H eadlines
NEWSBRIEFS Jewish Businessman Offers to Buy, Blow Up
800-pound Nazi Eagle, Swastika Crest
A JEWISH BUSINESSMAN in Uruguay has offered to buy an
800-pound eagle and swastika crest from a former Nazi ship and
explode it into “a thousand pieces,” JTA reported.

Daniel Sielecki, 64, told a local news site that he wants to buy
the eagle, then destroy it to keep it out of the hands of neo-Nazis.

The 6-foot-tall Nazi swastika and eagle crest was recovered by
a private expedition in 2006. It had been affixed to the front of
the Admiral Graf Spee Nazi warship, which British ships scuttled
in a Montevideo harbor in December 1939.

The eagle was briefly shown to the public in Montevideo
after its recovery, sparking controversy. Germany criticized the
“Nazi paraphernalia” display, and the eagle was moved to a naval
warehouse. A Uruguayan court ruled in 2019 that the government must
auction the crest, and that the proceeds must go to the investors
behind the team that recovered it.

Stanford to Investigate Claims That Jewish Admissions
Were Capped in the 1950s
Stanford University appointed a task force to investigate the
existence of a quota for Jews at the school during the 1950s, JTA
reported. The group was tasked with researching the existence of quotas
and recommending ways “to enhance Jewish life on campus,
including how best to address any findings resulting from the
research on admissions practices.”
The claims about Stanford’s admissions quota were first
raised in a blog post by Charles Petersen, a postdoctoral fellow at
Cornell University studying the concept of meritocracy. Petersen
mentioned a 1953 letter he found in Stanford’s archives addressed
to the university’s then-president, J.E. Wallace Sterling, from
Fred Glover, an adviser to Sterling, that mentions Jewish applica-
tions and acceptances.

Casket Draped in Swastika Flag at Rome Funeral
Sparks Outrage
A funeral procession outside a Rome church featured a casket
wrapped in a Nazi swastika flag, sparking outrage, JTA reported.

The Roman Catholic Church strongly condemned the incident
on Jan. 11. In a statement, the Vicariate of Rome called the
incident “serious, offensive and unacceptable.”
Italian news site Open released photos and videos of the
scene from the St. Lucia church in the Prati district. About two
dozen individuals can be seen lining up to greet the casket of
Alessia “Tungsy” Augello, 44, a member of the far-right New
Force Italian political party. He died on Jan. 7 due to thrombosis
complications. Augello’s casket was hailed as it emerged from the cathedral
after the mass with shouts and Nazi-style salutes.

Real Estate Scion Convicted of Murder Dies at 78
Real estate heir Robert Durst died on Jan. 10 in a California
hospital, as a prisoner serving a life sentence for murdering his
best friend, Susan Berman, in 2000, JTA reported. He was 78.

Durst had known Berman since the late 1960s and she became
his spokesperson and fiercest defender against suspicions that
he murdered his wife, Kathie McCormack Durst, in 1982. She
disappeared and never was seen again.

Durst was convicted of killing Berman, but was acquitted
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM of shooting and beheading a neighbor in Galveston, Texas; he
confessed to the killing but argued that he acted in self-defense.

Prince Charles Commissions Holocaust Survivor
Portraits for Buckingham Palace
Prince Charles commissioned portraits of seven Holocaust
survivors to be displayed at Buckingham Palace in recognition of
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, JTA reported.

Charles, the Prince of Wales, commissioned the portraits as
part of his service as the royal patron of the Holocaust Memorial
Day Trust, a position he took over from Queen Elisabeth in 2015.

The portraits will be displayed in the palace’s Queen Gallery
ahead of Jan. 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
in 1945. It’s also the date that the United Nations designated as
Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The paintings will become part of the Royal Collection,
Vanity Fair reported. The survivors are all in their 90s and have
all since lived in the United Kingdom. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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PEOPLE LOVE DEAD JEWS
An Evening with
Author Dara Horn
Reading, Interview and Q&A
January 27, 2022, 6:30 pm ET Online
Dara Horn discusses her highly-charged new book,
“ People Love Dead Jews, Reports from a Haunted Past.”
Following her reading, Gratz College president, Dr. Zev Eleff,
will interview Dara and take live questions. This event is
presented by a joint partnership of the Drexel University
Laurie Wagman Initiative in Jewish Studies, Hillel at Drexel
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