Jerusalem

Israeli likens Palestinians’ suffering to World War II

Causing an uproar, an Israeli Cabinet minister and Holocaust survivor said Sunday that Israel’s offensive in a Gaza refugee camp — including TV images of displaced Palestinians searching the rubble for their meager belongings — brought back memories of his family’s suffering.

The comments by Justice Minister Yosef Lapid reflected a growing debate in Israel over the justification for a campaign that has left 41 Palestinians dead, turned dozens of homes to dust, drawn international condemnation and yielded just one arms-smuggling tunnel.

Afterward, Lapid insisted he was not likening army actions to Nazi policies but was simply moved to remember his grandmother, who was killed by the Nazis. “If I wanted to say Holocaust, I would have said Holocaust,” Lapid told the radio.

But Cabinet colleagues were infuriated, saying that the analogy was clear.

Boston

More sex abuse cases expected against archdiocese

An attorney who represented dozens of people who claimed they were sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests says there are at least several dozen more with similar claims against the Boston Archdiocese.

Carmen Durso is among lawyers trying to determine the magnitude of the latest wave of claims stemming from the sex scandal that began to engulf the archdiocese in 2002.

Last year, the archdiocese reached an $85 million settlement with more than 550 people who said they were abused by priests. Durso represented 40 victims in that case.

Durso told The Associated Press on Sunday that the new claimants included people who had complained about sex abuse before, but “for one paperwork reason or other” missed a deadline to join the earlier settlement.

Durso noted the new wave of allegations also included people who had been afraid to come forward previously. He said he had been in contact with several lawyers who represent 40 to 50 alleged victims, but those numbers could rise.

“People saw that it was really safe to come forward,” Durso said. “