Brazil bans Holocaust carnival float

As a result of a lawsuit filed by the Jewish Federation of Rio de Janeiro (Fierj), Brazilian judge Juliana Kalichszteim has banned the Unidos de Viradouro samba school from displaying a carnival float that graphically depicts the Holocaust. The float contains mannequins looking like dead bodies piled up on top of each other.

Unidos de Viradouro were planning to display the float in the upcoming Carnival as part of a series of disturbing floats depicting birth, fear and cold. The overarching theme of the floats is "It gives you goosebumps". According to Paulo Barros, the creative director of the samba school, the offending float was meant to be remind spectators of the Holocaust in a "very respectful" manner. However, Ricardo Brajterman, the lawyer for Fierj,

The monstrosity that is the Holocaust just cannot be combined with the excessively festive nature of the carnival, a festival recognised worldwide for its joy, humour, entertainment and eroticism.

In her decision, Judge Kalichszteim said that "Carnival should not be used as an instrument of hatred, any kind of racism and clear trivialisation of barbaric and unjustified acts against minorities".

If Unidos de Viradouro decide to proceed with displaying the float, the school could be fined (BBC).

I think this is a wise decision on the part of the Brazilian judge. Expression should be free in democratic societies, but certain limits are appropriate. Freedom of expression should not be used as an excuse for libel or disparagement. And, besides, people should use their common sense. If your neighbour's house burned down one day (God forbid), would it be appropriate to mount an exhibition of pictures depicting burned houses and install it where your neighbour can see it?

Pro-Jewish Iranian TV show depicts Holocaust

"Zero Degree Turn", a mini-series airing on Iranian state TV, has come as a revelation to both Iranians and foreigners. It is set in Paris during World War II, and shows a fictional employee of the Iranian embassy there forging Iranian passports in order to save a number of Jews from the Holocaust. The character is based on a real-life Iranian who rescued 500 Jews in France using this tactic.

While President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared the Holocaust a fabrication, it seems higher-up authorities, such as the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, would like to make it clear that they do not share Ahmadinejad's position. Since Khamenei controls the state TV network, the show had to have his approval in order to air (AP).

Once again, Ahmadinejad has proven to be a bit of a wildcard even as far as the conservative Iranian clerical establishment is concerned, and so they're pushing back, but in a way that is both subtle and likely to gain Iran new friends or at least sympathisers.

Controversial subjects avoided in British schools

A report commissioned by Lord Adonis, a junior minister in Britain's Department for Education and Skills, shows that some British schools avoid teaching historical subjects such as the Holocaust and the Crusades, for fear of generating adverse reactions among Muslim students. The British government is now planning to draw up guidelines to tackle the issue (BBC).

I think it's a shame when the fear of controversy prevents a frank discussion. If British school authorities fear that Muslim students would be offended to hear about topics such as the Holocaust, that is all the more reason to discuss these topics. If you are incapable of maintaining your calm in the face of historical evidence, chances are you are not very likely to be a productive citizen. And I thought that the major task of a school is to produce citizens who are well informed and productive.

Jewish cowboys in Argentina

I'd heard of ethnic Welsh gauchos in Argentina, but it turns out that there are Jewish ones as well. They came to Argentina from Eastern Europe in two waves: one after anti-Semitic riots (pogroms) in the 19th century, and the second after the Holocaust.

This photo series gives us a look at the life of one of them, Arminio Seiferheld, who herds livestock by day and works at a synagogue in the evening. His is, unfortunately, a vanishing way of life, however: many young members of Jewish gaucho families are moving to Argentinian cities, or to Israel (BBC).

American Jews and the Israeli lobby

The Israeli lobby in Washington, D.C., in some ways headed by the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), is an immensely powerful group of organisations that seek to align US policy on the Middle East with the views of right-wing Israeli groups such as the Likud Party. At the same time, American Jews are, on average, very liberal -- far more liberal than the average American. How do you square the values exhibited by American Jews with the attitudes of the Israeli lobby?

It would seem that the lobby, in fact, represents a small minority of American Jews, mostly from older generations, who are passionately committed to right-wing views on Israel and Palestine. The majority of American Jews don't seem to be very interested in the subject at all. Nevertheless, some liberal American Jewish groups, such as Americans for Peace Now, are trying to voice alternative opinions on Capitol Hill.

This article suggests that US policy on the Middle East will only change when the dominance of AIPAC is broken by a leftist or centrist American Jewish lobby, possibly financed by the anti-Republican billionaire and Holocaust survivor George Soros (Salon.com).

Holocaust-era heroine gets Polish honour

Irena Sendlerowa, a 97-year-old Polish woman who rescued 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust, has been honoured by a resolution of the upper house of the Polish parliament (BBC).