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Jewish remains moved for parking lot in Poland; 3 arrested in attack on Swedish synagogue; more in world news

 
This photo from Dec. 5, 2017, how human remains which had been removed from an old Jewish cemetery and dumped in huge mounds in Siemiatycze, Poland. The remains were removed to make way for the construction of a supermarket, parking lot and an electrical transformer station. Poland's chief rabbi Michael Schudrich called it a "scandal" and the worst desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Poland in many years. (Aleksander Schwarz/The Union of Jewish Communities in Poland via AP) WAR152
This photo from Dec. 5, 2017, how human remains which had been removed from an old Jewish cemetery and dumped in huge mounds in Siemiatycze, Poland. The remains were removed to make way for the construction of a supermarket, parking lot and an electrical transformer station. Poland's chief rabbi Michael Schudrich called it a "scandal" and the worst desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Poland in many years. (Aleksander Schwarz/The Union of Jewish Communities in Poland via AP) WAR152
Published Dec. 10, 2017

Poland

Jewish remains moved for parking

Human remains from an old Jewish burial ground have been dug up and dumped in an empty lot for the construction of an electrical substation, a supermarket and a parking lot, authorities said Thursday. Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich, from New York, described the excavation as the worst desecration of a Jewish cemetery he has seen during the 17 years he has been a rabbi in the country. Jewish religious law says bodies should be disturbed once they are buried only under limited circumstances, such as saving lives. Schudrich showed the AP photos of large mounds of earth with human bones in small-town Siemiatycze. "This is a full-out scandal," the rabbi said. "Sometimes, people can do something by mistake ... but skulls are hard to miss." An official with the local authorities insisted the building work did not take place on the grounds of the Jewish cemetery, but on already developed land managed by an automobile association. Schudrich said he had warned local authorities it was holy ground. Prosecutors have opened an investigation. Only 70 of the 7,000 Jews estimated to have been living in Siemiatycze survived the Holocaust, and none are believed to living there now, Schudrich said.

Sweden

Three arrested after attack on synagogue

Police arrested three people Sunday after a masked gang hurled Molotov cocktails at a synagogue's meeting hall in Gothenburg as it hosted a party Saturday night. The attack set the yard ablaze, but the building did not catch fire and no one was injured. "It might become a hate crime," police spokeswoman Ulla Brehm said. "The crime is attempted arson. But that may change during the investigation." The Police Authority's commissioner, Dan Eliasson, told the Aftonbladet newspaper that the threat level against Jewish interests in Sweden had increased since U.S. President Donald Trump's said the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Police arrested three men in their 20s on suspicion of arson, Brehm said, adding they were looking for other suspects. Police did not release further details. Swedish leaders condemned the attack. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said in a statement Sunday: "There is no place for anti-Semitism in our Swedish society. The perpetrators will answer for their crimes."

Syria

UNICEF: 137 sick kids need evacuation

The United Nations children's agency said Sunday that 137 children stranded in a rebel-held suburb near the Damascus require immediate evacuation amid a siege in which five have reportedly died from a lack of medical care. The Eastern Ghouta suburb has been besieged since 2013, and humanitarian conditions have deteriorated sharply amid violence that intensified since Nov. 14. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 202 people, including 47 children, have been killed since. Syrian opposition and government delegates are currently in a new round of U.N.-sponsored talks. In its statement Sunday, UNICEF said its aid workers described recently seeing one of the worst health situations since the conflict began in 2011. UNICEF says 137 children require immediate evacuation for kidney failure, severe malnutrition, conflict wounds and more. Nearly 12 percent of children under 5 years old in Eastern Ghouta suffer from acute malnutrition — the highest rate ever recorded since the start of the conflict, UNICEF says. — tbt* wires