The teaching of the Holocaust is one of the most meaningful and unifying areas of study in the Israeli school system, a survey found. A national survey of Israeli principals, teachers and students released Tuesday found that the Holocaust is a common denominator among students of diverse backgrounds, and that there are no major differences between students from different demographic groups in terms of their perceptions of the Holocaust. The study, headed by Erik Cohen of Bar-Ilan University's School of Education, interviewed 307 principals, 519 teachers and 2,540 ninth- and 12th-grade students from Israeli religious and non-religious schools. It was presented Tuesday to the Knesset Education Committee. A majority of students, 77 percent, said that the Holocaust affects their worldview and 94 percent said they are committed to preserving its memory. Some 83 percent said they are interested in learning more about the Holocaust. Some 99 percent of students who participated in a journey to Poland said it was an effective means of learning about the Holocaust. Strengthening students' commitment to the existence of an independent State of Israel is an important goal of Holocaust education for 100 percent of principals and 92 percent of teachers, the study found. More than half of the teachers received training in Holocaust education through a professional enrichment course during the past two years. The study was conducted from 2007 to 2009 with the support of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
II. KATHIMERINI - Greece seeks progress with neighbors
As Prime Minister George Papandreou declared yesterday that the time is right for progress in a range of bilateral disputes involving Greece and its neighbors, a spokesperson for the leader of the Turkish community on Cyprus called on Greece to provide “strong support” for talks aimed at breaking the deadlock on the divided island. Speaking during an official visit to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Papandreou reiterated appeals that he had made in a letter sent on Monday to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for closer cooperation between Athens and Ankara to scale down tensions in the Aegean and resolve outstanding disputes. The Greek premier stressed that Turkey’s aggressive behavior in the Aegean, with Turkish jets continuing to violate Greek air space, had to stop if relations are to improve. Papandreou also emphasized the importance of a settlement being found to the Cyprus problem. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish-Cypriot leader, called on the Greek government to take a more active stance in promoting the process of ongoing peace talks on the island. “If Greece does not undertake its responsibilities, it will not be part of the process toward finding a solution,” said Hasan Ercakica. The spokesperson added that Greek authorities should show “the necessary courage.” In a related development, Erdogan reportedly welcomed the letter he received from Papandreou – proposing a bilateral initiative to improve ties – and described it as “a promise of hope for a solution to our problems.” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the letter indicated “good intentions and political will,” but he added that “both sides have political will and points of convergence... the point is to be able to discuss these issues.”
III. IRISHTIMES - Macedonia tries to allay Greek objections to its name
Macedonia will propose steps to improve relations with Greece and help solve a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name, Macedonian foreign minister Antonio Milososki said yesterday. Greece has blocked Macedonia’s efforts to join the Nato defence alliance and the European Union because of the dispute, saying the Balkan state’s name implies territorial claims to a Greek province called Macedonia. Mr Milososki, who expects to meet Greek foreign minister George Papandreou on Friday, said he would propose that Macedonia and Greece open embassies on each other’s territory and that a new border crossing between them be opened to make travel easier. He said he would also propose the two states sign an accord preventing double taxation as a sign of Macedonian support to Greece, which faces debt and deficit problems. “We have these initiatives and we want to stimulate Greece. We want to make a step forward regarding this [name] question,” Mr Milososki told a news conference during a visit to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Skopje declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 and took the name of Macedonia, the same as Greece’s northernmost province. Slovenian foreign minister Samuel Zbogar said there were expectations in the EU that the name dispute could be solved by the end of June, but gave no details. Slovenia is the only former Yugoslav republic that has managed so far to join the EU. It acceded to the union in 2004 and adopted the euro in 2007.
Austria and Greece have started an initiative for getting all Western Balkan countries into the European Union by 2014. These two countries submitted a letter to EU Foreign and Security Policies Chief Catherine Ashton and EU member-state foreign ministers, stating that it is their goal to get all the countries of the region into the EU by 2014, the 100-year anniversary of the start of World War I. Austria’s Foreign Ministry told Tanjug that the initiative is based on an agreement made last week in Athens between the Austrian and Greek Foreign Ministries on a concrete initiative for speeding up the integration of the Western Balkans. The letter states that the two countries support the fast ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia. It also recommends that the EU should take steps regarding Belgrade candidacy status, for which Serbia submitted a request in late 2009.
V. FORBES - NATO, Russia boost military ties in Afghan war
NATO's top officer said Wednesday that Russia had agreed to boost cooperation with the alliance in Afghanistan, including opening more transit routes for supplies to international troops and helping service Soviet-built helicopters used by the security forces. Italian Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, who heads the alliance's military committee, said Russian Chief of Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov had told his allied counterparts that Moscow was extrememly interested in helping the war effort in Afghanistan. "He said Russia had an even greater interest than the alliance in a successful outcome there," Di Paola told reporters. Tuesday's meeting of the military chiefs of NATO's 28 countries with Makarov marked the resumption of military-to-military ties between the alliance and Russia, which were frozen in the aftermath of the war with Georgia in 2008. Diplomatic relations were normalized last year, but vital military links had remained blocked. Agreements included giving NATO access to more supply corridors, and Russian help in maintaining the transport and gunship helicopters in use by allied and Afghan forces. These accords will be reviewed at a follow-up meeting with Makarov, Di Paola said. NATO also confirmed it had finalized an agreement with Kazakhstan to open the last leg on the overland route to Afghanistan from Europe via Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It will offer an alternative to the alliance's main logistics chain through Pakistan, which has come under repeated militant attack in the past.
One of the earliest Russian settlements in the US, deemed a National Historic Landmark and under threat of shut down due to budget cuts in 2009, has been saved thanks to a reprieve by the Californian government. Fort Ross was established by Ivan Kuskov – a Russian Vologda Region native – in 1812 as a pelt processing community. Situated 80 kilometers north of San Francisco, it was the easternmost Russian settlement in history. After losing its industrial significance in the mid-19th Century, in 1903 Fort Ross was bought by the California Landmarks League, and despite suffering from an earthquake and a fire, was opened to the public in the 1970s. In September 2009, in the wake of the recent crisis, California’s government decided to cut its budget spending on local landmarks. Fort Ross, which requires $300,000-$800,000 annually, was among the landmarks earmarked for closure. The measure sparked reaction in Russia from Vologda Region Governor Vyachelav Pozgalyov, who wrote to Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the issue, and from Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who called on Russo-American businessmen to intervene and ensure the Fort’s survival. Both politicians stressed Fort Ross’s significance as a symbol of cooperation between Russia and the US. In early 2010, Schwarzenegger responded to Pozgalyov, thanking him for his attention and promising that the Fort will continue to work. Later, Californian authorities published a plan on keeping the state’s historical heritage, including Fort Ross.
Fraternal greetings are being sent by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, to His Holiness, the newly elected Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, who was enthroned in Belgrade on Saturday, January 23, 2010, one day after his election by the Serbian Church's Assembly of Bishops. Patriarch Irinej succeeds His Holiness, the late Patriarch Pavle, who fell asleep in the Lord after an extended illness at the age of 95 on November 15, 2009. According to Archpriest Leonid Kishkovsky, OCA Director of External Affairs and Interchurch Relations, additional celebrations, in which representatives of the sister Orthodox Churches will participate, will be held at the ancient Patriarchal See in Pec after Pascha. The Patriarch of Serbia also bears the title of "Archbishop of Pec" and "Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovac." Representatives of the Serbian government and the region's Roman Catholic and Muslim communities attended the Synodal enthronement Divine Liturgy at the Belgrade cathedral. Following the Liturgy, Patriarch Irinej was presented the patriarchal insignia by His Eminence, Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral, who wished him a blessed ministry as "a worthy successor to Saint Sava and his worthy and honorable predecessors." "Now my thoughts are directed toward God, our Savior, the Great Shepherd of the Church, Who has granted me His grace and goodness," Patriarch Irinej responded in his first sermon as Patriarch. He went on to note that the day was a great one, not only him personally, but also for the Serbian Church and people, adding that the Patriarchal Office has always represented, before God and in history, the fullness of the Serbian people, whose tragedies and joys it shares. Patriarch Irinej was born Miroslav Gavrilovic in the village of Vidova, near Cacak, in 1930. After completing high school, he enrolled in and graduated from seminary in Prizren, He pursued advanced theological studies at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Belgrade. Upon graduation, he served in the army. Following his return from the army, he served as a professor at the Prizren seminary. He was tonsured to monastic rank with the given name Irinej at the Rakovica Monastery by His Holiness, Patriarch German and ordained to the priesthood in October 1959. While teaching at the Prizren seminary, he undertook additional postgraduate theological studies in Athens. In 1969, he was appointed head of the monastic school at the Ostrog Monastery, after which he returned to the Prizren seminary as rector. He was elected and consecrated Bishop of Moravica, vicar to the Patriarch of Serbia, in 1974. The following year, he was elected to the See of Nis, where he served until his election to the Patriarchal See.A detailed account and photos of Patriarch Irinej's election may be found here, while information on the ancient Patriarchal See of Pec may be found here.