U.K News

A Holocaust Survivor Will Mark That History Differently After The Horrors Of Oct. 7

Published

8 months ago

2024-05-05

Kiara Grace

Kibbutz Mefalsim, Israel — When Hamas fighters entered southern Israel on October 7, the Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip carried out the worst attack against Jews since the Holocaust.

So this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, bears greater significance for many Jews around the world.

The tragedies of October 7 motivated Judith Tzamir, a Holocaust survivor from Germany who emigrated to Israel in 1964, to celebrate the melancholy anniversary by making a journey to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp in Poland, which she had previously avoided.

Tzamir, whose kibbutz fended off Hamas attacks on October 7, will march alongside 55 other Holocaust survivors from throughout the world, as well as over 10,000 others. The event recreates the 2-mile (3-kilometer) march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, where Nazi Germany murdered an estimated 1 million Jews.

Now in its 36th year, the event often attracts thousands of attendees, including Holocaust survivors, Jewish students, leaders, and politicians. This year’s march will include Israeli captives who have been released from captivity in Gaza, as well as families whose relatives are still held captive.

AP – VOR News Image

A Holocaust Survivor Will Mark That History Differently After The Horrors Of Oct. 7

“I’m not sure if the world will listen, but it’s important to me,” said Tzamir, who has previously declined invitations to visit Auschwitz. “To remember that there’s still antisemitism around, and there are still people who will kill just for religious reasons.”

Holocaust Remembrance Day observed on the anniversary of the commencement of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, has traditionally been a moment for Israelis to assemble and hear testimony from survivors.

It is one of the most solemn days of the year, with a two-minute siren that stops traffic and causes people to stand at attention in remembrance of the victims. Memorial services are held throughout the day, and the names of the victims are read aloud. While Israel’s official Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, strives to avoid politics, this year’s event has an empty yellow chair in solidarity with the Israeli captives still held in Gaza.

When Tzamir was 4 1/2 years old, her parents dressed her in a light blue frock, black shoes, and white socks and took her to a plaza in Berlin. She recalls clutching her doll, Yula, as they revealed that they were not her parents and that the woman standing in front of them was her biological mother.

Tzamir’s mother served in the German Wehrmacht during World War II, concealing her Jewish origins. She gave birth to Judith in 1943 at a nun-run hospital, then abandoned her to save her own life. At the time, Tzamir, known as Donata, was placed in a foster household. She didn’t know she was Jewish until she met her mother.

Tzamir traveled to Mefalsim, a kibbutz in southern Israel on the Gaza border, through a student exchange program sixteen years later while in college. Following her studies, she returned to Mefalsim, fell in love with a new immigrant from Argentina living on the kibbutz, and stayed to have four children.

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A Holocaust Survivor Will Mark That History Differently After The Horrors Of Oct. 7

On October 7, Tzamir faced the danger of losing her home again. Hamas militants crossed the border from Gaza and targeted cities, army bases, and a music festival in southern Israel. Mefalsim was fortunate compared to many other kibbutzim in the area, where militants torched homes and caused widespread devastation.

That day, the militants slaughtered over 1,200 individuals, the majority of whom were civilians, and kidnapped another 250. The incident precipitated Israel’s invasion of Gaza, in which the death toll has risen to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials, and over 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have fled their homes. The high death toll and humanitarian catastrophe have generated genocide claims against Israel before the International Court of Justice, which Israel vigorously denies.

Hamas has stated that their attack was intended at the Israeli occupation and blockade of Gaza, while pro-Palestinian groups have denied any antisemitic motivations in their opposition to Israel’s military offensive. For most Jewish Israelis, global rallies calling for boycotts of Israel and challenging the country’s right to exist frequently devolve into antisemitism.

On the day of the attack, Mefalsim’s emergency readiness squad managed to keep the majority of the Hamas terrorists outside the kibbutz fence. Many inhabitants remained in secure rooms for nearly 24 hours before the Israeli army was able to remove them the following day.

Although no one was killed at Mefalsim, the town’s approximately 800 residents, as well as more than 120,000 Israelis who resided within a few kilometers of the Gaza and Lebanon borders, were ordered to evacuate. Mefalsim, Tzamir’s constant anchor after a turbulent upbringing, was no longer a haven.

Many Mefalsim residents have been living in a hotel north of Tel Aviv for the past seven months, unsure of their next steps, but Tzamir and others plan to return to the kibbutz in June.

Tzamir said the October 7 attack brought back memories of her childhood trauma. She was able to function during the day, but when she went to bed, her dreams were filled with blood, death, and fire, reminiscent of the bombs she watched as a child in Germany.

AP – VOR News Image

A Holocaust Survivor Will Mark That History Differently After The Horrors Of Oct. 7

Tzamir is one of about 2,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel who were forced to flee their homes due to the conflict in Gaza, according to Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs. The government believes that 132,000 Holocaust survivors exist in Israel.

Tzamir has known every resident of her kibbutz for 13 years, having served as its director. She stated that some families may never return to Mefalsim within one mile (1.4 kilometers) from the Gaza border. Explosions from Gaza ricochet throughout the buildings, and a sense of security is difficult to regain.

But that was never a question for her, she explained.

“I’m 80 years old, and I don’t want to lose my home again,” Tzamir remarked as her husband Ran worked on a garden brimming with succulents and flowers just before their journey to Poland. “We are coming back.”

SOURCE – (AP)

U.K News

Keir Starmer Rejects Meeting With WW2 Veteran Over Her Frozen Pension

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-12-04

Geoff Brown

Anne Puckridge, orld War Two veteran, state pension

"It's the injustice of it that is so unfair, the fact that we were never warned."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected a request from a 99-year-old WW2 for a meeting to discuss the frozen state pension policy for citizens living abroad. Starmer declined the meeting but offered an alternative meeting with Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds.

Anne Puckridge, who turns 100 this month, went from her home in Canada to agitate Keir Starmer’s Labour government over the state pension freeze.

The World War II veteran told the BBC that she is “angry” and “heartbroken” following a meeting with the pensions minister, who led her to believe that the government will not reconsider its policy of freezing the state pensions of some British people living abroad.

Anne Puckridge is one of approximately 453,000 British retirees living overseas who do not receive an annual increase in their state pension.

Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds agreed to a meeting after Sir Keir Starmer’s request to meet was denied owing to purported “pressures on his diary.”

Ms. Puckridge stated that the meeting in Parliament left her feeling “bitterly disappointed” and “disgusted”.

She stated that she had the idea Reynolds had been “polite enough and kind enough to come in and spend her time with her,” but that her mind had already been made up before the meeting began.

Ms Puckridge stated that she and her other campaigners would have to think carefully about what they could do from now on, but she assured them that they would take action.

State Pension Minister Reynolds thanked Ms Puckridge for the meeting and for sharing her insights.

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) representative stated that the government recognizes that “people move abroad for various reasons, and we provide clear information on how this can affect their pensions.”

The policy of increasing the UK state pension for recipients living abroad has existed for many years.

Since she relocated to Canada in 2001 at the age of 76 to live closer to her daughter, Ms Puckridge has received £72.50 (C$129.00) per week.

Her state pension is now less than half the £169.50 (C$302.00) paid to seniors still residing in the United Kingdom. She told the BBC that frozen pensions touch all aspects of life.

“You’ve got to be careful about entertainment,” she told me. “You must realize that you cannot be as kind to your grandkids as you would like.

“You feel you’ve lost all sense of dignity, the government has thrown you away, you know, out of sight out of mind.”

Ms. Puckridge stated that when she alerted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that she was moving to Canada, “they never said a word about [my] pension being frozen”.

“The first I knew about it was when my first rise was due,” she recalled.

“I didn’t understand it. So I wrote and enquired about it, and I was told no… you will not receive any additional pension rises when you leave the UK.” She said, “It’s the injustice of it that is so unfair, the fact that we were never warned.”

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U.K News

Air Force Drones Spotted Over UK Military Bases

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-29

Geoff Brown

Air Force Drones Spotted Over UK Military Bases

The drones were not considered hostile, the USAF said,

British military expertise has been brought in to assist in identifying persons responsible for flying Air Force drones near US military locations. According to the BBC, 60 RAF troops have been dispatched to assist the US Air Force with its probe.

The Air Force drones were not deemed hostile, according to the USAF, who added that the sightings “fluctuated and varied between the bases” and “ranged in sizes and configurations”.

According to the Ministry of Defence, “We are supporting the US Air Force response.”

The announcement follows several recent reports of unmanned aerial vehicles sighted near RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in adjacent Norfolk.

There have been other reports of drone activity overnight. According to the USAF, the vehicles were few in number and modest in size.

A representative for the US Air Forces in Europe stated, “We can confirm that there were sightings yesterday during nighttime hours, but the number fluctuated and varied between the bases throughout the night.”

The official stated that since the first sightings on November 20th, there has been “no impact on residents or infrastructure, and they have not been identified as hostile.”

However, the Air Force drones remained under surveillance “to ensure the safety and security of the installations.”

They said, “We request individuals in the area to contact either local police or security forces if they see anything suspicious.”

‘Treat threats seriously’

Officials in the United States and the United Kingdom have not said who is responsible for the recent drone activity.

However, the BBC understands there were worries that a state actor could be involved.

In recent months, intelligence officials have warned of increasing Russian sabotage operations against Western countries supporting Ukraine.

RAF Mildenhall is primarily home to the USAF’s 100th Air Refuelling Wing; RAF Lakenheath is home to USAF F-35A and F-15E fighter jets; and RAF Feltwell is mainly concerned with logistics and provides housing for military personnel.

A spokesman for the MoD, which owns the bases, said: “We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites.

“We are supporting the US Air Force response.”

The USAF has not said who it believed to be behind the incidents.

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U.K News

General Election Petition in UK Hits 2 Million Signatures

Published

4 weeks ago

2024-11-26

Geoff Brown

Starmer has ruled out an general election after a petition reached two million signatures

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out holding an early general election after a petition calling for a second vote garnered two million signatures.

Over the weekend, a petition calling for another general election was started on the UK Parliament website. It cited Starmer’s failure to keep all his pledges made in the run-up to the previous election. By Monday mid-morning, it had surpassed two million signatures.

When asked about the petition, Starmer said he was “not surprised” that some individuals who did not vote for Labour in the previous election want a “re-run” of the poll.

He claimed that he had “inherited a lot of problems” from the previous administration and had resolved to “take the hard decisions first.”

Starmer ruled out an early general election, stating that only the Prime Minister can request that the King call a general election; it simply will not happen, he said.

This petition, started last week and sponsored by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, calls on the government to schedule a new general election.
To sign a petition, you must verify that you are a British citizen or resident and provide a postcode.

The petition states, “I would prefer there to be another general election. I believe the present Labour government has broken the pledges they made before the last election.”

The petition comes only five months after Labour won the July general election with 9.7 million votes and 412 seats in the House of Commons.

However, the Labour Party garnered only 35% of the vote, the lowest percentage gained by a single-party administration since the conclusion of WWII.

Some of the policies implemented by Starmer and his Labour government have received significant criticism, including an inheritance tax on farms, a reduction in winter heating payments, an increase in employers’ national insurance, and applying VAT to private school fees.

According to the most recent Ipsos political pulse poll, the Labour Party is unpopular, with 28% of the public favoring it and 49% opposing it.