| #8 Actually, Bardo, the last time I looked, in the mid-1990s, there were somewhat more than 50,000 registered Jews in Germany. There were plenty more of us who refused to register with the government -- granted, I was there as an ex-pat spouse on a medium term assignment, which isn't the same as a permanent resident, but there were, oddly enough, a goodly proportion of Israelis in that number. About 2/5 of the registered Jews had come over from the ex-Soviet Union; Jews have an automatic right of "return" in Germany, whether of German descent or not. And I imagine more Russian Jews have immigrated since then. It was interesting, though, because very few of the Russian Jews knew anything about their religion when they arrived, and the local community put a great deal of thought and effort into their education. |
A number of cars were set on fire by unknown individuals on Tuesday night in the cities of Koeln and Berlin in Germany, said police on Wednesday. In a press conference, spokesperson for Koeln Police said that it was unlikely that the incidents were related to the riots in Paris, noting that there are no riots in Koeln. Spokesperson of Berlin Police also gave similar statements to reporters. Four cars were set on fire in Koeln last night, while six cars and a motorcycle were burned in Berlin on the same night. The security authorities in both cities announced that security measures will be tightened and more police patrols will be on the streets, especially in neighborhoods with residents of lower incomes and higher unemployment rates. 