News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The man who rescued former Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau from death in the concentration camps was identified, according to a report by the Associated Press. Fyodor Michajlitschenko, 18, arrested by the Gestapo in 1943, gave the 8-year-old Lau ear warmers and treated him like a father in Block 8 until the camp's liberation. The report did not contain any further details on the rescuer and did not state whether he is alive today.

The name was one of several important discoveries made in the first concentrated academic sweep of the long-private archive administered by the International Tracing Service since it opened its doors last November to Holocaust survivors, victims relatives and historical researchers.

--Around 3,000 people marched in a Jerusalem parade celebrating homosexuality. The so-called Jerusalem Gay Pride parade sparked an outcry from the hareidi community in the capital as in previous years, but passed without incident. Police arrested only one protestor Thursday for holding a sign they deemed offensive, leading some to believe that religious demonstrators are holding their tongues for fear of increased police retaliation.

Two Years Ago
--The Quartet (United States, United Nations, Russia and European Union), decided to appoint outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair their special envoy to the Middle East.

Three Years Ago
--The Fatah-linked Al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigades terrorist organization boasted that it has succeeded in developing chemical and biological weapons.

Forty-six Years Ago in Israel 
The Knesset approved a new government led by Levi Eshkol. David Ben Gurion was appointed defense minister and Abba Eban deputy prime minister.