Your daily spiel for Wednesday, June 8

Over 16,000 items belonging to Jews were recently rediscovered at Auschwitz WIKI COMMONS PHOTO

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Looks way better than Nuit Blanche. Montreal is currently running a permanent – at least for now – multimedia exhibit that makes Nuit Blanche in Toronto look like amateur-hour. The exhibit is being described as the largest outdoor video installation in the world, with over 80 projectors bringing history to life. One such installation pays tribute to over 1,000 orphaned Holocaust survivors who were brought to Montreal after the war, and adopted by members of its Jewish community. If you’re in the area, The Jewish Children’s Transport Train is being projected at 239 Notre-Dame St. W.

The rescue of orphaned children by the Montreal Jewish community after the Holocaust is depicted on a wall in Old Montreal
The rescue of orphaned children by the Montreal Jewish community after the Holocaust is depicted on a wall in Old Montreal

Free speech vs. Nazi enthusiasts – delivery of Your Ward News finally halted. If you’ve ever received a copy of Your Ward News, you’ve likely filed a complaint to Canada Post for allowing such drivel to be delivered to your home. The controversial, allegedly anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-gay publication offended many of its recipients but was able to continue due to free speech laws. This week, Canada Post finally decided it would no longer deliver the paper, which its editor James Sears (described by some as “an unabashed Hitler enthusiast”) says is only a “temporary inconvenience.”

Screenshot of Your Ward News
Screenshot of Your Ward News

“We’re just a satirical, offensive newspaper,” he told CBC News. “It has been found multiple times by Canada Post lawyers that we’re not breaking any hate-speech laws.” Sears has filed for a review of Canada Post’s decision. Let’s hope they don’t backtrack on it.

Over 16,000 items belonging to Jews discovered at Auschwitz. Historians with the Auschwitz museum say they’ve recently rediscovered some 16,000 items comprised of personal belongings taken from its Jewish concentration camp inmates before they were murdered. The items include watches, jewellery, shoes, cigarette lighters, and keys.

“The objects found during the works are not only a remarkable testimony to the history of the camp and the extermination conducted by the Germans, but also a moving personal testimony of the victims,” the museum said in a statement. “In most cases, these are the last personal belongings of the Jews led to death in the gas chambers upon selection at the ramp.” The items were first discovered in 1967 but somehow disappeared and remained lost for the past fifty years. They were relocated at a store room at another site after a long search.

Why economists should oppose BDS. A new report claims that Israeli-founded companies based out of Massachusetts brought in some $9.3 billion (US) to the state in the year 2015 alone. Revenue from said companies grew twice as fast as the state’s overall economy, according to the report. Furthermore, the Israeli companies employ roughly 9,000 Americans. And that’s in ONE state. One. BDS anyone?

Israsoft. It wasn’t that long ago when Steve Ballmer said Microsoft was as much Israeli as it was American. And under the leadership of Satya Nadella the company has continued to develop its presence in the Startup Nation, acquiring several Israeli high-tech companies, and opening up shop across the land. This week, it opened its third Israeli research and development centre, this one located in the Galilee city of Nazareth, home to many Christian and Muslim-Arab Israelis.

Rehov Sugihara. On Tuesday, Israel honoured Chiune Sugihara, Japan’s “Oskar Schindler,” by naming a street after him in Netanya. Sugihara was a diplomat who issued thousands of exit visas to European Jews despite his government’s orders to the contrary. He is credited with helping some 6,000 Jews escape Lithuania from the advancing Nazi army. Sugihara’s son, Nobuki, was in attendance at the unveiling.

Delivering your baby on a Tibetan mountaintop is the best thing for him/her. Jewish comedienne Amy Schumer continues to dominate the entertainment world thanks to her wit, charm, and satirical humour. Her latest clip mocks pregnancy trends by playing a pregnant woman determined to give birth on the hills of Tibet, as far away from a hospital as possible. Makes sense.


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