of our work to encourage more people to remember Anne Frank, reflect on her life story, and respond by standing against antisemitism and hatred in their own communities,” he added.
“In a time of rising antisemitism, her diary serves as both a warning and a call to action, reminding us of the devastating impact of hatred,” said Dr. Gavriel Rosenfeld, president of the Center for Jewish History. “This exhibition challenges us to confront these dangers head-on and honor the memory of those lost in the Holocaust.”
The post Tickets Sold Out Through March for First Full-Scale Replica of Anne Frank’s Hidden Annex in NYC first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Strikes Hamas Leadership in Qatar Amid Gaza War
A damaged building, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders, according to an Israeli official, in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Israel has carried out a strike targeting Hamas leadership in Qatar, marking an expansion of Jerusalem’s efforts to dismantle the Palestinian terrorist group as the war in Gaza continues.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet security agency confirmed a “precise strike” in Doha targeting Hamas’s senior leadership, who orchestrated the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel and directed the Islamist group’s operations for years.
“The IDF and ISA [Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet] will continue to operate with determination in order to defeat the Hamas terrorist organization responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre,” the two organizations said in a statement.
The IDF and ISA conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization.
For years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the terrorist organization’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre, and…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 9, 2025
According to circulating media reports, senior Hamas officials — including leader Khalil al-Hayya — were targeted in the strike in Doha, though their deaths have not been confirmed.
A Hamas spokesperson said the group’s negotiating team was also targeted in the attack.
In its statement, the IDF assured that precautions were taken to limit civilian harm ahead of the strike, “including the use of precise munitions and additional intelligence.”
Qatar’s Interior Ministry said a member of the country’s Internal Security Force was killed and that other security personnel were injured.
Shortly after Israel claimed responsibility for the attack, Qatar denounced the operation, warning that “it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty.”
“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of the Political Bureau of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha,” Majed al-Ansari, a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in a statement.
“This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar,” he continued.
The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of the Political Bureau of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha. This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms,…
— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) September 9, 2025
Alongside the United States and other regional powers, Qatar has served as a ceasefire mediator during the nearly two-year Gaza conflict, facilitating indirect negotiations between the Jewish state and Hamas.
However, Doha has also backed the Palestinian terrorist group for years, providing Hamas with money and diplomatic support while hosting and sheltering its top leadership.
According to media reports, Washington, which officially classifies Qatar as a “major non-NATO ally,” knew about the strike beforehand and gave it the green light, though the US did not participate in carrying it out.
The US Embassy in Doha issued a shelter-in-place order for all American citizens.
Earlier this year, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism Policy released a report exposing the extent of Qatar’s far-reaching financial entanglements within American institutions, shedding light on what experts described as a coordinated effort to influence US policy making and public opinion in Doha’s favor. The findings showed that Qatar has attempted to expand its soft power in the US by spending $33.4 billion on business and real estate projects, over $6 billion on universities, and $72 million on American lobbyists since 2012.
In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed they had ordered security agencies to target Hamas leadership following attacks in Jerusalem and Gaza.
They said the strike targeted Hamas in retaliation for the Oct. 7 atrocities, Monday’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem, which left six Israelis dead and several more injured, and a separate attack on an Israeli tank in northern Gaza that killed four soldiers
Yesterday, after the murderous attacks in Jerusalem and Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu directed all security elements to prepare for the possibility of striking the Hamas leadership. The Defense Minister fully supported this initiative.https://t.co/dQDySUqQJv
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 9, 2025
This latest strike came just two days after the Trump administration unveiled its newest proposals for a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza.
On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel accepted the new deal, which calls for the release of all remaining hostages and the disarmament of Hamas.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump gave Hamas what he called a “last warning” to agree to this latest proposal.
The terrorist group said it was ready to negotiate the release of all remaining Israeli hostages still held in the war-torn enclave in exchange for “a clear declaration to end the war, a full withdrawal from Gaza, and the formation of a committee of Palestinian independents to manage Gaza.”
However, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said on Monday that the group will not accept disarmament — one of Israel’s core demands for ending the war, thus seemingly rejecting Trump’s ceasefire plan for Gaza.
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‘No Basis in Truth’: Authorities Reject Claim by Gaza-Bound Flotilla That Boat Struck by Drone at Tunisian Port
A Global Sumud flotilla vessel floats in the waters as Tunisian Maritime National Guard boats conduct an inspection in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, Sept. 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui
Tunisian authorities have rejected as false a claim by the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) for Gaza that one of its main boats was struck on Tuesday by a drone at a port in Tunisia.
Tunisia’s interior ministry said that reports of a drone hitting a boat at its Sidi Bou Said port “have no basis in truth,” and that a fire broke out on the vessel itself. The flotilla had said that all six passengers and crew were safe despite the alleged strike.
The Portuguese-flagged boat, carrying the flotilla‘s steering committee, sustained fire damage to its main deck and below-deck storage, the GSF said in a statement.
In tandem with the denial from Tunisian authorities, video circulated on social media apparently showing that the fire was caused by a crew member misfiring a flare that landed back on the boat, not by a drone.
BREAKING: New footage from Greta’s boat shows a crew member misfiring a flare, which lands back on the boat.
These people lie for sport. There was never any drone. pic.twitter.com/GSSSvjy23I
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) September 9, 2025
The flotilla is an international initiative seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza using civilian boats supported by delegations from 44 countries, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Portuguese left-wing politician Mariana Mortagua.
A video posted by the GSF on X purportedly showed the moment “the Family Boat was struck from above,” capturing a luminous flying object hitting the vessel with smoke rising soon after.
After the incident, dozens of people gathered outside the Sidi Bou Said port, where the flotilla‘s boats were located at the time, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free Palestine,” a Reuters witness said.
Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, saying it aims to stop weapons from reaching the internationally desgnated terrorist group.
The blockade has remained in place through the current war, which began when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages.
In June, Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a British-flagged yacht carrying Thunberg, among others. Israel dismissed the aid ship as a propaganda stunt in support of Hamas.
The GSF also said an investigation into the drone attack was underway and its results would be released once available.
“Acts of aggression aimed at intimidating and derailing our mission will not deter us. Our peaceful mission to break the siege on Gaza and stand in solidarity with its people continues with determination and resolve,” the GSF said.
The United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, who was at the port, told Reuters: “We do not know who carried out the attack, but we would not be surprised if it was Israel. If confirmed, it is an attack against Tunisian sovereignty.”
Albanese has been widely accused by critics of using her position to denigrate Israel and justify Hamas’s use of terrorism against Israelis.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli side.
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Britain Concludes Israel Not Committing Genocide in Gaza
A picture released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers conducting operations in a location given as Tel Al-Sultan area, Rafah Governorate, Gaza, in this handout image released April 2, 2025. Photo: Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS
Britain has concluded that Israel is not committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza but criticized “utterly appalling” civilian suffering there, in a government letter, ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Israeli president.
Israel has been accused of perpetrating genocide in Gaza despite its military campaign there targeting the ruling terrorist group Hamas, which openly seeks the Jewish state’s destruction and started the current war with its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israeli communities.
Jerusalem rejects the accusation, citing its right to self-defense following the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages.
Israel also says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication.
Another challenge for Israel is Hamas’s widely recognized military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.
Starmer is due to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog, a leader who has a largely ceremonial role, at Downing Street on Wednesday, his spokesperson said.
The Gaza war has strained Britain-Israel relations. The Israeli government is enraged by Britain‘s plan to recognize a Palestinian state and block Israeli officials from attending its biggest defense trade show this week.
Starmer is facing criticism from some of his Labour lawmakers for agreeing to meet Herzog.
Asked whether the government’s legal duty to prevent genocide had been triggered, David Lammy, Britain‘s foreign minister until Friday, wrote in a Sept. 1 letter to a parliamentary committee that the government had carefully considered the risk of genocide.
“As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group,’” he said in the letter seen by Reuters.
“The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.”
Lammy was foreign secretary from mid-2024 until Friday when he was replaced by Yvette Cooper and appointed deputy prime minister as part of a reshuffle.
His letter added: “The high civilian casualties, including women and children, and the extensive destruction in Gaza, are utterly appalling. Israel must do much more to prevent and alleviate the suffering that this conflict is causing.”
The long-held British government position has been that genocide should be determined by courts.