In response to Elie Wiesel advertisement comparing Hamas to Nazis, 327 Jewish Holocaust survivors and descendants publish New York Times ad accusing Israel of 'ongoing massacre of the Palestinian people.'

Hundreds of Holocaust survivors and descendants of survivors have signed a letter, published as an advertisement in Saturday's New York Times, condemning "the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza" and calling for a complete boycott of Israel.

According to the letter, the condemnation was prompted by an advertisement written by Elie Wiesel and published in major news outlets worldwide, accusing Hamas of "child sacrifice" and comparing the group to the Nazis.

The letter, signed by 327 Jewish Holocaust survivors and descendants of survivors and sponsored by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, accuses Wiesel of "abuse of history" in order to justify Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip:

The police chief of a small south Texas town was shot dead during a traffic stop on Saturday, a county sheriff said.

Michael Pimentel died of multiple gunshot wounds suffered in a confrontation with a motorist shortly before noon in Elmendorf, a rural community of about 1,500 people just southeast of San Antonio, said Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau.

"We don't know exactly what ensued between the two individuals but it did result in the suspect firing a weapon that hit the chief several times," Pamerleau said.

Pimentel was taken by air ambulance to a San Antonio hospital where he died a short time later, she said.

Venezuela's food shortage is so bad the country is mandating that people scan their fingerprints at grocery stores in order to keep people from buying too much of a single item.

President Nicolas Maduro says a mandatory fingerprinting system is being implemented at grocery stores to combat food shortages. He calls it an "anti-fraud system" like the fingerprint scan the country uses for voting.

In announcing the plan late Wednesday, Maduro did not say when the system would take effect, but other administration officials suggested it could be in place by December or January.

The move was met with skepticism. Critics said the new system is tantamount to rationing and constitutes a breach of privacy. Others simply wondered if anything short of a systemic overhaul of the economy could help the socialist South American country's chronically bare shelves.

Venezuela has been grappling with shortages of basic goods like cooking oil and flour for more than a year. In the spring, the administration tried out a similar system in government-run supermarkets on a voluntary basis.

This is part of Marc H. Ellis's "Exile and the Prophetic" feature for Mondoweiss. To read the entire series visit the archive page.

The Holocaust civil war in major newspapers around the world continues. Last week it was Elie Wiesel's paid statement that accused Hamas of using children as human shields. Yesterday it was other Holocaust survivors "disgusted and outraged by Elie Wiesel's abuse of history."

These Jewish survivors aren't mincing worlds:

Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors and victims of Nazi genocide unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.

As Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors and victims of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine. We further condemn the United States for providing Israel with the funding to carry out the attack, and Western states more generally for using their diplomatic muscle to protect Israel from condemnation. Genocide begins with the silence of the world.

We are alarmed by the extreme, racist dehumanization of Palestinians in Israeli society, which has reached a fever-pitch. In Israel, politicians and pundits in The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post have called openly for genocide of Palestinians and right-wing Israelis are adopting Neo-Nazi insignia.

Furthermore, we are disgusted and outraged by Elie Wiesel's abuse of our history in these pages to justify the unjustifiable: Israel's wholesale effort to destroy Gaza and the murder of more than 2,000 Palestinians, including many hundreds of children. Nothing can justify bombing UN shelters, homes, hospitals and universities. Nothing can justify depriving people of electricity and water.

We must raise our collective voices and use our collective power to bring about an end to all forms of racism, including the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people. We call for an immediate end to the siege against and blockade of Gaza. We call for the full economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel. "Never again" must mean NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE!

Aside from the use of the Holocaust by both sides in the Jewish civil war, is the Holocaust relevant anymore or has the Holocaust become ancient symbolism trotted out for its last curtain call?

Thousands of people gathered on New York's Staten Island on Saturday as they protested against police violence and called for justice in the case of an unarmed man killed by an officer via an illegal chokehold.

Organized by Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network advocacy group, the #WeWillNotGoBack march attracted close to 3,000 people from across New York City and New Jersey, according to initial estimates by the police.

Protesters marched through the streets, chanting against police brutality and holding up numerous signs, many of which read, "Respect Human Rights." Others featured statements like, "The police are criminals, not our youth," and, "We seek justice, not violence."

People playing music, singing "don't shoot" to voice opposition to police brutality #WeWillNotGoBackpic.twitter.com/1JfTHHAkfd
- Jordan Mammo (@jordanmammo) August 23, 2014

The event specifically highlighted the death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner, who was killed in July after a New York Police Department officer placed him in a chokehold for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. With the additional help of other law enforcement officials, the 43-year-old father of six was taken to the ground, where he repeatedly complained that he could not breathe. However, video of the incident shows that police did not seem to respond to his objections.

Ebola continues to spread in West Africa as Sierra Leone voted to pass a new amendment imposing jail time for anyone caught hiding an Ebola patient.

With 142 new cases recorded, the total number is now 2,615 with 1,427 deaths, the World Health Organization said Friday. The group added that the magnitude of the Ebola outbreak has been "underestimated."

"Many families hide infected loved ones in their homes," the organization wrote in an assessment. "Others deny that a patient has Ebola and believe that care in an isolation ward - viewed as an incubator of the disease - will lead to infection and certain death. Most fear the stigma and social rejection that come to patients and families when a diagnosis of Ebola is confirmed."

A Houston police officer handed another man a speeding ticket and probably didn't realize that the offender he was citing was also a cop. What this ticket-receiving officer noticed on his paper slip though has led to a department-wide investigation.

"I immediately [knew] that something's hinky with the ticket," the man KHOU-TV only identified as Jerry said. "There was no other officer, he was the only officer there."

The ticket, however, listed another officer as an additional witness.

At least 10 people were injured in the Swedish city of Malmö after local police unleashed a mounted charge at participants of a rally against Sweden's neo-Nazi party. Clashes with police erupted as anti-fascist activists attempted to block a rival rally.

Around 1,500 people on Saturday gathered at the Limhamn square in the center of Malmö to protest the planned speech by Stefan Jacobsson, the leader of the neo-Nazi Svenskarnas Parti (The Swedes' Party).

The tension mounted even ahead of Jacobsson's appearance, with demonstrators throwing fire crackers and smoke bombs, the Local reports.

Stunningly destructive" and "dismal failure" is how Nobel laureates describe growth in the European Union after destructive austerity policies and the euro crisis.

Economists are casting doubt on the effectiveness of monetary policy in the 18-member eurozone, which is yet to fully shake off recession and produce sustained growth.

Data from earlier this month shows that economies have broken down, and growth has come to a standstill. The three largest economies- Germany, France, and Italy- all failed to grow.

Nobel laureate and Princeton University economist Christopher Sims warns that the euro countries hit worst by the crisis may be looking for an exit from the failed currency experiment.

"If I were advising Greece, Portugal, and Spain, I would tell them to prepare contingency plans to leave the euro," the 2011 Nobel Prize winner said.

More than a thousand locals lined up Friday morning for several hours under the scorching sun and heat in Miami for a box full of food.

The event located at the Central Shopping Plaza at 3825 NW 7th Street started at 9:00 a.m.

Participants got a box of free vegetables, meats and bread worth $100 until 12:00 p.m. - or until supplies lasted.

Those who didn't want to stand in line could wait in their car for the drive-thru portion of the event.

Brittany Payne, a mother of three, stood in line for hours with her baby boy.

"It's something I have to do to feed my kids," said Payne.

Payne joined Miami residents lined up under the scorching sun and heat.

"It's a blessing because if it wasn't for them I couldn't eat today," said Payne.