Germany

German Holocaust memorial defaced with feces for 11th time

The vandalization of the St. Wendel area memorial was described by the district administrator as not just a mere prank, but an attack on society, historical memory, and responsibility.

|ByMICHAEL STARR
A demonstrator holds a placard with the slogan 'Antifa means fight against every antisemitism' and a logo of Germany's Die Linke (The Left) party, near police officers, during a protest against antisemitism, in Leipzig, Germany January 17, 2026.
A European pond turtle next to the foot of a European straight-tusked elephant, April 16, 2026; illustrative.

Neanderthal children in central Europe may have hunted turtles for materials, not for food - study

The study also floated the possibility that the turtles had been hunted for “their taste or for an assumed medicinal value.” 

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
A woman crosses an overpass as in background can be seen one of the German flags flying on the Reichstag building that houses the Bundestag (lower house of parliemant) on November 27, 2025 in Berlin, Germany.

Council of Europe criticizes Germany for being too strict with interpretation of antisemitism

Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty visited Germany in October 2025, during which he said he saw increasing pressure on democratic freedoms and undue restrictions on peaceful protests.

|ByMATHILDA HELLER
A NATO flag flies at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on September 12, 2025.

Europe prepares plan to replace US command in NATO if Trump decides to leave - WSJ

The plan doesn't aim to rival NATO, but rather to give Europe the tools to preserve nuclear deterrence and military cohesion against Russia.

|ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN

European governments say Alexei Navalny died after dart frog toxin poisoning in Russian prison

Five European governments say tests confirmed Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a lethal dart frog toxin while held in a Russian Arctic prison, accusing Moscow of breaching chemical weapons bans.

FEBRUARY 14, 2026ByREUTERS
People gather outside the Russian embassy, following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reported by prison authorities in Russia's Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence, in Warsaw, Poland, February 16, 2024.

'US freed captives from barbarians in Gaza': Rubio calls out UN's inability to solve conflicts

Speaking at the 2026 edition of the Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the UN has "tremendous potential," but needs reforms to be of real use.

FEBRUARY 14, 2026ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN, REUTERS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled "U.S. Policy Towards Venezuela", on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, January 28, 2026.

This month in Jewish history: The first permanent government of Israel

A highly abridged monthly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

FEBRUARY 14, 2026BySTEVEN DRUCKER
DIZENGOFF SQUARE, named for the Tel Aviv founding father.

German drone startups Helsing, Stark, win suicide drone contracts worth 4.3 billion euro

Helsing will supply its HX-2 suicide drone while Stark will supply its Virtus drone. The companies beat out German defense giant Rheinmetall

FEBRUARY 11, 2026ByANNA AHRONHEIM
Germany-based defense startup Stark's Virtus VTOL suicide drone

Greece detains Samidoun Europe leader Mohammed Khatib, set to deport him from Crete

The Greek government arrested and detained Khatib at Heraklion Airport while he was en route to a speaking engagement in Crete.

FEBRUARY 8, 2026ByMATHILDA HELLER
This screenshot shows the still active Facebook page of Samidoun Deutschland, the German chapter of the international Palestinian-rights activists group Samidoun, on November 03, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The day before the German government announced it is banning Samidoun

'World Enemy No. 1': Hitler, Stalin, and the crime of being Jewish - review

Hundreds of Jewish Communists who had escaped to the USSR were handed over by the Soviets to the Nazis at the border crossing of Brest-Litovsk.

FEBRUARY 8, 2026ByCOLIN SHINDLER
IN THE Stalin era’s early days, the Kremlin established a new administrative territory in the Soviet Far East – the Jewish Autonomous Region. The region’s capital was the city of Birobidzhan. This 274-photograph album includes images from the city’s early years, from the late 1920s.

Israeli voters deserve representatives they can trust - opinion

Reform is needed to make Israeli democracy meaningful as voters don't have enough influence over Knesset members.

FEBRUARY 7, 2026ByTOVA HERZL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, February 5, 2026

Iran rejects call to halt uranium enrichment after second round of indirect US negotiations in Oman

An Iranian official told Reuters the direct talks had not officially started, and that Iran’s demands had been conveyed to the US via Oman.

FEBRUARY 6, 2026ByJAMES GENN, REUTERS
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (L) meets with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi for indirect nuclear talks with the US in Muscat, Oman, February 6, 2026.

Credit Suisse Nazi-era accounts under renewed US Senate scrutiny

A US Senate investigation found 890 Credit Suisse accounts with potential Nazi ties, including previously undisclosed SS and German Foreign Office accounts.

FEBRUARY 3, 2026ByREUTERS
A logo of UBS is displayed at the branch of former Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Lausanne, Switzerland, October 4, 2025.

Germany eyes lasers, spy satellites in military space spending splurge

'(We need to) improve our deterrence posture in space, since space has become an operational or even warfighting domain'

FEBRUARY 3, 2026ByREUTERS
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is launched, carrying four commercial astronauts into a 90-degree inclination polar orbit on the Fram2 mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 31, 2025.