PRAGUE (AP) — More than 67 years after the Holocaust, Jirina Novakova refuses to give up her battle to regain property confiscated from her family.

Her hopes got a boost two years ago when 43 countries vowed at a Prague conference to back global guidelines for the restitution of property confiscated from Jews during World War II to their rightful owners or heirs. The nations pledged to try harder to return real estate stolen by the Nazis, open archives that might help those dispossessed and to process claims for restitution faster. She thought that show of international determination would pressure her country, the Czech Republic, and help her finally win a court battle to get back a button factory seized from her family by the Nazis.

But the 62-year-old is still waiting.

This week, Novakova was among 200 people from 41 countries attending another international conference in Prague to review the progress made and put renewed pressure on European governments to restitute such property or provide fair compensation.

Shortly after the 2010 conference, the Czech Constitutional Court overturned a 2009 Supreme Court ruling and earlier lower court rulings in favor of Novakova and other relatives seeking the return of the Koh-i-noor button factory in Prague.

Originally owned by her grandfather, Zikmund Waldes, it was seized by the Nazis in 1939 during their occupation of what then-Czechoslovakia. The factory was nationalized by the communists after the war in 1945. After the fall of communism, the state sold the factory to a private owner in 1994. No compensation was ever paid to the family.

The 2010 agreement "didn't help at all," Novakova said. "It's a little bit depressing."

But she refuses to give up. Now she is challenging the Constitutional Court's ruling and vowed to go next to international courts if she loses her appeal.

"I still have hope," she said.

The two-day conference in Prague ended Wednesday with new calls for restitution.

"While progress has taken place since the fall of Communism and the subsequent breakup of the Soviet Union, there remains an urgent need to help the tens of thousands of elderly Holocaust victims and their heirs whose property claims remain unsatisfied," Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, said in a statement.

Some at the conference, however, say they have seen some progress.

"It's too easy to be pessimistic," said Stuart Eizenstat, a special adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State on Holocaust issues. "These conferences are not simply an exercising in speaking. They are peer reviews, they encourage action. Their declarations, even though not legally binding, have made profound differences in the ways in which countries have tackled this problem."

Eizenstat highlighted Germany and Austria as models for others for their property restitution and compensation laws.

But he also noted that post-communists countries, including Czech Republic, Poland Lithuania, Hungary, Romania have been doing well at returning communal Jewish property such as synagogues and cemeteries. But he said many of these countries have not done as well compensating for private property like homes and factories.

Poland, in particular, is often criticized for failing to pass legislation that would compensate Jews for their losses in the Holocaust. Once home to Europe's largest Jewish community, Poland had for many years vowed to tackle the problem, but in 2011, Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government suspended work on a compensation law, saying a rising state deficit left it unable to afford such payments.

Eizenstat said the struggle would go on.

"What we're doing is we're moving beyond the pledges that were made in 2010 to look at the concrete actions that have been taken," Eizenstat said. "We need to help survivors in their lifetime."

___

Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.

ROME (AP) — Italy says it will vote to recognize a Palestinian state in the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The decision was announced Thursday, hours before the vote in New York that would make Palestine a non-member observer state.

Premier Mario Monti telephoned President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority to inform him of the decision. He also phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to assure him that the decision does not mean any weakening of Italy's traditional friendship with Israel.

The Italian government says the decision is part of its commitment to work for a two-state solution.

Archangel Gabriel via Shelley Young: Ease, Imagination and Joy

As channeled by Shelley Young – November 25

http://trinityesoterics.com/2012/11/28/ease-imagination-and-joy-channeled-november-25-2012/

Greetings, Dear Ones! How pleased and honoured we are to be in your presence today. We salute you and honour you for coming and anchoring in the energies of the group, and, of course, when we say group we mean not only those who are in this room but also those who will be experiencing this channel on your internet at a later time.

Well, here we sit, Dear Ones. This is where it is starting to get really good. (laughter) These are the moments that you have all been working towards. These are the moments that you have all been waiting for. That urgency that so many of you have been feeling within yourselves, that feeling that you must do something, you must hurry up and accomplish something. This is what you have been waiting for.

And as you move through the days and weeks ahead, you will start to feel more present in your physical bodies. Many of you will start to feel like you have arrived. Many of you will be having déjà vu experiences because your soul is remembering its desire to be here in these Now moments.

Of course, you are not walking this alone. You are walking with your ancestors, you are walking with the unseen helpers, with the angels, with your guides, with the masters. Everyone in the universe is watching! It is such a joyous time on your planet, and we invite you to start to feel the excitement and the joy of what your mass consciousness is achieving.

Now, we understand that there are many of you who have had fear over the coming alignment. It is thanks to all of your efforts that those doomsday prophesies will not occur. So please, Dear Ones, know that you can start to relax. We urge you to continue to focus on what you wish to create, but you can relax in terms of fear of this pivotal alignment bringing complete disaster to your planet.

There will still be events. Your earth will continue to shift and release. You can expect this. There is frequently a large seismic event near the end of a linear year or the beginning of a new year as the energies adjust and set. It is as if Gaia needs to see what humanity has created and then decide how much she needs to release to move into the energies of a new era, if you will, or a new year. This is to be expected. Anyone who is affected by these events has contracted to experience it, so you can trust and rest easy that all is divinely perfect.

Now we understand that there is much conflicting information coming forth from many different sources. What is happening is many channels are picking up many different lines of potential, many different lines of possibility, many different outcomes that are energetically able to be read on the planet. Many hold the potential for ruin, however, they are no longer the road that humanity will take and this is due to you.

This is why we say to you that you are such remarkable creatures! You are the masters walking the earth. You have created the potential for the New Earth on your beloved planet. This is how powerful you are. All of the disaster scenarios that you have heard of have existed as potentials for your planet. It is the power of the awakening human being that has side stepped it all and is creating the New Earth and an era that can move forward of enlightenment and peace and harmony and joy and ease. Dear Ones, imagine a life of ease, because this is well within the realm of your possibilities, right now, because you are the creators.

If you have collectively created beyond disaster, beyond the annihilation of your planet, do you not see that you can create the life expression that you want and that you deserve? You can create anything you want! It is your birthright and we urge you to start thinking beyond the old box that you have been trapped in for so many years into the realm of endless potential and possibility.

So we say to you, dust off those magnificent imaginations! Give yourself permission to walk the path of joy. We understand that these are two things that have been frowned upon by your society. You talk about how pure children are. How connected they are. Well, they are pure and connected, Dear Ones, because they stay in the Now, they use their imaginations, and they do what brings them joy! That is something that you can easily do.

Sadly, those who did not know better have conditioned you. They have taught you that somehow following the path of joy is wrong and using your imagination is a bad thing. It is silly, it is frivolous, don’t do that!

Every single great invention that has been born on your planet has been a gift of imagination. Every object of great beauty that you have seen is a gift of imagination. Every great written work, music that moves you…all of it has been through your imagination and do you know why that is? It is because it is through your imagination that you connect to Source! All of these beautiful things that you create through your imagination are a form of channeling. That is how you bring pieces of heaven to earth. You all channel if you give yourselves permission to do so.

You have also been taught that to follow the path of joy is frivolous. Dear Ones, the things that bring you joy are implanted within you to help you navigate your life expression. They help you find the things that make your heart sing. They help you find the careers, the service that brings you the greatest joy and makes the greatest difference on your planet. Your joy is your internal guidance system, yet people all along have been telling you that it is somehow wrong to use that?

We are here to tell you to throw that idea out once and for all! Follow the path of joy. Joy is one of the energies that are going to anchor in the creation of the New Earth. It through joy, through your imagination and being in the Now that you will be profound creators of things that have never even been considered on your planet up until this point. It is so simple, Dear Ones, do not make it more complicated than it needs to be.

There will be very active energies between your now moment and the pivotal alignment of December 21, 2012. There will be loud voices shouting at you that their way is the way to follow, that their way is the only way. Many will try to frighten you saying that the world will end. Dear Ones, you must rely on the foundation of faith that you have created for yourselves up until this point. You know how to connect with that inner truth. That inner truth is what is going to help keep you grounded and balanced and focused as you move through these pivotal times.

There will be many who have been doing very well with their soul growth, who will, at the last moment, panic and doubt. There will be many who have not been spiritual at all, who simply decide that they want to have part of these energies and they will leap forward in amazing ways.

It is so important that you keep your balance and allow your inner truth, your inner knowingness, to lead the way. Know that what is right for you is absolutely the way that you should proceed. You are the expert on you. No one else knows what your soul is here to experience.

We urge you to allow yourselves to move forward with confidence, drive, and knowing that you are being remarkably guided, because you are the ones who are guiding yourselves, do you see? This is what enlightenment is and you have the entire universe cheering you on. Do not let fear and doubt activate during these very important times. They are the biggest stoppers in your lives. You are far more evolved than that at this point, Dear Ones. Move forward joyously. Teach by your example. Surrender. Know that you are being supported and protected every step of the way.

Many of you have been on a planet before that has tried to ascend and it has not worked well. Those old memories may suddenly surface. If they do, understand what is going on. That is not what is going to happen this time around. See it for what it is. It’s an old memory that wants to be released and it will offer profound healing when it does.

So people want to know what they will experience in the new energies. For many of you, as you move forward you will notice gradual changes. Your old issues suddenly aren’t as charged as they used to be. You may shift from being a person who very much needed to be right before, needed to prove your point, to suddenly realizing that it really doesn’t matter. Your security in your own truth will be more than enough. You will find yourselves much more comfortable in flow rather than control. You will find yourselves experiencing healings, experiencing rejuvenation. You will look back at the life you have lived until this point and it will feel distant, almost like a past life. You will find yourselves feeling more peaceful, more harmonious, more present. Calmer. Balanced.

These are the things that you can look forward to. Living a life expression that honours who you are. Reuniting with kindred souls, members of your soul groups and soul families. Experiencing divine partnerships that honour you and lift you up and allow you to shine. Imagine, Dear Ones, imagine healing with ease. Imagine living with ease. Imagine drawing to you whatever you need with ease. Imagine love relationships that are not stormy and fraught with difficulties but rather shine with love and ease. Does this not sound exactly like what your soul yearns for? Then create it! You are the ones who get to choose.

The idea that you were ever small was complete illusion and you are living proof of that right now. As we watch what you have accomplished and what you will continue to do, the heavens rejoice and we bless you and we honour you and we love you more than you could ever imagine. Keep up the good work, Dear Ones, and know that we are right by your sides throughout it all. This is what we will leave you with for today.

Archangel Gabriel thru Shelley Young

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