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Ice cream truck outside Auschwitz provokes criticism
(JTA) — Barely 200 yards from the former Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, visitors can now purchase ice cream, a fact that a spokesman for the museum called a sign of “disrespect.”
Since early May, an ice cream stand has sat some 200 meters (about 218 yards) from the camp’s red-brick “Death Gate,” where double rail tracks led directly to Nazi gas chambers. A photo of the stand circulated on social media this week, showing a kiosk with a pink logo reading “icelove,” along with signs advertising “ice cream” and “waffles” in Polish.
maybe auschwitz isn’t the best spot for an ice cream stand pic.twitter.com/7NJcfNI4Dx
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) May 8, 2023
Paweł Sawicki, a spokesman for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, called the ice cream stand “an example not only of aesthetic tastelessness, but also of disrespect for a nearby special historical site.”
But the trailer has set up shop outside the boundaries of the memorial’s legally protected zone.
“Unfortunately we have no influence over it,” Sawicki told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “We trust that the relevant authorities will solve this embarrassing problem.”
(Dagmar Kopijasz of the Foundation of Memory Sites Near Auschwitz-Birkenau)
The largest Nazi extermination camp has been preserved in Brzezinka, outside the southern Polish town of Oświęcim, also known under German occupation as Auschwitz. At least 1.1 million people died at Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945, including about 1 million Jews. Some 83,000 Poles and about 21,000 Roma also perished at the camp.
The people living in Brzezinka know the history of their village well, said Dagmar Kopijasz of the locally based Foundation of Memory Sites Near Auschwitz-Birkenau. In 1941-42, the Germans completely displaced Brzezinka to create the camp zone.
“It’s obvious that the local residents are appalled by this ice cream stand and upset by the whole situation,” Kopijasz told the JTA. “Everyone says in one voice that this is no place to sell ice cream.”
Today the camp is a tourist hotspot, seeing more than 2 million visitors a year before COVID-19-related lockdowns. The Auschwitz Museum’s bylaws require visitors to “behave with due solemnity and respect,” adhering to a respectful dress code. They are not permitted to carry or eat food, talk on the phone or take photos in certain areas. The bylaws extend to speaking in any way that violates the memory of Auschwitz victims, denies Nazi crimes, defames the memorial site or encourages “hatred of any kind.”
Nonetheless, several tourists have come under fire for perceived misbehavior. Alabama teenager Breanna Mitchell was lambasted for posting a grinning selfie at the death camp in 2014. That same year, an Israeli Facebook page with a title translated as “With My Besties in Auschwitz” collected real social media posts of Israeli teens posing with humorous faces and peace signs at the camp, going viral overnight before it was taken down.
Temperatures for visitors waiting in line in the summer can get hot, and in 2015, the museum attempted to cool people off with sprinklers — which were quickly criticized by some who found them too similar to gas showers.
Holocaust-themed selfie scandals have flared up around other memorials, too. Israeli-German writer Shahak Shapira created a website called “Yolocaust” to shame self-indulgent selfie-takers at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, imposing their photos over historical images of the Holocaust.
Local authorities in Oświęcim are investigating the ice cream stand’s location, according to Notes From Poland. Municipality Mayor Andrzej Skrzypiński announced that it was set up on private property, based on a contract between the owner of the land and the owner of the kiosk. However, it’s still unclear whether the operation is allowed under the local zoning plan, which requires approval from the governor of the province.
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Amid Iran Standoff, Witkoff and Kushner Pose Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier
Steve Witkoff (R) aboard the aircraft carrier Lincoln. Photo via i24 / social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law
i24 News – Special US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited on Saturday the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
The duo, who led the US in the indirect nuclear talks with Iran on Friday, visited the aircraft carrier at the invitation of US Central Command chief, Adm. Brad Cooper.
The carrier arrived in the region last week as part of a US “armada” amid rising tensions with the Islamic regime of Iran. It is stationed in the Arabian Sea.
The visit came hours after US President Donald Trump stated that while the talks went well, “But I think Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly, as they should. Last time, they decided maybe not to do it, but I think they probably feel differently. We’ll see what the deal is. It’ll be different than last time. And we have a big armada. We have a big fleet heading in that direction. It’ll be there pretty soon. So we’ll see how that works out.”
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Pentagon Says It Will Cut Academic Ties With Harvard University
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives to administer the oath to U.S. Army National Guard soldiers during a re-enlistment ceremony at the base of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Friday his department was ending professional military education, fellowships, and certificate programs with Harvard University, marking the Trump administration’s latest escalation against the school.
President Donald Trump’s administration has cracked down on top US universities, including Harvard, over a range of issues such as pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel’s assault on Gaza, diversity programs, transgender policies and climate initiatives.
“Starting now and beginning in the 2026-27 school year, I am discontinuing all graduate level Professional Military Education (PME), all fellowships and certificate programs between Harvard University and the War Department for active duty service members,” Hegseth, who himself holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, said on X.
The policy will apply to service members enrolling in future programs while those currently enrolled will be allowed to finish their courses, Hegseth said.
He also added that the Pentagon will evaluate similar relationships with other universities in the coming weeks.
Rights advocates have raised free speech, academic freedom and due process concerns over the government’s actions against universities.
A Harvard spokesperson directed Reuters to a page on the history of the university’s ties with the US military that says Harvard has played a “significant role” in America’s military traditions since the nation’s founding.
TRUMP-HARVARD TENSIONS CONTINUE
The university has previously sued the Trump administration over the government’s attempt to freeze federal funding.
Hegseth accused Harvard of “hate America activism,” also calling the university antisemitic in a reference to pro-Palestinian protests.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza with antisemitism and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
Harvard has condemned discrimination on campus. Its antisemitism and Islamophobia task forces found last year that Jews and Muslims faced bigotry after the start of Israel’s war in Gaza following an October 2023 Hamas attack.
Trump’s attempts to freeze federal funds for Harvard have faced legal resistance and the two sides have failed to reach a deal thus far.
Trump said this week his administration was seeking $1 billion from Harvard to settle probes into school policies.
Some Ivy League schools have reached agreements with the Trump administration and accepted certain government demands. Columbia University has agreed to pay more than $220 million to the government while Brown University has agreed to pay $50 million to support local workforce development.
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Netanyahu Expected to Meet Trump in US on Wednesday and Discuss Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signs the joint declaration of mutual recognition with Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi, officially establishing full diplomatic relations between the two nations. Photo: Screenshot
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Washington, where they will discuss negotiations with Iran, Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday.
Iranian and US officials held indirect nuclear talks in the Omani capital Muscat on Friday. Both sides said more talks were expected to be held again soon.
A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran on the talks told Reuters Iran insisted on its “right to enrich uranium” during the negotiations with the US, and that Tehran’s missile capabilities were not raised in the discussions.
Iranian officials have ruled out putting Iran’s missiles – one of the largest such arsenals in the Middle East – up for discussion, and have said Tehran wants recognition of its right to enrich uranium.
PRIME MINISTER SEEKS MISSILE CURBS
“The Prime Minister believes any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Wednesday’s meeting would be the seventh between Netanyahu and Trump since the US president returned to office in January last year.
The pair had been expected to meet on February 18, but the talks were brought forward amid the renewed engagement with Iran. A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately comment on why the date was moved up.
Last June, the US joined an Israeli military campaign against Iran’s uranium enrichment and other nuclear installations, marking the most direct American military action ever against the Islamic Republic.
Iran retaliated by launching a missile attack on a US base in Qatar.
The US and Israel have repeatedly warned Iran that they would strike again if Tehran pressed ahead with its enrichment and ballistic missile programs.
World powers and regional states fear a breakdown in the negotiations would ignite another conflict between the US and Iran that could spill over to the rest of the oil-producing region.
Iran has vowed a harsh response to any strike and has cautioned neighboring Gulf Arab countries that host US bases that they could be in the firing line if they were involved in an attack.