Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on June 8, 2017

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) Archaeologists in Western Poland found the foundations of the New Synagogue, which was destroyed in 1938.

The ruins found in the Polish city of Wroclaw belonged to the second largest synagogue in pre-war Germany. The archaeological digs are being conducted with the financial support of German President Frank-Walter Steimeier.

The synagogue was built in 1865 andhad four towers and over a seventy-yard-high dome. The synagogue served the liberal Jewish community. It was destroyed during Kristallnacht, or Night of the Broken Glass, in November 1938. At present, on the site where the synagogue sat, stands a monument.

Archaeological works were initiated by the Bente Kahan Foundation and the Jewish community in Wroclaw. The $28,000 used for the excavations was part of the Ignatz Bubis Prize, awarded to German President Frank Walter Steimeier. The prize is awarded to those whose public activities are characterized by the values embodied by German Jewish leader Ignatz Bubis (1927-1999). Steinmeier received the award in January 2017.

Archaeologists uncovered the foundations and fragments of the floor at the former entrance to the synagogue. The Bente Kahan Foundation wants the place to be appropriately commemorated before next years 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

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Foundations of synagogue destroyed in 1938 uncovered in western ... - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By richards on June 8, 2017

The Home of the Sages property on Bialystoker Place. Photograph: J. Oliver Conroy.

Anew lawsuitis only the latest sign of an epic power struggle within theHome of the Sages of Israel, atiny Lower East Side synagogue. Thehouse of worshipsnondescript and rundownbuilding on Bialystoker Placehas become thesubjectof a ferocious real estate battle between different factions,each claimingto be the synagogues lawful representative.

In a suit filed two weeks ago only the latest in a mounting pile of litigation members of the Orthodox Jewish synagogues small congregation allege that Rabbi Samuel Aschkenazi, who despite his title, is not the rabbi for Home of the Sages, is attempting to sell the property out from under them to real estate developer Peter Fine and then split the $13 million profit with Friends of Mosdot Goor, aGererHasidicgroupunconnected to the synagogue.

Theplaintiffs allege that in 2014Aschkenazi agreed to sell the synagogue property to Fine without consulting the members of the congregation, who are mainly elderly Lower East Side residents. According to the suit, Aschkenazi, the now-disputed president of Home of the Sages (there is a different pulpit rabbi who attends to the members spiritual needs), does not have legal standing to sell the property.

Peter Fine, a wheeling-dealingNew York real estate developer andoccasional Broadway producer,wantsto buyHome of the Sages and several adjacent properties,including air rights for the unrelated Bialystoker Synagogue,so he can build housing units, according to a 2015 New York Times piece. The property Fine proposes to buyfor $13 million was,according to the suit, independently appraised at $42 million, and those opposed to the sale describe the suspiciously low price as a wholly insufficient firesale.

Signs on the building identify it as Home of the Sages of Israel and New East Side Nursing Home, Formerly Home of the Sages. Photo: J. Oliver Conroy.

Fine, who is not named in thelatestsuit, declined to comment. Another New York real estate player, the controversial landlordBaruch Singer, has been among those lobbyingagainst the sale. Singer, who grew up on the Lower East Side and is the son of the former rabbi of the nearby Bialystoker Synagogue,toldthe Times in 2015 thathis opposition to the sale was motivated byan interest in protectingthe Lower East Sides Jewish heritage.

The Home of the Sages was founded in 1939,accordingto Jewish Week. The synagogue is a time capsule of sorts a relic of an earlier time when the Lower East Side was dotted with tiny storefront synagogues calledshtiebels.

In a statement quoted by the Times, Fine cast doubt on Singers altruisticmotives and suggested he waseyeing the real estateforhimself. Singer could not be reached for comment in time for publication.

New York not-for-profit law requires that transactions of real estate owned by religious corporations meet two tests, according to attorney Frank Carone of Abrams Fensterman, who is representing the plaintiffsofthe latest suit. Is the transaction or sale price fair or reasonable? Does the transaction further the interests of the nonprofit?

Those questions cannot be answered until a court determines once and for all wholawfully represents Home of the Sages, saidCarone. He said hisclients are not opposed to selling thepropertyper se, but want to make sure that the sale price is fair and the sale represents the interests of the congregation.

The suit also alleges that last year Aschkenazi, in a belated attempt to createthe illusion that congregants supported the sale, bused 17 people from Brooklyn and New Jersey to a sham Homeof the Sages meeting, where they retroactivelyvoted toapprove the property sale and the distribution of the proceeds to Aschkenazi and Friends of Mosdot Goor. Many of the Bus Congregation members had never stepped foot onto the Property before the sham meeting, according to the suit, and many are affiliates of the Goor sect, puppets of Rabbi Aschkenaziwhostand to gain a financial windfall in the event [of] the sale.

More commonly transliterated as Ger, Goor is a Hasidic dynasty based in Jerusalem described as the largest and most powerful in Israel in a 2016 Haaretz article with followers in Brooklyn and Lakewood, New Jersey. Friends of Mosdot Goor likely plans to use its $10 million share of the sale to build a synagogue in Israel, according to a legal filing previously mentioned by the Times. Goor could not be reached for comment, nor could the individual members of the Bus Congregation named as defendants in the suit.

The latest lawsuit.

As a replacement place of worship, Aschkenazihasoffered the patrons of the Home of the Sages use of a synagogue located in his Queens home in exchange for$48,000 in annualrent.(In legal petitionscited by the Times,Aschkenazi described his $3 million cut of the sale as an endowmentfor Home of the Sages, which would be used to fund the replacement synagogue.)

There is a key problem with this scenario, however: Orthodox Jews cannotuse motor transportation on the Sabbath,making it impossible for the Lower East Sidepatrons of Home of the Sages to get to services each week.

The suitalsoalleges thatin the lease agreement for the replacement synagogue, Aschkenazis wife,Rathma Bithya Aschkenazi, who signed as landlord, used her maiden name in order to conceal her relationship with Aschkenazi.

Aschkenazi, who could not be reached for comment, is already the subject of an unresolvedclass action lawsuitalleging he used the Home of the Sages name to perpetrate years of charity fraud. Angry former donors filed a lawsuit in 2015 arguing that Aschkenazi pocketed thousands of dollars a year through a misleading fundraising newsletter. The newsletter purported to support a nursing home for elderly and destitute Jewish scholars; although the Home of the Sages property was once used for that purpose, the last sages moved out or passed away in the mid-90s, and the Home of the Sages now leases space to an unrelated for-profit nursing home.

Yet the Home of the Sages was raising some $500,000 a year from donors, theForwardreportedin 2015, citing tax filings. When the charities bureau of the New York state attorney generals office opened an investigation, Aschkenazi purportedly fled to Israel to escape prosecution shortly after also being served papers by federal agents.

Attorney David Jaraslowiczof Jaroslawicz & Jaros described the entire affair as riddled with conflicts of interest, inconsistencies, and red flags.The best disinfectant is a little sunshine,he said, paraphrasing Justice Louis Brandeis.

Jaraslowiczisrepresenting members of the Home of the Sages opposed to the sale in an earlier pro bono case. (Frank Carone of Abrams Fensterman, who filed the recent lawsuit against Aschkenazi, said his firms case and Jaraslowiczs have a common interest. He described his suitas narrowly focused on the question of wholawfully speaks for Home of the Sages.)

Jaraslowiczbelieves Aschkenazi was using Home of the Sages as a personal slush fund. He said that based on his review of Home of the Sages 990s mandatory charity filings Aschkenazi and others were pulling large amounts of money out of what was supposed to be a religious corporation and giving it to an assortment of groups, including the private school Aschkenazis grandchildren attended.

The principal of CKCM Corporation, the operator of the for-profit nursing home that leases space from Home of the Sages, was a business partner of Aschkenazis son, now deceased, according to Jaraslowicz and the lawsuit filed by Abrams Fensterman. The suit also alleges that Aschkenazi collects the rent and retains those payments for his own personal use without remitting them to Home of the Sages.

New York not-for-profit law requires that the sale of property owned by religious corporations be approved by the state attorney general and the courts;Aschkenazi and Peter Fine have hired a rapid succession of law firms issuing confusing and sometimes contradictory motions to push through approval for theunusuallycheap sale.

The developer has been filing a suit a month trying to get around the original suit, added Jaraslowicz. [Fine] realized he isnt going to win the original suit. He keeps changing his positions and is trying to gain some mileage out of flooding us with paper.

The law firms involved are unusually high-powered for a case involving such a modest real estatetransaction. To press their case with the state attorney general, Aschkenazi and Fine hired David Boies, one of the most renowned and expensive lawyers in the country.

Unusually, therecent suit brought byAbrams Fenstermannames Goldberg Rimberg & Weg and Fisher & Fisher, two law firms which have represented Aschkenazi and the pro-sale faction,as defendants. The suit alleges they represented Home of the Sages without the plaintiffs knowledge or consent.

A source with knowledge of attorney Andrew Fishers thinking said he read the decision to name the law firms as parties as overreaching and unnecessary.

Many of the parties involved could not be reached for comment, despite repeated attempts.

This case doesnt pass the smell test, said Jaraslowicz.If you dig into it, youll faint from the stench.

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$13 Million Synagogue Sale Threatened by Power Struggle of Biblical Proportions - Bedford + Bowery

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Posted By simmons on June 8, 2017

(JTA) A small Jewish congregation in Rhode Island is moving into an Episcopal church.

Congregation Or Chadash will hold a procession next week, during which congregants will carry their three Torah scrolls out of their former building, which was recently consecrated as the first Hindu Temple in Rhode Island, the Jewish Voice newspaper reported.

The congregation, whose name means New Light, is made up of about 30 members of the former Temple Am David of Warwick, Rhode Island, which went bankrupt and had been using space in their former building for more than a year. The ark from the former building will be coming with them to their new digs.

They will use a classroom in the Cranston, Rhode Island church and share other facilities such as the kitchen and meeting room. The synagogue also plans to use a small chapel and church hall at Trinity for Shabbat services, which wont overlap with Trinitys Sunday services.

We do have a tradition within the Episcopal Church of providing hospitality for other faith groups within our buildings, Rhode Island Bishop Nicholas Knisely told the Episcopal News Service.

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Next: Rhode Island synagogue to share digs with Episcopal church - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By admin on June 8, 2017

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Israel's battle to reclaim its biblical heartland.

The Six-Day War is a critical period in the country's history, when Israel reunited Jerusalem for the first time in nearly 2,000 years, and CBN brought it to life on the big screen.

"In Our Hands: The Battle for Jerusalem" recently premiered at theaters across the U.S., and even aired at a theater in Jerusalem this week.

And just last night, a Jewish synagogue in Washington hosted a special screening.

Hundreds of people showed up, including CBN CEO Gordon Robertson, who produced the film.

The senior rabbi of Washington Hebrew Congregation says many of his members lived through the Six-Day War and understand the history. "But I think what's important is for us to talk about this in the context of a greater understanding of Israel today and what does that victory mean today? Not only to our congregation, but this is an opportunity to interfaith with Christians who have a different perspective on why Israel is important to them and I think that's important for our congregation to engage in," Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig said.

At Sunday's screening of the film in Jerusalem, Gordon Robertson said, "It's with great joy I say to you, 'The Lord has done great things for you.'"

"One of the guiding verses for me for this whole project is from Psalm 126: 'Then they said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them,'" he explained.

The film was a big hit with those who saw it in Israel.

"As an Israeli, I must say that I have not seen for a very long time such a great expression of a true storytelling of what really happened here," Avi Mizrachi said.

Some Israelis were surprised that Christians would make such a film to honor Israel.

"I've just learned about it that Christians love Israel. It was very surprising, a good surprise," said Ishai Ben Moshe, who played Zamosh in the film.

Click here to learn more about "In Our Hands" and The Six-Day War.

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'In Our Hands' Marks Six-Day War 50th with DC Synagogue Screening - CBN News

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Posted By admin on June 8, 2017

GLENDALE Sidney Friedman is a mentalist. He performs mindboggling feats that demonstrate his extraordinary mental powers. He mesmerizes audiences across the country, leaving many wondering if there really is such a thing as extrasensory perception.

On Sunday, June 11, you can meet Friedman and decide for yourself. Hell be performing at Congregation Anshe Sfard Kehillat Torah in Glendale at a celebration thats been 26 years in the making.

Weve paid off the [synagogues] mortgage and this is really something to celebrate, said Rabbi Wes Kalmar. We invited Sidney Friedman to perform and were calling it Mind over Mortgage.

The Skeptical Reporter

Im skeptical of all things supernatural. I watched Friedman on YouTube in preparation for our phone interview. I noticed his mental feats were performed in person. I asked if he was able to perform his feats from afar, and since I live in Glendale and he lives near Chicago, I was hoping hed offer to read my mind.

Apparently he read my mind (more likely hes very intuitive), because he offered to do a mind-reading trick over the phone.

Okay, think of a country in Western Europe, he said. Now, get a piece of paper and a pen and write the name of that country a few times, thinking of each letter as you write it down.

I had no intention of making this easy for Friedman, so I chose Belgium, not the most well-known country in Western Europe.

Long story short, after guessing the first letter wrong, Friedman began rattling off the correct letters until he said, Belgium!

A magician does slight of hand, said Friedman. I do slight of mind. I use perception, intuition, human psychology and an understanding of human nature.

Music and Magic

Friedman was interested in magic tricks and music since childhood. As a young adult, he obtained a degree in music composition and piano at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

He also began refining his mentalist abilities around that time. Friedman eventually incorporated music into his performance, asking people to think of a song and then playing it on piano or guitar.

When Friedman isnt performing, he keeps his amazing people-reading skills to himself.

But what about when youre on a date, I asked.

Nobody can ever know what a woman is thinking, joked Friedman, adding in all seriousness, Much of life is better to be a mystery.

Reading Jewish minds

Friedman has performed at about 180 Jewish Federation events. Jews of all observance levels enjoy his performances, particularly ultra-Orthodox Jews, which may come as a surprise to some.

Ive performed for Chabad and they love it he said. They love anything that has to do with the mind.

* * *

How to go

What: Sidney Friedman, mentalist, with ASKT mortgage burning

When: Sunday, June 11, 7 p.m.

RSVP: AsktShul.org.

More info: SidneyFriedman.com, Facebook.com/MentalistSidneyFriedman, AsktShul@gmail.com, 414-228-9296.

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Mentalist to use 'Mind over Mortgage' at synagogue celebration - The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle

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Posted By simmons on June 8, 2017

South Orange Synagogue Bestows 2017 Volunteer Service Awards to Members Working on Syrian Refugee Resettlement Project, Former Board Member for Continuing Service to Community from Afar

Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (TSTI) in South Orange recently recognized three members at its annual congregational meeting in May. The 2017 TSTI Volunteer Service awards, given by Board President Sue Wishnow of Short Hills, went to Joel Scharf of Monroe Township, Sheryl Harpel of Short Hills and Alan Levine of South Orange.

Each year we honor volunteers who have made a special impact on what we do here at TSTI, said Wishnow. Sometimes the impact is specific to a certain initiative that was undertaken, often its in recognition of many years of dedicated consistent service. This year we celebrate both types of service.

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Working to resettle refugees

Harpel and Levine were recognized for representing TSTI on the inter-synagogue initiative in South Orange to work on resettling refugee families in town; the Reform synagogue has partnered with Oheb Shalom and Congregation Beth-El, with two chair people from each organization heading up the endeavor. So far, three families have been welcomed and helped to begin their new lives here, arranged by the synagogues volunteers; two are from Syria, one from Iraq.

Working with their fellow chair people, Harpel and Levine got teams from the three synagogues and wider community fully engaged in providing goods and services for three refugee families to date. The first family arrived just days before President Donald Trumps travel ban from Muslim-majority countries was to take effect this winter; the second family arrived under short notice soon after. The third family, relatives of the first family, arrived in late May.

Part of Harpels and Levines responsibilities entailed organizing hundreds of volunteers from TSTI and the wider community to raise funds, purchase clothing for all family members as well as food, toiletries and personal effects, and furniture; and work with committees to procure health care, translation services, schooling, transportation and more. They provided everything you could imagine, said Wishnow.

Our work is not finished, and our teams are preparing for what might come in the future, said Harpel, who, with Levine, continues to attend weekly meetings to help these families further settle in and prepare for the possibility of others to arrive.

We are honored to be part of this important work that is building a powerful collaboration among South Oranges three synagogues, and the wider local community, added Levine.

In her remarks at the ceremony, Wishnow acknowledged this collaboration, stating that the work they are doing has not only helped welcome families fleeing oppression, it has also built stronger bridges within the Jewish community and beyond.

This ongoing coalition is putting in deeper and deeper roots among South Oranges Jewish community while also furthering the bond with area residents who took note of this important work and participated to help settle these families.

Years of volunteering recognized

Joel Scharf was given a Volunteer Service Award for his untold hours giving his talents and dedication to TSTI for years and years, said Wishnow. He has held many board and committee leadership positions including treasurer, VP finance, cemetery committee chairperson, and Brotherhood president. Although he relocated in 2013 to Monroe Township from Maplewood, he continues to volunteer his time, as he has done a few days a week for many years, with bookkeeping, making membership calls, talking to vendors, and anything else that the synagogue staff and board members need to properly execute their roles.

When I became synagogue president last year, I asked Joel to sit down with me and tell me about the cemetery committees scope of work. Through that great long talk, it became very clear to me how much he loves TSTI and how much knowledge he has accumulated about how things work, as someone who has been volunteering here for many years, said Wishnow. Scharf and his family have been TSTI members since 1976.

TSTI means so much to me; in spite of our move to Monroe Township, Im happy to make the commute to help out as needed, said Scharf. I thank Sue and the board for acknowledging me with this Volunteer Service Award; its my pleasure to serve in any way necessary.

Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (TSTI), located at 432 Scotland Road in South Orange, is a vibrant, inclusive Reform congregation that welcomes Jews by birth or by choice, interfaith, traditional and non-traditional families, and children of all abilities. It offers lifelong learning and creative, enriching programs for all members, from preschoolers and teens to older adults. Its full complement of religious services, early childhood and religious school education, cultural programs and activities foster connection, engagement and community outreach. TSTI's members live in Maplewood, South Orange, West Orange, ShortHills, Millburn, Livingston and surrounding areas. For more information, please visitwww.tsti.org.

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Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel Honors Volunteers for Service to Synagogue and Wider Community - TAPinto.net

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Posted By simmons on June 8, 2017

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) The mayor of Mexico City praised his countrys Sephardi heritage during the opening of the global biennial Erensya summiton Tuesday.

In Mexico we have history, we have inheritance, we have language that comes from Sephardi history, Miguel Angel Mancera said. We are proud to host this congress here and for the first time held outside Europe. It is an honor.

Sephardi Jews from more than 20 countries gathered in Mexico for the three-day conference, ending Wednesday, to discuss their culture and tradition and the Jewish presence in Mexico in the past and today, and to exchange relevant experiences from the Sephardi world.

Mexico receives and supports all the communities in the world, the mayor added, pointing out that Mexicos first constitution states that discrimination is prohibited and anti-Semitism is categorized as such. What moves us must be tolerance.

The president of the Mexico-Israel Cultural Institute, David Srur, recalled the strong Jewish presence during the period that Mexico was a Spanish colony.

Long live the culture, the science, our roots and the memory, which will lead us to a world full of optimism and union, Srur said.

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Mexico City Mayor Trumpets Country's Sephardic Heritage - Forward

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Posted By admin on June 8, 2017

Ashkenazic Jews are accustomed to seeing Sephardic Jews return late on Shabbat and Yom Tov evenings. It is well known that Sephardim read each word aloud (except for the silent Amidah) and that Sephardic tefillah takes longer than the Ashkenazic version. However, Ashkenazic Jews often react with shock when seeing their Sephardic brethren returning home early from Shavuot eve Arvit.

Ashkenazim are accustomed to wait until tzeit hakochavim (nightfall) before beginning Arvit, in accordance with the ruling of the Mishnah Berurah. The Torah requires us to count seven complete weeks (sheva Shabbatot temimot), and beginning Arvit early would impinge on the temimot of the count, since Shavuot would begin before the 49th day of the Omer is complete.

Why then does Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck, begin Arvit on Shavuot eve considerably earlier than nightfall? Why is Shaarei Orah not concerned for temimot?

We should first clarify that although the Taz and Mishnah Berurah require waiting until tzeit hakochavim before beginning Arvit, the Magen Avraham and Aruch HaShulchan only require that we postpone Kiddush until nightfall. The iconic Sephardic work Ben Ish Chai (Bamidbar, Year 1) adopts this approach as well. The halachic advantage of this modified approach is that by praying Arvit early, one accepts Shavuot early and fulfills the mitzvah of tosefet Yom Tov, accepting Yom Tov early. Delaying Kiddush until tzeit hakochavim suffices to satisfy the temimot requirement.

Moreover, Hacham Ovadia Yosef (Teshuvot Yechave Daat 6:30) cites Rav David Zvi Hoffmans further modification of this rule in his Teshuvot Melamed Lehoil. The Melamed Lehoil notes that since the majority of Rishonim believe that Sefirat HaOmer in the unfortunate absence of the Beit Hamikdash is only a rabbinic obligation, it is sufficient to wait until shekia (sunset) to begin Kiddush.

Furthermore, Hacham Ovadia challenges the requirement to wait even until shekia due to the requirement of temimot. The Gemara (Menachot 66a) interprets Temimot as teaching that the Omer should be counted at night in order for the complete day to be counted. Tosafot is shocked that the Behag (the very important 10-century Geonic work of Halacha) interprets temimot as disqualifying those who missed one day of counting the Omer. The Behag interprets temimot in a manner that appears contrary to the Gemara.

Although the Behags opinion is accepted by Halacha to a certain extent, this is due to the preeminent status of the Behag and his status as one of the Geonim, earlier authorities whose teachings are assumed to be rooted in oral traditions dating back to the Talmudic era. Thus, the much-later interpretation of temimot as precluding ushering Shavuot in early comes as a great surprise. Halachic interpretation of Tanach is reserved for the Gemara and at most may be extended to the Geonic period.

Generally speaking, Sephardic halacha tends to be more conservative and less fluid than that of the Ashkenazic counterpart. Thus, it is hardly surprising that Rambam and Rav Yosef Karo in his Shulchan Aruch make no mention of a requirement to delay Kiddush on Erev Shavuot even until shekia!

Finally, Hacham Ovadia cites a well-known comment of Tosafot and the Rosh to the first Mishnah of the 10th perek of Masechet Pesachim. The Mishnah notes that one does not begin eating on Erev Pesach until nightfall since the Korban Pesach must be eaten only at night. Tosafot and Rosh note, though, that Pesach is the sole exception to the rule that permits and even requires us to begin Shabbat and Yom Tov early.

Therefore, Hacham Ovadia rules that while it is best for Sephardic Jews to wait for tzeit hakochavim to begin Kiddush on leil Shavuot, if it is difficult it is better to wait until shekia. If even this proves difficult, one may even recite Kiddush before shekia.

In light of these rulings, we at Shaarei Orah conclude Arvit considerably before shekia. Each family, in turn, decides if it is able to wait until shekia or even tzeit hakochavim to recite Kiddush. Indeed, Rav Eli Mansour cites the practice of Syrian Jewish icon Hacham Baruch Ben-Haim, who would recite Arvit and Kiddush before tzeit hakochavim on the night of Shavuot, explaining that he wanted to ensure that the children can remain awake to participate in the Yom Tov celebration.

By Rabbi Haim Jachter

Rabbi Haim Jachter is the spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck. He also serves as a Rebbe at Torah Academy of Bergen County and a Dayan on the Beth Din of Elizabeth.

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Why Were Shaarei Orah Members Returning Home Early Shavuot Eve? - Jewish Link of New Jersey

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Posted By richards on June 8, 2017

The Jerusalem Post

Hungary to extradite German Holocaust denier who fled jail term The Jerusalem Post A Hungarian court has ordered the extradition of German right-wing extremist Horst Mahler who fled Germany to avoid serving out the rest of a sentence for Holocaust denial and incitement to antisemitism. Mahler, 81, was arrested on May 15 in the ... and more »

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Hungary to extradite German Holocaust denier who fled jail term - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By richards on June 8, 2017

Horst Mahler, a former German lawyer sentenced to prison for Holocaust denial, is to be extradited to his homeland, the Budapest Court of Appeals said. Mahler was apprehended in the western Hungarian town of Sopron on May 15 on the basis of an international arrest warrant. The ruling to transport him to Germany is in force. According to international regulations, Hungary can keep Mahler in custody until June 16 and is to set him free afterwards, should Germany not receive him until then.

Mahler was sentenced to 10 years of prison in 2009 for Holocaust denial in Germany. The sentence was suspended to allow the 81-year-old to receive medical treatment, and was to be resumed after the treatment was completed. Mahler, however, failed to comply with the rules of suspension, and travelled to Hungary. The Hungarian authorities detained him as soon as he entered the country.

Mahler first reached prominence as a founding member and lawyer in service of the Red Army Faction (RAF), a militant, far-left group in 1970s Germany. He was sentenced to 14 years of prison for several crimes committed in league with RAF. In the 1990s, however, Mahler turned to far-right extremism, and became a member of the neo-Nazi German National Democratic Party (NPD) in 2000. Since then, he has been sentenced by German courts for Holocaust denial on several occasions.

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Hungary to extradite Holocaust denier Horst Mahler to Germany - Politics.hu

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