Moscow Film Festival: Israeli Wins People's Choice Awards

Last week, Dror Zahavi (an Israeli) won the People's Choice Award (at the Moscow Film Festival) for directing a film entitled "For My Father" (which was in German).

(Haaretz.com) Israeli filmmaker Dror Zahavi's "For My Father" captured the people's choice award at the annual Moscow Film Festival on Saturday.

The film, which stars Shredi Jabarin, Hili Yalon, and Shlomo Wishinski, tells the story of a would-be Palestinian suicide bomber who falls in love with an Israeli girl who is estranged from her Orthodox family. 

While the subject was grim (and not as humorous as A West Bank Story), its good to see Israeli's breaking into new territory, especially using non-English films.

Israel's Friend Germany To Head EU

Germany will be taking charge of the EU for the next six months, which should help Israel's image in a continent not known for supporting Israeli causes.

(Jerusalem Post) Israeli diplomatic officials are breathing a sigh of relief that Germany, considered one of Israel's strongest supporters in Europe, will be taking over the rotating presidency of the European Union on Monday for the next six months.

The president of the EU, according to officials in Jerusalem, has a great deal of influence over the agenda and the tone of the statements that come out of the EU.

Germany's presidency will last into the middle of the summer, which is Israel's main tourism season. Hopefully with Germany at the helm for a while, more Europeans will be given a taste of what Israel is all about from personal experience (instead of just the media).

Germany Pays $6 Billion To Holocaust Workers

It looks like survivors of the brutal Holocaust will receive a nice belated Hannakah gift from the German government.

(Jerusalem Post) Germany has so far paid out almost $6 billion to people forced to work for the Nazis during World War II, the chiefs of a compensation fund have announced.

Speaking in Berlin on Thursday, Guenter Saathoff, a member of the board of trustees of the Remembrance and Future Fund, said nearly 1.7 million people had been compensated, equal to more than 99% of people who qualify for the claims. [...]

In his statement, Herr Saathoff said 1.7 million victims or their legal heirs in 100 countries have so far received a total of €4.4 billion . The final deadline for victims or descendents to apply for compensation is December 31.

Although no one can ever compensate the Jews for what they went through over half a century ago, this will help struggling families (and heirs) in today's economy. The funding is being provided by not only the German government, but also companies that profited from the Jews forced labor (and anyone else's) as well.