World News in Brief

JTA

On Tuesday, the social media platform introduced new rules prohibiting “language that dehumanises others on the basis of religion”. Twitter said accounts that had posted such tweets prior to the policy change would have to delete offending tweets before being able to post new ones.

Farrakhan’s tweet was no longer available on the site as of Tuesday afternoon.

Last year, the leader, who has a long history of making anti-Semitic and homophobic comments, wrote on Twitter, “I’m not an anti-Semite. I’m anti-Termite.” The tweet was linked to a video of a speech he gave marking the 23rd anniversary of the Million Man March, his 1995 rally advocating empowerment for black men.

At the time, Facebook removed a similar post, but Twitter said it didn’t violate its policies.

As few as five Jews in Cairo

Marcelle Haroun, the mother of the current president of Cairo’s Jewish community, has died at the age of 93.

Her death, announced on Saturday, leaves five Jews known to be living in Cairo, Watani International reported. They are Haroun’s daughter, Magda, who heads the minuscule community, and four granddaughters.

However, JTA received an email this week from a woman saying that her mother has an Egyptian ID with her religion marked as Jewish, and attends synagogue for events, and thus should be counted as part of the community.

The AFP news service reported in March 2017 that there were also 12 Jews living in the coastal city of Alexandria.

Haroun was married to lawyer and politician Shehata Haroun, known as a Jewish anti-Zionist who was a member of the Egyptian Communist Party, according to the report. Her daughter told Tablet in 2013 that Marcelle was her father’s “comrade”.

Egypt was home to about 80 000 Jews when Israel was founded in 1948. Thousands began leaving in ensuing years, and many more in two waves, in 1956 and 1967. The Harouns remained, considering themselves Egyptian first, according to Watani.

Haroun was predeceased by two daughters.

Coldplay frontman turns benefactor

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin visited a kindergarten for Jewish and Arab children in the central Israeli city of Jaffa during a quick visit.

The English rock star was spotted by a reporter for Israel’s Channel 12 show, Good Evening with Guy Pines, on Monday.

Martin donates to the foundation behind the Bustan Yafa network of schools, according to The Jerusalem Post. The schools teach multiple religions and languages, and preach tolerance and co-existence.

Martin was married to the Jewish actress and lifestyle guru, Gwyneth Paltrow, from 2003 to 2016. One of their two children is named Moses.

Melbourne café owner unbowed

A Jewish-owned café in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, was hit with anti-Semitic graffiti twice in one week.

On Saturday, the back fence of Aliza’s Place Café was painted with, “The Holocaust didn’t happen, but it should have,” and a large blue swastika. It came two days after the same fence was painted with the words “The Holocaust is a lie.”

“I cannot ignore this symbol,” the owner, Aliza Shuvaly, told the Australian Jewish News after the first attack. “All my family were Holocaust survivors – my mother’s parents, my husband’s parents – and for me, it’s hurting twice.” She said she wouldn’t allow the attack to force her to close the café.

Flag stunt won’t silence Madonna

If Rotterdam ends up hosting the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, Madonna can perform.

The Dutch city’s council voted down a motion to ban the pop star from the contest because of her use of a Palestinian flag on stage in Israel at the competition in May. The motion was proposed by a member of the staunchly pro-Israel and anti-Muslim Party for Freedom.

Last week’s draft motion described the Palestinian flag as “a symbol for the rejection of Israel”, and cited growing anti-Semitism in Rotterdam. It didn’t mention the fact that the singer’s performance in Tel Aviv also featured an Israeli flag.

Hidde van Koningsveld, the head of the pro-Israel CiJo group, noted the omission on Twitter, and called the draft motion “nonsensical”.

During Madonna’s performance in Tel Aviv, despite Eurovision’s policy banning political statements, dancers at one point wore Israeli and Palestinian flags. It was construed by many as a plea for peace.

The Netherlands won the 2019 contest, and thus will host the 2020 edition.