Israeli officials and ordinary citizens took part in ceremonies across the Jewish State on Sunday to mark international Holocaust Memorial Day Sunday, which was the 74th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett presented a report at the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday morning showing statistics on anti-Semitic incidents worldwide and concluding that far-Right groups present the greatest threat to Diaspora communities.

The weekly “March of Return” riots on the border between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip Friday afternoon were the most violent in several weeks, kicking off a weekend which saw several violent incidents between Palestinians and Israelis on the border region as well as in the West Bank. Several Palestinians were killed and wounded in the clashes, including 38-year-old Hamdi Taleb Na’san, who the IDF believes was shot by a Jewish settler amidst clashes between Palestinians and settlers following an attack on a Jewish hiker near the outpost of Adei Ad, near Shiloh north of Jerusalem.

A team of 130 rescue workers and first responders from the IDF and the ZAKA civilian first-aid organization landed in Brazil Sunday morning to assist in rescue and recovery efforts following the collapse of a dam near the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte which so far has resulted in 58 deaths. “We will continue to act under the assumption that people can be rescued alive until we have recovered the last body,” said Pedro Ihara, a spokesman for the Brazilian fire department. “However, given the nature of the event, it is clear that as time passes, the chances of finding survivors is going down.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi issued a terse response Saturday to a statement by the French government that it is considering sanctions on the clerical regime in Tehran over its continued development of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear payloads. “If further sanctions are imposed on Iran,” Qassemi said, “we will reconsider our relations with Europe and continue to advance our defense capabilities…Iran’s missile capability is not negotiable, and this fact has been transferred to the French side in the dialogue between Iran and France.”

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Sunday that it was taking away Malaysia’s opportunity to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships, scheduled to take place in July, because it banned Israeli athletes from participating. Pointing out that Malaysia was in breach of the legal contract which it signed upon receiving the privilege of hosting the competition, the IPC added “Politics and sport are never a good mix and we are disappointed that Israeli athletes would not have been allowed to compete in Malaysia.”

International Holocaust Remembrance Day takes place on January 27 every year, on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on this day in 1945. Remembering the Holocaust provides us with universal lessons on the depth human evil can reach, and, conversely, the love of life and the heroism of adults and even children who thwarted human barbarity with their own survival.

The launch of an Iranian medium-range ballistic missile against an Israeli target last week, has highlighted concerns Israel, the United States and their allies have regarding the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program. This program runs counter to calls by the international community to refrain from developing these weapon-systems – as stated in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231.

Approximately one third of Israel’s some 180,000 Holocaust Survivors are impoverished, struggling with illness, or living alone. In 2009, ICEJ began a partnership with the local charity to provide a Home especially for lonely survivors. It offers attractive assisted-living facilities and a warm family environment. The Haifa Home continues to be a significant and vital project.