Model Causes a Stir by Walking Naked Through Chasidic Williamsburg
VIdeo surfaced last week of a Belgian model strolling naked through the largely Chasidic Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, JTA reported.
Marisa Papen was chased and spit at in the video, which the model posted on her website. The naked romp included Papen posing in front of a yeshiva schoolbus and a synagogue.
On her website, Papen said some people looked away, but others got angry and aggressive. At one point, she danced naked in the rain.
While Papen was sitting in an Uber, the car was surrounded by Chasidic men, including one who spit on the car. Papen donned a coat and ran from the car, followed by men who shouted “go” and “get out.”
In the past, Papen has posed nude on a balcony overlooking the Western Wall’s women’s section, at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia mosque and near St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
Her website says, “Marisa’s goal is to raise awareness about the global suppression of women by the hand of religion.” She also is an advocate for allowing women to go topless in public.
Holocaust Victims’ Remains Found in Belarus Reburied
On May 21, volunteers reburied the remains of more than 1,000 Holocaust victims found in a mass grave in February in Brest, Belarus, JTA reported.
A local Chabad rabbi oversaw volunteers from the search-and-rescue organization who put the remains into several coffins and interred them in a Jewish cemetery. The mass grave — which was uncovered by housing construction — had remains of both adults and children, along with shoes, clothing and personal items. The Nazis killed 3 million civilians in Belarus, of whom 800,000 were Jewish.
More Than 13 Million Holocaust-Related Documents Uploaded
The International Tracing Service announced that it uploaded 13 million Holocaust-era documents to “help Holocaust researchers and others investigate the fate of victims,” according to the Associated Press.
The Holocaust archive — which is changing its name to Arolsen Archives–International Center on Nazi Persecution — said the documents are from Nazi concentration camps and include death notices and prisoner cards.
The archive, which is located in Bad Arolsen, said that with help from Israel’s Yad Vashem, documentation on more than 2.2 million people is available online, and efforts are underway to improve searchability.
“It is so important that the original documents can speak to coming generations,” archive Director Floriane Azoulay told the AP.
NJ Man Who Allegedly Wanted to Shoot Up Pro-Israel Rally Arrested
A Basking Ridge, New Jersey, man was arrested May 22 for attempting to provide support to Hamas by alleging sending $100 to the Gaza Strip, JTA reported.
Jonathan Xie, 20, allegedly displayed a Hamas flag in a video where he declared support for Saddam Hussein, North Korea and Syrian President Bashar Assad. He also made threats via Instagram that he wanted to shoot people at a pro-Israel march.
The FBI noticed Xie outside the Trump Tower last month. Xie allegedly posted on Instagram, “I forgot to visit the Israeli embassy in NYC … I want to bomb this place along with Trump Tower.”
