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Polish city throws children’s bubble party on top of Jewish graves
(JTA) — The chief rabbi of Poland sent an angry letter to the mayor of Kazimierz Dolny, condemning the eastern Polish town for throwing a festive children’s bubble party on the site of a former Jewish cemetery where the dead are still buried.
The Kazimierz Dolny authorities filled the former cemetery with bubbles for Children’s Day, a holiday celebrated on June 1 in many European countries.
In the letter sent to to Mayor Artur Pomianowski on Sunday, Michael Schudrich wrote, “the party organized on the yard, which was after all fun on the graves, proves that for the municipal authorities, respect for human burial is not an important value.”
Schudrich told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it was “outrageous” that Pomianowski posted a video of the bubble party on his mayoral Facebook page.
“Is this what we want to teach our children about how we treat the dead, our ancestors?” Schudrich said.
Pomianowski’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The former cemetery, now a children’s play area next to an elementary school, was demolished roughly 50 years ago, but the bodies were not removed. Jewish headstones were used to pave roads and used as building materials throughout Eastern Europe during the communist era.
Schudrich said that for the past five years, representatives of Polish Jewry have been trying to work with several mayors of Kazimierz Dolny, including the current one, as well as the town council, to move the cemetery so that it would not function as a playground. He estimated that a few hundred Jews are buried at the site.
“We offered a really nice solution that would involve us helping to fund a new playground and moving the cemetery to an empty field nearby,” said Schudrich. “But they keep stalling or canceling meetings and it seems like the town just doesn’t care.”
It is believed that the 19th-century Rabbi Yehezkel Taub of Kuzhmiri is buried in the former cemetery. Haredi Orthodox followers of the Modzitz Hasidic dynasty, founded by the rabbi, flock to the cemetery-turned-playground each year to pay their respects, but their demand to protect the site has not been met.
Jews have lived in Kazimierz Dolny since the 14th century. The town today is a major local tourist attraction known for its stunning architecture on the banks of the Vistula river. Before the Nazi invasion in World War II, there were 1,400 Jews in Kazimierz Dolny, roughly half of its population. Fewer than 20 of the town’s Jewish inhabitants are thought to have survived the Holocaust.
In his letter to the town’s mayor, Schudrich wrote that the bubble party “puts into question whether further talks about the site make sense, and casts doubt on whether, regardless of religion, both parties are guided by common values drawn from it.”
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The post Polish city throws children’s bubble party on top of Jewish graves appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Canada Boosts Security at US, Israeli Diplomatic Buildings After Consulate Shooting
A member of law enforcement personnel works at the scene outside the US Consulate after shots were fired, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 10, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. Photo: REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo
Canada is increasing security around US and Israeli diplomatic buildings after a shooting at the US consulate in Toronto, a Canadian police official said on Tuesday.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said the consulate shooting is being investigated as a “national security incident,” although it’s too early to determine the motive.
Leather said the US and Israeli consulates in Toronto, the country’s most populous city, and embassies in the capital Ottawa will be seeing a change in the security posture in response to the shooting.
“These consulates deserve a heightened amount of vigilance and security at this time in the hopes that we can bring the temperature down in the coming days and weeks,” Leather told reporters at a press conference.
Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said police were called to the US consulate in Toronto around 5:30 am ET on Tuesday, where they found spent shell casings and damage to the building.
Barredo said witness evidence indicated that two men exited a white SUV that was stopped outside the consulate around 4:30 am ET, shot a handgun at the front of the building and then drove away.
While there were people in the building at the time of the shooting, police say no one was injured.
SYNAGOGUE SHOOTINGS
The consulate shooting follows three separate incidents last week where gunshots were fired at synagogues in the Toronto area. No one was injured in those shootings. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the attacks “criminal antisemitic assaults.”
Barredo said it’s too early to draw a connection between the consulate shooting and those at the synagogues.
“We definitely will be looking at any possible connections. Obviously, it is far too early in this investigation, but we do not look at them in isolation,” he said.
Canada‘s public safety minister described the consulate shooting as an unacceptable incident.
“The shooting … is absolutely unacceptable. Canada will never tolerate intimidation and violence of any kind, including towards our American friends in Canada,” Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in a post on X.
The US State Department said in a statement that it was aware of the incident and was closely monitoring the situation in coordination with local law enforcement.
Separately, on Sunday, an improvised device exploded in Norway at the US embassy in Oslo, and police were still searching for a suspect, with a possible link to the Iran war among the lines of inquiry.
In New York City, two men have been charged with terrorism after throwing a homemade bomb at anti-Islam protesters over the weekend.
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Suspected Hamas Member Detained in Cyprus Over Weapons Procurement
Palestinian Hamas terrorists stand guard at a site as Hamas says it continues to search for the bodies of deceased hostages, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, Dec. 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Cypriot authorities have detained a suspected member of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas wanted in Germany for procuring weapons and ammunition for attacks on Israeli or Jewish facilities, German federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
The Lebanese-born suspect, identified only as Kamel M. in line with German privacy rules, was detained at Cyprus‘ Larnaca airport on March 6, arriving from Lebanon, they added in a statement.
The suspect is wanted in relation to the transport of 300 rounds of live ammunition, according to prosecutors. It wasn’t clear from the statement where the rounds had come from, or where they were thought to be heading.
“The operation served as preparation for deadly Hamas attacks on Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany and Europe,” they said.
Police also searched the suspect’s apartment in Berlin.
Once Kamel M. is extradited to Germany, a judge will decide on pre-trial detention, the statement said.
Attacks against Jews and Jewish targets have risen worldwide since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the Islamist group’s 2023 attacks on Israel.
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Russia Told Trump It Isn’t Sharing US Military Asset Info With Iran, Says Witkoff
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attend a documents signing ceremony in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool
Russia has denied sharing intelligence with Iran on US military assets in the Middle East, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday in a CNBC interview.
Witkoff said the denial came during a phone call that US President Donald Trump had with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that Russia was providing Iran with targeting information that included locations of US warships and aircraft in the Middle East.
“Yesterday on the call with the president, the Russians said that they have not been sharing,” Witkoff said when asked if Washington thought Russia had shared with Tehran intelligence about the location of US military assets.
“We can take them at their word. But they did say that. And yesterday morning, independently, Jared [Kushner] and I had a call with [Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri] Ushakov who reiterated the same,” said Witkoff.
He added: “That’s a better question for the intel people, but let’s hope that they’re not sharing.”