Israel's judo team earned gold and bronze medals at the 2021 European Junior Judo Championships in Luxembourg Thursday.

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Kerem Primo was crowned the European champion in the women's under-57 kg category, while Matan Kokolayev took bronze in the men's under-60 kg division.

Israel Judo Association Chairman Moshe Ponti praised the team of "incredible coaches and athletes who, competition after competition, prove their depth, professionalism, and seriousness, bringing results from a young age, through adolescence to adulthood. I'm proud of them."

Israel's national women's judo coach Shani Hershko lauded the "quality and significant achievement of Kerem Primo and the women's judo team.

"Kerem is just 16 years old, and at such a young age, this is history. She's won an amazing and rare achievement – gold in the under-18 European Championships and gold in the under-21 European Championships. It's no secret our goals are to win the adult competitions, but competitions for younger ages are an important and usually effective way to get there," she explained.

Hershko called Primo "a rare athlete who still has her future ahead of her. On her path, there is still room for improvement, and I am confident Kerem will be committed to the task."

She noted "2021 has been an amazing year for the women's team so far. This year, we won medals at the Olympic Games, world championships, and European championships for all ages. No one is prouder than I am of these athletes, the team, and the Judo association."

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A landmark agreement was signed Wednesday by the government of Luxembourg to compensate Holocaust survivors, return looted art and restitute dormant bank accounts.

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The deal was also signed by the World Jewish Restitution Organization, the Jewish community of Luxembourg, and the Luxembourg Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah.

As part of the agreement, Luxembourg will donate one million euros ($1.2 million) to support Holocaust survivors from Luxembourg and for the next 30 years will donate 120,000 euros ($145,000) to the Luxembourg Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah.

It will also purchase and restore the Cinqfontaines monastery from which the Jews of Luxembourg were deported to German concentration and extermination camps and turn it into a Holocaust education center.

Additionally, the government will establish a scientific foundation to research the Holocaust during the Nazi occupation and track down looted Jewish property, most importantly artworks.

"The agreement today is a profound statement by Luxembourg of its abiding commitment to preserving the memory of Jews who were persecuted and murdered during the Nazi occupation of Luxembourg," Chair of Operations of the World Jewish Restitution Organization Gideon Taylor said.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg Zavier Bettel warns, however, that the fight against anti-Semitism is not over. "It wouldn't be right to say that Luxembourg is protected against anti-Semitism and racism now," he told Israel Hayom.

"Anti-Semitism and racism exist, and we need to fight them. Hate speech cannot be accepted, not against Jews, not against gypsies, gays, or the disabled.

"We are fortunate that there are no extreme right-wing political parties [in Luxembourg,] as opposed to other European countries. Until recently, a Neo-Nazi political party sat in the parliament in Greece. Has history taught us nothing?"

Until Wednesday Luxembourg was one of the last remaining European countries that did not compensate its Holocaust victims.

"As prime minister, I am also responsible for what happened in the country in the past," Bettel said. "I cannot say why previous governments did not act or reach this goal. I am proud that the current and previous government did what had to be done.

"It is never too late to act. Time has come to acknowledge our history and our responsibility."

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The Luxembourg government is set to sign a historic agreement Wednesday to pay reparations to Holocaust survivors, return Jewish property to its rightful owners, and preserve the history of the local Jews who were persecuted during the German occupation.

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The agreement had been formulated over the last year during the expeditious negotiations between the governments of Luxembourg, the United States, Israel, and the World Jewish Restitution Organization. Details of the agreement will be made known at the signing ceremony.

The agreement is one of the latest achievements of former President Donald Trump that worked, among other things, to advance the issue of returning Jewish property that was looted during World War II to its rightful owners.

The signing ceremony was initially scheduled to take place two weeks ago, but in the aftermath of the Capitol violence, the Luxembourg government decided to postpone it until after the new administration took office.

Luxembourg was a neutral country occupied by Germany on May 10, 1940. At the beginning of WWII, some 4,000 Jews lived in the country, a third of those came fleeing from Germany. The Nazi regime appointed a governor of their own, a member of the Luxembourg Nazi Party.

Despite trying to persuade the local population to join the Reich voluntarily, the locals vehemently opposed the Nazi regime. This resistance did not include active assistance to Jews, but most Luzembourgians did refrain from participating in the persecution of Jews. For example, an Italian architect had to be brought in to destroy the main synagogue in the capital as the locals refused to demolish the building.

Four months after the beginning of the occupation, in September 1940, the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws were enacted. A year later, the occupation authorities banned the Jews from leaving the country. Until then, 2,500 Jews managed to escape, although some were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

Starting on October 1941, the Germans began deporting the remaining Luxembourg Jews to concentration camps in Auschwitz, Terezin, and Lodz. Jews were first gathered in a monastery in the north of the country, then transported to their deaths.

Although the Luxembourg government enacted a law to return Jewish property stolen by Nazis, many matters remain unresolved, like the dormant bank accounts of those persecuted by the Nazis and other victims, and reparations for Jews who did not own property in Luxembourg or weren't its citizens.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel, who is of Jewish descent, has worked for several years to recognize the role of the Luxembourg government in the persecution of Jews.

Five years ago, the Chamber of Deputies adopted a resolution seeking the pardon of the local Jewish community for the suffering that had been caused to it while recognizing the role of government officials in the crimes committed.

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According to a Sunday report on Channel 13 News, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn sent a letter to new EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and his EU counterparts, saying the only way to save the two-state solution was to create "a more equitable situation" between Israel and the Palestinians.

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"It is time to start a debate within the European Union on the opportunity of a recognition of the State of Palestine by all its Member States," Asselborn wrote. "The recognition of Palestine as a state would neither be a favor, nor a blank check, but a simple recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to their own state.

"This in no way would it be directed against Israel," he stressed, adding, "Indeed, if we want to contribute to solving the conflict between Israel and Palestine, we must never lose sight of Israel's security conditions, as well as of justice and dignity for the Palestinian people."

Israeli officials expressed concern over the move and were reportedly scrambling to stop the measure being adopted.

However, Jerusalem officials and EU diplomats said it was "extremely unlikely" that all the European states would agree to back Luxembourg's bid.

As a joint move by the 28-nation bloc, an EU recognition of a Palestinian state requires a consensus vote.

As of July 31, 2019, 138 countries have recognized a Palestinian state. World powers the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany have not made such a move.

Israel has long argued that recognizing a Palestinian state before a peace deal is finalized will harden the Palestinians' negotiating positions, making it more difficult to reach a true peace treaty.

Last week, 11 EU countries, plus Latin American powers Brazil and Colombia, voted for the first time against a US resolution mandating a special "Division for Palestinian Rights" inside the UN Secretariat, devoted to promoting the Palestinian narrative against Israel.

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