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White House faith council wants clearer guidelines
President Obama's faith-based advisory council urged clearer guidelines on church-state separation in faith-based funding but members differed on some critical details. The 25-member commission, which included three Jewish...more
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5th grader from Chabad day school heading to national spelling bee
A 5th grader from Chabad Academy in Myrtle Beach won the regional spelling bee Tuesday night and has earned a spot in the national competition this summer. David Habibi beat out nearly 50 of his peers from Horry and Georgetown...more
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Egypt to pay for restoration of all synagogues
Egypt will shoulder the costs of restoring the country's Jewish houses of worship said the culture minister Tuesday, two days after a historic synagogue in Cairo's ancient Jewish quarter was rededicated in a private...more
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Jewish Groups Call Hartford Anti-Semitic
Jewish group says the City of Hartford denied them the right to use a building for religious purposes, though Baptists and Catholics used the building to practice their religions for more than 80 years. Chabad Chevra and Chabad...more
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Bibi to Biden: We Did Not Seek To Embarrass You Over Settlement Issue
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to alleviate new tensions with the United States on Tuesday, after an announcement that Israel will build 1,600 new homes in an ultra-Orthodox East Jerusalem neighborhood drew strong...more
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Israel, Syria pursue nuclear Mideast
Is the Middle East about to go officially nuclear?
Dual announcements Tuesday by bitter rivals Israel and Syria that they want to pursue atomic power plants could complicate the diplomatic storm over Iran's...more -
Jews, Muslims worry body scanners violate their religion
Canadian lawyer Kerry Gearin plans to fly to Washington, D.C., this summer for a conference on Islamic family law, but the full-body scanners being deployed in some U.S. airports make her wonder if she will be forced to leave...more
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Biden, in Israel, Says U.S. Will Support Those Who 'Take Risks for Peace'
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday praised Israel for agreeing to renew the Middle East process and pledged that the United States would always “stand by those who take risks for peace.”
“Historic peace will...more -
Rabbi Found Guilty of Sexually Abusing Teen
The Borough Park rabbi/travel agent accused in hundreds of incidents of sexual abuse was convicted yesterday of molesting a 16-year-old student. Baruch Lebovits could be sentenced to 32 years in jail, after being found guilty on...more
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Sephardi chief rabbi feels 'deceived' over amendment to change conversion rules
Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar feels he was "deceived" by Yisrael Beiteinu, but still supports in principle amending the law that governs conversions, his associates said yesterday. Until Sunday, MK David Rotem...more
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Far-right contender for Austrian presidency forced to denounce Nazism
A far-right contender to become Austria's head of state was forced to denounce the Nazis today, promising to uphold a national ban on denying the Holocaust after previously insisting that it was a matter of free speech.
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Local Jews say group’s ban on lox has no bite
Local Orthodox Jews say they have no interest in the new ban on lox served up by an out-of-state group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis that claims parasitic worms sometimes found in the fish makes it non-kosher.
“I think...more -
Britons honoured for holocaust heroism
Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the creation of the award last year on a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. Two surviving recipients, Sir Nicholas Winton and Denis Avey, will be given their medals...more
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Some American Jews sit out recession in Israel | Reuters
Fed up with the tough job market, some young American Jews are choosing to wait out the recession in Israel, where the government heavily subsidizes their stay while they intern, learn Hebrew or volunteer.
U.S.more -
Interpol expands search for Dubai killing suspects
Interpol announced Monday it is issuing notices to help search for another 16 suspects believed linked to the January killing of a Hamas leader in Dubai.
The organization will now help investigators in Dubai try to...more -
'Rachel's Tomb was never Jewish'
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday continued his verbal assault on Israel, according to Saudi paper Al Wattan, which quoted him as saying that that al Aksa Mosque, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb...more
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Turkish Police Accost Sabbath Worshipers in Synagogue
A Turkish newspaper reports that police burst into an Istanbul synagogue during recent Sabbath services and demanded worshipers’ ID’s. The Turkish Milliyet newspaper reported that the Muslim government in Turkey appears to be...more
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Center to pay $150,000 to settle lawsuit over Holocaust museum expansion
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has agreed to pay $150,000 to a neighborhood group that opposes its planned Museum of Tolerance expansion to avoid going to court in the long-running dispute. Most of the money will cover legal fees...more
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Women cause fewer accidents than male drivers, study says
"On average, men drive faster than women, overtake other vehicles more often, are more likely to drive while under the influence of alcohol." Forget the clichés about women being bad drivers. Statistics prove that in...more
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Tennessee reunion puts Holocaust survivors together with liberator
Nearly 65 years ago a group of American soldiers advancing through Germany came upon a train loaded with 2,500 starving Jewish prisoners. For Frank Towers, who was serving as the liaison officer in the 30th Infantry Division,...more
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In Gary Krupp, a Jewish Ally in Debate Over Pope Pius XII
t home here on Long Island, he is Gary L. Krupp, medical equipment dealer, now retired after a career of ups and downs. He shares one car and a small house in a no-frills neighborhood with his wife, Meredith, and wryly describes...more
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EU's Catherine Ashton wants to visit Gaza during upcoming visit in the region
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said Saturday she hopes to get into the Gaza Strip during her Middle East trip this month, as Europe pushes for renewed peace talks.
Ashton said she plans to travel to...more -
‘Ajami’ Co-Director Says He Does Not Represent Israel
Since everything in Israel ultimately boils down to politics, it was only a matter of time before “Ajami,” the Israeli movie nominated for an Oscar, would be thrust into the fray. And what a better time to do so than hours...more
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US anti-Semitism envoy slams UN ‘double standards’ on Israel
The US has decided to reengage with the UN’s Human Rights Council in order to pressure the body to fulfill its mandate, President Barak Obama’s special envoy on anti-Semitism told a London audience.
Hannah...more -
N.Y. governor approves funding to fight Orthodox sex abuse
New York Gov. David Paterson approved a plan to give $500,000 in state money to help identify and treat sex abuse victims in New York’s Orthodox Jewish community. Paterson backed the expenditure from the state's Department...more -
Israel rips anti-Zionist tribunal in Barcelona
The Israeli Embassy in Madrid likened a recent meeting in Barcelona of well-known anti-Zionists as a "lynching."
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine, held March 1-3 and largely funded by Barcelona City Hall,...more -
'51% believe complaints against Rabbi Elon'
The Takana forum claims Rabbi Mordechai Elon sexually exploited his students, but did not go into detail about the suspicions against him. The rabbi himself has said this was nothing more than a "blood libel" but did...more
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Jewish group declares lox unkosher because of parasite, causes uproar
A group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis is waging a schmear campaign against a staple of the Jewish diet: lox. Smoked salmon should no longer be considered kosher, they say, because the fish often contain parasitic worms. But some...more -
MI5 papers show Britain feared Nazi 'spyclists'
Clouds of war were gathering over Europe, and the English police officer was concerned. A group of black-clad Germans had been spotted heading for London — by bicycle. Newly declassified British intelligence files reveal the...more -
Weiss will not ordain Orthodox female rabbis
Rabbi Avi Weiss has backed away from the idea of ordaining women as Orthodox rabbis under the term “rabba.” Weiss, a prominent Modern Orthodox rabbi who guides the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in the Bronx, had taken heat from...more -
Vice President Biden on goodwill trip to Israel
Vice President Joe Biden was due to arrive Monday in Israel on a mission to mend relations after a rocky first year for new administrations in both countries.
During the three-day visit, Biden is expected to consult...more -
Chelsea Clinton To Have A Jewish Wedding: Interfaith Ban?
Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, is going to have a Jewish wedding. Clinton is to marry Marc Mexvinsky, who happens to be Jewish. President Bill Clinton and his daughter...more -
A Disappointing Documentary About Nazi Propaganda
A potentially fascinating topic is given a disappointing treatment in Felix Moeller's documentary portrait of German filmmaker Veit Harlan and his infamous 1940 anti-Semitic film "Jew Suss."
Rather...more -
Jerusalem Pitches Goldstone Report as Threat to U.S. And Its Allies
In a newly emergent theme, American supporters of Israel are stressing the possible damage that the Goldstone Report on Israel’s Gaza operation may cause to America’s military efforts worldwide. As the report, sponsored by the...more
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U.S. Enriches Companies Defying Its Policy on Iran
The federal government has awarded more than $107 billion in contract payments, grants and other benefits over the past decade to foreign and multinational American companies while they were doing business in Iran, despite...more
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A Jewish Ritual Collides With Mother Nature
Last Saturday morning, as a blizzard sputtered out its last squalls over Passaic, N.J., Chaya Leah Smolen sent her husband and several children off to synagogue. She issued the children a message that might seem to contradict...more
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N.Y. Jews accuse Be'er Sheva Kabbalist of massive fraud
"The day my daughter died, I decided to bury him," said Menachem Ellowich, an ultra-Orthodox resident of Brooklyn, referrring to Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, a kabbalist from Be'er Sheva. A few weeks ago, a man armed...more
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Joe Biden’s job: Reassure Israelis on President Obama
When Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Jerusalem on Monday, he will be just the latest senior Obama administration official to travel there in an almost continuous stream of high-level consultations aimed at keeping Israel and...more
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Egypt completes restoration of Maimonides shul
After a year-and-a-half of careful restoration work by the Egyptian authorities, the Maimonides Synagogue in Cairo is set to be rededicated on Sunday.
The 19th-century synagogue and adjacent yeshiva, which stand on...more -
Andy Warhol: Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century In Retrospect
Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century: In Retrospect" is a hard show to love. It's also hard to hate. That wasn't always the case.
The exhibition at the D.C. Jewish Community Center's Ann...more -
Jewish leaders work furiously to preempt European adoption of Goldstone Report
The Goldstone report could next week receive its most meaningful international endorsement yet, according to Jewish leaders who are working to block a possible adoption of the controversial document by the European...more
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Yiddish is no joke
A tiny, interactive Yiddish theatre in the form of a karaoke machine? Could be the first line of a Yiddish joke. Or perhaps it's a bit of mordant Yiddish commentary on the fate of a language that was in daily use among...more
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Rabbi’s sexual abuse trial opens
The alleged victim took the stand as the sexual molestation case against a rabbi began in a New York courtroom.
Rabbi Baruch Lebovits, 59, who owns a travel agency in Borough Park, is accused of sexually molesting a...more -
Elderly Jewish Man’s Killer Gets Maximum Sentence
A man convicted of robbing and murdering an 81-year-old Orthodox Jewish man received the maximum prison term.
William Hill, 28, was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life in the murder of Jacob Gerstle, who was a...more -
Cops: 12-Year-Old Mugger Targeted Hasidic Jews
A young boy who apparently targeted Hasidic women in Williamsburg was nabbed by police Tuesday morning shortly after mugging a mother, who was pushing her baby in a stroller.
Shy-kym Samuels, 12, is accused of...more -
Moishe House bringing community to Budapest Jews
When 29-year-old Eszter Susan announced on Facebook last September that she had moved into a Moishe House, few of her friends knew what she was talking about.
Six months later the rambling, high-ceilinged apartment...more -
15 cops, dozens of Palestinians hurt in Temple Mount clashes
Clashes broke out between Israeli police officers and Muslim rock throwers at the end of Friday prayers on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem following a sermon on a recent Israeli decision to include two West Bank shrines on a list...more
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British Jews take action against hate speech on college campuses
The Board of Deputies of British Jews has drawn up an action plan to combat the spread of extremism and hate speech on university campuses in the UK, which is at risk of turning into a pandemic, the ‘Jewish Chronicle’ reports....more
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Chile synagogue destroyed in quake, Masorti movement says |
The Masorti synagogue in Concepcion was destroyed in the earthquake that rocked Chile, the Masorti Olami said.
The head of the international Masorti organization, Rabbi Tzvi Graetz, has been circulating an e-mail...more -
Exclusive: U.S. vows to assign blame if Israel-PA talks fail
The United States government has committed to playing a role in indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and promised that if the talks were to fail, the U.S. will assign blame and take action, according to a...more
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HMO withdraws sponsorship for Shabbat race under Haredi pressure
The Maccabi health maintenance organization has withdrawn sponsorship from tomorrow's 10-kilometer race in Kfar Sava amid demands by the city's Haredi leaders to reschedule the event to a day other than the Sabbath.
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Stance on Israel to face scrutiny in GOP debate
California's three Republican candidates for U.S. Senate debate for the first time today, and one of the hottest issues will be a subject that rarely is contentious in GOP campaigns: support for Israel. Few politicians...more
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Israeli military calls off raid after soldier posts details
The Israel Defense Forces called off a raid after one of its combat soldiers posted information about the operation, including the time and place, on Facebook, the IDF said Wednesday.
"On Wednesday, we are...more -
Getting clean and sober in the Jewish community
Like the term teetotaler, the notion that Jews can't be alcoholics or addicts is a bit quaint.
It's also a myth that can be an obstacle on the often painful but ultimately exhilarating path to recovery.more -
Campus ‘Apartheid Week’ Drew Little, Varied Response
“Do you suffer from ANIS?”
That’s ANti-ISrael Fixation Syndrome, according to a caustic poster produced by one pro-Israel group in response to Israel Apartheid Week, a global pro-Palestinian event that began on...more -
Jew haters don't always make it obvious
Look, we Jews know we could instantly put a stop to the sixth annual festival of international Jew-hatred known as Israeli Apartheid Week.
It’s now going on at 40 universities around the world and has the dubious...more -
Growing Tea Party Movement Is Still a Great Unknown on Israel
The Tea Party movement, a loose conglomeration of conservatives angry over government spending, is considered one of the most influential groups on today’s American political scene.
For liberals and conservatives...more -
First Orthodox Woman Rabbi is ordained in NY
Last week, Rabbi Avi Weiss, senior rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale (HIR) and founder of the Yshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, named Sara Hurwitz "Rabbah" the feminine version of "Rabbi"...more
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Embattled Jewish Agency To Promote Identity Over Aliyah
Natan Sharansky knows he’s disturbing the status quo. Days before the most recent meeting of the Board of Governors, the body that oversees the Jewish Agency for Israel, Sharansky, its relatively new chairman, declared that the...more
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US rabbi charged with sexually abusing teen
The Jewish community in Brooklyn is ablaze following an indictment filed against a rabbi charged with sexually assaulting teenagers. A 22-year-old man testified in court for the first time Wednesday and said that the rabbi lured...more
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Austrian far-right icon eyes presidency
A woman who has criticized anti-Nazi law and is married to an extreme rightist is running for president in Austria, and critics contend her candidacy could tarnish the reputation of a country still marred by its connection to...more
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Holocaust Survivor Speaks at WMU
Many people’s tattoos have significance. Irving Roth’s—A-10491—serves as a grisly reminder.
Holocaust survivor and author, Irving Roth, brought his memories of Auschwitz to life Tuesday, Feb. 9th at Western Michigan...more -
Prosecutors seek prison terms for Auschwitz theft
Prosecutors say they are seeking prison terms of up to 2 1/2 years for three Poles who confessed to stealing the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign from the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp.
Krakow...more -
A Synagogue's Unorthodox Revival
When Rabbi Josh Strulowitz set out to rebuild a rapidly shrinking Jewish congregation, it seemed like a long shot.
Mr. Strulowitz leads Adath Israel, one of the few Modern Orthodox synagogues in the Bay Area. In...more -
#Kosher supermarket plans to become nation's largest
Seven Mile Market, a kosher supermarket in Pikesville that has drawn Jewish residents and others from around the region, plans to move and double in size - likely making it the largest operation of its kind in the nation.
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Goldstone report at EU parliament: ‘one sided’ resolution could affect Israel-EU relations, Jewish leader says
On the eve of a discussion on the Goldstone Report in the European Parliament in Brussels, European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor warned that a negative resolution "could affect Israeli-European relations."
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Signs hung overnight against 'kosher' buses
Dozens of young people protesting the separation between men and women on public transportation in Jerusalem toured a number of cities Tuesday night where they hung signs in protest of the "mehadrin lines" that...more
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Swastika found carved into turf at Lakewood Country Club
Authorities are looking into the appearance of a crudely carved swastika on a putting green at the Lakewood Country Club.
The 8-foot-by-8-foot symbol was removed from the turf after it was discovered early Sunday...more -
Jerusalem Mayor Delays Demolition Plan
The mayor of Jerusalem agreed Tuesday to delay a plan to demolish some Palestinian homes to build a complex that would provide new apartments for the residents. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked the mayor, Nir Barkat,...more
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Dubai police chief says to seek Netanyahu arrest
Dubai's police chief plans to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of Israel's spy agency over the killing of a Hamas leader in the emirate, Al Jazeera television reported. Dahi...more
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Jewish history taught in cooking class
If you chop an onion at both ends and down the center, the peel will slide off without a fight. This was one trick Ellen Boden of Staunton, mother of Staunton Grocery’s Chef Ian Boden, picked up in the kitchen of Temple House of...more
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Austrian Jews' outrage at far-right presidential candidate
Austrian far-right presidential candidate Barbara Rosenkranz drew sharp criticism from the country's Jewish organizations Tuesday - who highlighted her controversial stance on Holocaust deniers.
Rosenkranz, 51,...more -
London's new Jewish Museum gears up for grand opening in March
The Jewish Museum in London is gearing up for its public opening on March 17 and staff are working behind the scenes to get the ambitious £10 million project finished. The original museum has tripled in size by expanding into a...more
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#Israel , US to share airline terror intel
Israel and the United States have signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) increasing intelligence-sharing on aviation terror, the Transportation Ministry announced Tuesday. The MOU was signed Tuesday by Transportation...more
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A #Synagogue in Cairo
One of Cairo’s most historic synagogues and a yeshiva, restored by the Egyptian government, is to be rededicated next week. Known colloquially as “Rav Moshe,” the yeshiva was the original study of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, or...more
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Dissidents' planned wedding draws ire of KJ mainstream
A third wedding is set to be held Wednesday at a new catering hall just outside Kiryas Joel despite warnings from religious authorities that any nuptials performed without their permission will be deemed illegitimate. The...more
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Israel has its faults, but apartheid isn't one of them
Toward the end of last year, Jimmy Carter apologized for some of his very harsh statements about Israel. In an "open letter to the Jewish community" -- and with a vagueness that ill becomes him -- he airily mentioned...more
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Barak: U.S. and Israel have differences on Iran
Israel and the United States have differences of perspective and judgment on Iran and the Middle East, but the overall relationship is sound, Ehud Barak said. The Israeli defense minister, speaking last Friday at the Washington...more
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Farrakhan blames Obama woes on Jews, whites
Louis Farrakhan blamed the Jews, among others, for President Obama's difficulties. In a 3 1/2-hour speech marking Saviours' Day, a Nation of Islam holiday, the movement's leader told 20,000 followers in...more
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Convicted Holocaust denier Zundel released
Far-right German activist Ernst Zundel was freed after serving five years in prison for denying the Holocaust ever happened — something he wouldn't speak about Monday. The 70-year-old had been extradited in 2005 from...more
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Dubai: Israelis will be denied UAE entry
Dubai's police chief says travelers, suspected of being Israeli will not be allowed into the United Arab Emirates even if they arrive with alternative passports. Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim says the move comes after the...more
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Two held over Purim ‘havoc’
Police arrested two Jewish revellers as a group of 300 people caused "havoc" during rowdy Purim celebrations. The men were arrested on suspicion of affray in north west London on Saturday night after residents called...more
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Lawmakers tweet for Judaism
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) used the Jewish holiday of Purim to make a point about the need for Israel's security. Ros-Lehtinen, who is one of Israel's foremost defenders in Congress and serve as the House...more
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Australia abandons Israel in UN vote
Australia has softened its traditionally staunch support for Israel in the United Nations but denied it was linked to tensions over the country's apparent use of forged Australian passports in an assassination in Dubai. At...more
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Are Turkish Jews being mistreated?
Liberal Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported Sunday that religious leaders from various faiths convened in Istanbul about two-and-a-half weeks ago to discuss the status of the city's non-Muslim residents, including Jews. The...more
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US's top brass target Israel
The United States is raising the stakes in its bid to halt Iran's nuclear program, putting the issue on a "pressure track", says the chief of US Central Command General David Petraeus. The US and other world...more
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How diplomat's paperwork saved lives in Shoah
It took Ina Polak 35 years to discover the dusty piece of paper that probably saved her and her family in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. It wasn't until she was cleaning her mother's New York City apartment...more
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Female-only megila readings growing in popularity
This Purim, Tamar Bogoch will be reading the ninth chapter of Megilat Esther to a group of women in the same Ramat Eshkol, Jerusalem, synagogue she attended growing up. Her husband will be at home, minding their two young...more
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Dubai suspects travelled to U.S., report
Two of the 26 suspects sought by Dubai police for the alleged killing of a top Hamas leader may have entered the U.S. shortly after his death, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Records shared between international...more
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New museum takes shape at heart of Nazi terror in Berlin
Five years after opening a sprawling Holocaust Memorial in the heart of the city, Berlin is preparing to inaugurate a major new museum, this time targeting the Nazi perpetrators. The new "Topography of Terror" centre...more
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Anti-Semitic Incidents in Canada Reach Record High
Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada rose to record levels, according to B’nai Brith Canada’s annual audit. The yearly survey released Wednesday showed an 11.4 percent increase in incidents in 2009 over the previous year to reach...more
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Rabbis: Forex is like violating Sabbath
Leaders of the extremist ultra-Orthodox Eda Haredit strongly denounced the practice of home foreign currency trading, saying they take the matter as seriously as violations of the Sabbath. "Many people are tempted to start...more -
Koreans study Jewish family values, traditions and history as secrets to longevity
Thirty-five Korean ministers and professors visited the Los Angeles Jewish community last week, sitting in on high school Torah classes, attending morning prayers, joining a Shabbat meal and studying Jewish texts with local...more -
Jewish author’s estate accuses Rowling of plagiarism
It could be the script for a best-selling novel or a blockbuster film.
Instead it’s the real story of the estate of a bankrupt Jewish author who died in London more than a decade ago and now is now at the center of a...more -
With Mideast peace, settlers may become Jewish Palestinians
One of the most difficult issues to be faced in the negotiations between us and the Palestinians relates to the number of settlers who are supposed to be evacuated. The number stands at between 110,000, according to Mahmoud...more
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Ontario legislature condemns Israel Apartheid Week
The legislature in the Canadian province of Ontario has condemned Israeli Apartheid Week. All 30 members of the 107-seat provincial legislature who were present on Feb. 25 voted for the resolution that denounced the campus...more
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Orthodox Jewish school forfeits tournament game
A small Orthodox Jewish school forfeited a consolation game in a Washington state high school basketball tournament so players could safely observe a religious fast. Northwest Yeshivam elected to forfeit the game Thursday rather...more
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Sex allegations against #rabbi roil Israel's Orthodox community
Many Israelis pride themselves on a kind of European sophistication when it comes to public sex scandals: For the most part, they shrug them off. But those limits are being tested by a brewing controversy concerning an Orthodox...more
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#Holocaust researcher David Bankier dies at 63
David Bankier, a prominent Holocaust scholar and head of Yad Vashem's International Institute for Holocaust Research, has died after a lengthy illness. He was 63. Bankier earned his Ph.D. in Jewish History from the Hebrew...more
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Philanthropist Grinspoon shares love of books and Jewish culture
Harold Grinspoon, a lanky 80-year-old who made a fortune in real estate, starts every morning with pilates, dance aerobics, and a brisk walk. Then he charges into his office by 10, where he drops his parka on the floor near a...more
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Gallup: U.S. Support for Israel vs. Palestinians Near All-Time High
While support for Israel in the United States is near an all-time high, the partisan divide in backing Israel’s approach to its conflict with the Palestinians is becoming more apparent. In a Gallup poll published February 24,...more
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Report: Mossad used Australian passports before Dubai row
Australia's counter-intelligence and security agency is investigating suspicions that three Australian-Israeli dual citizens spied for Israel in recent years by using their Australian passports, the Sydney Morning Herald...more
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Autopsy finds Hamas leader was drugged, suffocated
The killers of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh first injected him with a muscle relaxant and then suffocated him, Dubai police said Sunday. Toxicology tests on the Hamas leader found significant amounts of succinylcholine, a...more
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Israeli defense minister: Different judgment with U.S. on Iran
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the Labor Party chief and former Israeli Prime Minister serving in Benjamin Netanyahu’s right wing government, came through New York and Washington this past week with a wish list for...more
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Israeli Nobel candidate rejects nomination
Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu has asked the Nobel Peace Prize committee to disregard his nomination for the prestigious award, a Nobel official said Wednesday. In a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee,...more
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China’s Jewish dynasty: Local Jews recall a childhood in the Far East
All he has to do is close his eyes, and Mat Nissim is back in Shanghai. He’s back in an elegant house with 14 servants and a brood of hens in the yard. He’s back at his parent’s dinner table where, depending on the guests, the...more
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Unrest Persists Over Israel Plan for Cave of the Patriarchs
Dozens of Palestinian youths clashed with Israeli forces for a fourth day on Thursday at various locations in this volatile city over the inclusion of a hotly contested religious shrine here, the Cave of the Patriarchs, in a...more
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China faces balancing act in Iran nuclear issue
Renewed calls for sanctions against Iran for its nuclear ambitions have forced China to engage in a tough balancing act between appeasing its close trading partner and supporting international efforts to isolate Tehran. The...more
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Secretary Clinton Urged To Remove Israel’s New Barrier — Against Foreign Gefilte Fish
As if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton doesn’t already have enough trouble with Israel, now this: Clinton is now expected to put some pressure on the Israelis once again, this time not because of the settlements, but because...more
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Early American Jewish books to be auctioned
Several rare early American Jewish books will be auctioned in New York. Among the offerings at next month's sale by Swann Auction Galleries is an early Jewish-American cookbook and the first Hebrew Bible printed on American...more
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Protest at UC Irvine against Israeli official still reverberates
More than two weeks after 11 students were arrested at UC Irvine for disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador, the incident continues to draw sharp reactions from Jewish, Muslim and civil liberty organizations. But the...more
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Rabbi condemned for ordaining woman
The Agudath Israel Council of Torah Sages has issued a statement suggesting that a New York rabbi should no longer be considered Orthodox because of his decision to ordain a woman. Last month, Rabbi Avi Weiss announced that one...more
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Rabbi's hit-man denied parole
Officials denied parole yesterday for the accomplice, Len Jenoff, who said Cherry Hill Rabbi Fred Neulander hired him to kill his wife. Jenoff will continue serving a 23-year sentence for his part in the 1994 murder-for-hire...more
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Neo-Nazi skinheads jailed in Russia for racist killings
A court in Moscow has sentenced nine members of a neo-Nazi skinhead gang to prison terms of up to 23 years. The gang members, most in their late teens, were found guilty of a string of brutal and very public murders. The...more
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Iran, Syria mock U.S. policy; Ahmadinejad speaks of Israel's 'annihilation'
The presidents of Iran and Syria on Thursday ridiculed U.S. policy in the region and pledged to create a Middle East "without Zionists," combining a slap at recent U.S. overtures and a threat to Israel with an...more
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EU: West Bank goods aren't Israeli
The European Union's high court ruled Thursday that products that Israeli companies make in the West Bank are subject to import duties in the EU because they are not covered by trade agreements the bloc has with Israel or...more
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Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada reach record high
Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada rose to record levels, according to B'nai Brith Canada's annual audit. The yearly survey released Wednesday showed an 11.4 percent increase in incidents in 2009 over the previous year...more
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Australia calls in Israeli envoy over passports
Israel’s ambassador to Australia was summoned by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith over three Australian passports used in the assassination of a senior Hamas official. The Israeli Embassy in Canberra confirmed that Amb. Yuval...more
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Jewish Communities Worldwide Mourn Mrs. Sarah Rochel Schochet
Mrs. Sarah Rochel Schochet of Los Angeles passed away Tuesday night at the age of 65. Mentor to hundreds of girls and women, a matriarch to yeshiva students, Mrs. Schochet, wife of Rabbi Ezra Schochet, the well known Rosh...more
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Shas Breaks Old Taboo, Joins Zionists
Israel’s largest ultra-Orthodox political party is eliciting outrage from those to its right and a mix of anxiety and applause from those to its left after breaking a 113-year-old taboo and joining the Zionist establishment....more
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ADL honors woman as teenage rescuer of Jews during Holocaust
Arlette deMonceau Michaelis, who along with her family resisted the Germans and saved Jews in Belgium during the Holocaust, was honored in New York by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for her heroism in risking her life to save...more
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A Sex Scandal Splits Orthodox Zionist World Between Silence and Action
Israel’s influential Orthodox Zionists have divided into two camps following a sexual-abuse scandal involving one of their most renowned and charismatic leaders, stoking fears for the future of rabbinic authority. Takana, a...more
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NorthJersey.com: Call to suspend pope sainthood
Catholic historians and theologians are urging Pope Benedict XVI to suspend the sainthood process for the controversial World War II pontiff Pius XII until further research clarifies Pius' record during the Holocaust....more
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Cops Make 3rd Arrest in "Hasidic" Diamond Heist
Police say they have made a third arrest in a bizarre staged robbery in midtown Manhattan where the thieves disguised like Hasidic Jews. Police charged Atul Shah, 48, and Mahaveer Kankariya, 43, both from New Jersey, with grand...more
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#U.S. Delays Iran Sanctions While Persuading #Israel Not To Attack
The United States is ramping up efforts to ensure that Israel does not surprise the world with a military attack on Iran as Washington extends its deadline for implementing stronger sanctions against the Islamic Republic....more
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Holocaust expert testifies in Demjanjuk trial: Sobibor was a death sentence
Being sent to the Nazi's Sobibor camp was a death sentence for all but a handful of Jews, a Holocaust expert testified Tuesday at the trial of John Demjanjuk. Johannes Houwink ten Cate, a professor at the University of...more
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From Skinhead to Orthodox Jew
When Pawel looks into the mirror, he can still sometimes see a neo-Nazi skinhead staring back, the man he once was before he covered his shaved head with a yarmulke, shed his fascist ideology for the Torah and renounced violence...more
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More Israeli names on new list of Dubai suspects
The names of at least eight new suspects that Dubai police are linking to the slaying of a top Hamas operative match those of people in Israel, further hinting at Israeli involvement in a killing widely thought to be the work of...more
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Federal Authorities Move to Deport Illegal Israeli Immigrants
Those attractive Israelis you may see at the mall hawking colorful beauty and hair products from the Dead Sea may not be as innocuous as they seem. Many are in the U.S. illegally, working in violation of their tourist visas, and...more
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Charges against murderer of rabbi's wife reduced
Because of problems providing evidence, two of the men charged in the murder of Ziona Samin, the wife of a prominent rabbi in Ashkelon, were convicted as part of a plea bargain on lesser counts and thus issued lighter sentences....more
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Egyptian arrested for Cairo synagogue attack
Egyptian police arrested a man on Tuesday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a Cairo synagogue, the interior ministry said. Gamal Hussein Hussein, 49, "a drug addict with a criminal record" was arrested late on...more
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Court closes Jerusalem baby killer case
A Jerusalem court has closed the case against a man who allegedly killed his eight-month-old daughter after an argument with his wife. The court accepted a psychiatric evaluation that Nahman Anshin, 23, was not fit to stand...more
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Chief Rabbis Favor Fur Ban
Chief Rabbis Yonah Metzger and Shlomo Amar are in favor of banning fur imports. An official opinion authored by the two on the matter will be presented at a discussion of the Knesset Education Committee Wednesday, which is...more
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UN warns Israel to withdraw claim on religious site
The UN has asked Israel to withdraw from its decision to include two religious sites in the West Bank on its list of national heritage sites, as it will escalate tension in the region. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,...more
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Judge rules Indian River school board can pray despite Jewish protests
Vince Rodkey was elated when he learned a federal judge deemed it constitutional that the Indian River School Board open its meetings with a Christian prayer. "This is a small victory in a huge battle -- the battle to...more
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Rabbis Set To Rumble Over Rabba?
The word on the street is that the Rabbinical Council of America, the largest mainstream Orthodox rabbinical group, is getting ready to come down hard on Rabbi Avi Weiss, perhaps to expel him, primarily for ordaining a woman...more
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Beit Shemesh warned over haredi-only classrooms
The Education Ministry has sent a warning letter to Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul following his announcement of opening four classes for ultra-Orthodox students only in a secular school located in the heart of a haredi...more
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Del.'s 1st #Jewish Gov. Hangs Mezuzah At Mansion
Delaware's first Jewish governor has hung a mezuzah at his home — the governor's mansion in Dover. The small ornamental boxes containing a prayer scroll are commonly affixed to entrances of Jewish homes. Rabbi Peter...more
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Jewish Parents Ordered to Pay Circumcised Son 1,500 Euros
A couple who had a British rabbi circumcise their baby boy has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit bodily harm by the Helsinki District Court. The court ordered the parents to pay their child 1,500 euros for pain and...more
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Assemblyman DeVore seeks ban of Muslim Student Union from UC Irvine
DeVore, R-Irvine, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., also accused the Muslim Student Union of "passing the hat'' for Hamas at a fundraiser for...more
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Orthodox Scandals Could Harm Power Base, Experts Warn
In the wake of recent scandals involving local Orthodox Jews, some sociologists think there could soon be a backlash against the political power of what has long been one of the most sought-after voting blocs. “Situations like...more
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Bill goes after sexual harassment by spiritual leaders
The Knesset plenum on Wednesday passed two similar bills in a preliminary reading stipulating that offers or treatment of a sexual nature suggested by religious or spiritual instructors to their students be considered sexual...more
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Diamond District jewel heist a phony
As jewel heists go, this one was a real fugazi. The owners of a Diamond District wholesaler were arrested yesterday in charges of staging a bizarre New Year's Eve robbery straight out of the movie "Snatch" in...more
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Hamas assassination: Dubai adds 15 more suspects to investigation
Dubai said on Wednesday that it has 15 more suspects in the January assassination of senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Authorities there have alleged his murder was part of an international plot using fake passports and...more
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Germany parries Greek broadside over Nazi occupation
Germany on Wednesday rejected Greek accusations that Berlin had failed to properly compensate Greece for Nazi occupation in World War Two, saying it had provided billions of euros worth of aid. In a radio interview, Greek Deputy...more
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Fake Hasidim Busted in Complicated, Dumb Diamond-Heist Plot
A couple of diamond dealers who were a million dollars in debt probably thought they were very clever when they came up with the idea to hire a couple of fake burglars, get them to dress up as Hasidic Jews, and stage a robbery...more
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Demjanjuk trial: Former Nazi camp guard testifies
A former Soviet soldier taken prisoner by the Germans during World War II testified at the trial of John Demjanjuk on Wednesday that he didn't know he would be used as a concentration camp guard when he agreed to work for...more
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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders Says Climate Deniers Are Like 1930s Nazi Deniers
Sen. Bernie Sanders used a hearing today on the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget to lay into those, including some Republican colleagues, who doubt the science behind climate change. “It reminds me in some ways of … the...more
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For children of Russian immigrants, mainstream Jewish community remains elusive
Alex Varum was 8 years old when he left Russia. Now 35 and a real estate developer in Silicon Valley, Varum grew up in California, speaks English like a native -- much better than Russian -- and feels American in every way. So...more
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Hungary makes new effort to ban Holocaust denial
Hungary's parliament on Monday approved a bill making Holocaust denial punishable by up to three years in prison, but the measure may be unconstitutional. Lawmakers passed the bill submitted by Attila Mesterhazy, the...more
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Peres depicted bowing to Erdogan
Israel is turning a blind eye to a huge poster showing President Shimon Peres seemingly bowing to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was unfurled from a crane in an Istanbul suburb on Sunday. Neither the...more
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Bnei Barak launches 'no smoking on Purim' campaign
The streets of Bnei Barak have been plastered in recent days with posters distributed by the municipality ahead of the Purim holiday. These aren't invitations to a Purim play or a festive holiday ball, but a campaign aimed...more
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Polish city returns medieval cemetery to Jewish community
After years of negotiations, a centuries-old Jewish burial ground in southeastern Poland that was desecrated by the Germans during the Holocaust has been restored to the Jewish community. The cemetery, located in the city of...more
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Jewish campus groups oppose UC Irvine boycott
Five campus Jewish groups and fraternities said Monday they don't agree with a call to boycott the University of California, Irvine because of tensions involving Muslim students. A joint letter by the groups said dialogue...more
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With election, change for Ukraine, but likely not for Jews
In a country where anxieties about anti-Semitism are never far from the surface, Viktor Yanukovich’s victory in Ukraine’s presidential election is being welcomed with caution by Ukrainian Jews. Yanukovich, who has close ties to...more
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Suspected anti-Zionist Haredim destroy rabbi's mourning notices
Mourning notices posted around Jerusalem announcing the death of former politician and journalist Rabbi Menachem Porush were vandalized on Tuesday in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of Geula and Mea Shearim. The Porush family...more
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Iran to 'hide nuclear plants inside mountains'
Iran said on Monday it is considering plans to build two new uranium enrichment plants concealed inside mountains to avert air strikes, drawing condemnation from the United States. The announcement from Iran's atomic chief...more
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Kouchner changes tone on recognizing Palestinian state
France’s foreign minister distanced himself from earlier comments calling for international recognition of a Palestinian state before final peace negotiations. On Monday, Bernard Kouchner and his Spanish counterpart Miguel...more
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If sanctions on Iran haven’t worked, why bother again?
For years, sanctions have been the world’s answer to Iran’s suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons. Three times already -- in 2006, 2007 and 2008 -- the U.N. Security Council passed sanctions legislation aimed at obstructing...more
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EU condemns fraudulent use of passports from European countries in Dubai killing
EU foreign ministers strongly condemned Monday the use of European passports in the January killing of a Hamas military official in Dubai, but a statement issued after a ministerial meeting did not mention Israel by name. The...more
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U.K. officer slams 'Pavlovian' criticism of IDF after Gaza war
International media condemnation of the Israel Defense Forces in the wake of Israel's war in Gaza was part of an automatic tendency to criticize Israel, the BBC quoted former commander of British forces in Afghanistan...more
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Two more Britons caught up in Dubai Hamas hit
Officials are investigating claims that two further British passports may have been linked to the assassination of a high-ranking Hamas official in a Dubai hotel. The disclosure that eight rather than six Britons had been...more
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Hurler signs late
Bar mitzvah boy Mark Roth was thrilled to get responses to his mailed autograph requests from his favorite ballplayers. He just didn't think he'd have to wait until he was 27 for one of them to arrive. More than 15...more
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Veteran MK and Leading Rabbi, Menachem Porush, Dies at 94
Longtime Knesset Member and leading hareidi religious Rabbi Menachem Porush died at his home in Jerusalem late Sunday night at the age of 94. He lost consciousness, and attempts by medics to resuscitate him failed. His funeral...more
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J'lem police 'waging war' on secular protests, activists say
The Jerusalem police have declared war on secular protest in the city, secular activists claimed last week after being questioned on suspicion of damaging an eruv in Kiryat Yovel, a neighborhood that has become a flashpoint of...more
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Israeli Dig Uncovers 3,000-Year-Old Wall From Time of Solomon
An ancient stone wall uncovered just outside the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City may be the first structural evidence of biblical King Solomon’s building in the city, an archaeologist said today. “A comparison of this...more
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Candid Photos From Auschwitz on Display in Rome
Photographs of men and women lying in the sun, amusing themselves in front of a camera, having lunch outside in shirtsleeves. Nothing shocking there. But these images were taken at Auschwitz-Birkenau, while thousands were dying...more
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Israel's immigrant children fight deportation
Five little girls giggle and scream with delight as they chase each other round the playground, their pigtails flying as they run. The girls' parents come from the Philippines, Thailand and Sudan but they sing, shout and...more
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'Rabbi Yosef's son attacked in Mexico City'
Rabbi David Yosef, the son of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, was attacked by a group of anti-Semites in Mexico City, the rabbi's associates said Sunday. Rabbi David Yosef arrived in Mexico to assist the local...more
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David Miliband to put pressure on Israel over forged passports
David Miliband will press his Israeli counterpart today to explain what his Government knows about the use of stolen British identities in the Mahmoud al-Mabhouh killing. Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Foreign Minister, will...more
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Israel PM aims to restore Jewish holy sites in W.Bank
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he hopes to include two hotly contested West Bank Jewish holy places in a plan to restore national heritage sites. Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and the Tomb of the...more
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Jewish groups expected to adopt measure backing gays in the military
A group of national and local Jewish leaders will likely adopt a resolution next week calling for the repeal of the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gay and lesbian soldiers. The...more
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Yanks clear up issue standing in way of June fight
Boxing is one step closer to returning to Yankee Stadium. The Yankees said Friday that they've reached an accommodation with a family that scheduled a bar mitzvah for June 5, clearing the way for a proposed fight between...more
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Israel to push China on Iran sanctions
A high-ranking Israeli delegation will leave at the end of the month for Beijing, for political, security and economic discussions with senior Chinese officials. The central issue of the talks will be the Iranian nuclear...more
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Inner-city students struggle to raise money for tour of Nazi death camps
It's a class trip back in time, a long way from their West Side high school. Nine black and Latino students are desperately scraping together funds for an 11-day tour of the Nazi death camps, their interest stirred by a...more
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Government to discuss bill to ease restrictions on egg donation
After 10 years of negotiations, a bill setting guidelines for egg donations will be presented tomorrow for government approval. The new measure is intended to ease restrictions that in the past encouraged Israeli women with...more
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Police report makeshift bomb hurled at Cairo synagogue failed to detonate causing no injuries
A man hurled a suitcase containing a makeshift bomb made of gasoline canisters at Cairo's main downtown synagogue in the early hours Sunday morning, but there were no injuries or damage, police said. According to the...more
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Rabbi charged with unlawfully dealing with a child
A local rabbi charged with unlawfully dealing with a child after police say an underage UAlbany student drank and was taken to the hospital after a party hosted at the rabbi's home. Rabbi Mendel Rubin is the director of...more
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Israel rejects recognition of Palestinian state
Israel on Sunday rejected the idea of foreign countries recognising a Palestinian state without a negotiated peace agreement, after France's foreign minister hinted at such a scenario. "Imposing this kind of semblance...more
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Hedge fund SAC was accused rabbi's extortion target: source
U.S. prosecutors this week charged a New York rabbi with trying to extort $4 million from a prominent U.S.-based hedge fund by threatening to tell authorities about alleged insider trading at the fund. The government did not...more
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Sex abuse claims against famed #rabbi grip Israel
Israeli police said on Friday they were looking into allegations of sexual abuse against one of the country's most famous and politically influential rabbis, in a case that has triggered dramatic headlines this week....more
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Jews leave Swedish city after sharp rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes
When she first arrived in Sweden after her rescue from a Nazi concentration camp, Judith Popinski was treated with great kindness. She raised a family in the city of Malmo, and for the next six decades lived happily in her...more
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Meir Dagan: the mastermind behind Mossad's secret war
IN early January two black Audi A6 limousines drove up to the main gate of a building on a small hill in the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv: the headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli secret intelligence agency, known as the...more
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The Coca-Cola Rabbi
Coca-Cola is a reigning symbol of America around the world, and its patented formula a better-kept secret than many countries’ nuclear programs. Yet for years, one man, almost the only person outside of Coca-Cola’s inner...more
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Yitta Schwartz, Who Died at 93, Had 2,000 Living Descendants
WHEN Yitta Schwartz died last month at 93, she left behind 15 children, more than 200 grandchildren and so many great- and great-great-grandchildren that, by her family’s count, she could claim perhaps 2,000 living descendants....more
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Longest-serving 'chained wife' finally breaks free after 48 years
Susan Zinkin divorced her husband in 1962 but was forbidden from looking for new love for almost 50 years. Only when he died an old man this week was she released from being a "chained wife" under Jewish law. Ms...more
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‘Personal mehitzas’ marketed for haredim
Haredi airline passengers are being advised to hang a new type of mehitza – a halachic barrier to separate the sexes – around the top of their airplane seats, to shield their eyes from immodest neighbors and in-flight movies....more
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2 who helped find Auschwitz sign rewarded
Polish police say they have paid rewards to two people who were instrumental in helping track down suspects in the theft of the infamous sign from the former Auschwitz death camp. Krakow police spokesman Dariusz Nowak said...more
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A Mossad hit backfires on Netanyahu … again
That same old feeling for Benjamin Netanyahu must be excruciating. And it is probably cold comfort for the Israeli Prime Minister that his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, is likely to suffer along with him. When...more
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Israel moves to sideline J-Street after snub to U.S. congressmen
The Foreign Ministry has come to regret its snubbing of a U.S. congressional delegation this week and sent a senior official to smooth over the affair. The apparent apology, however, failed to assuage the deeply insulted...more
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Dominican Jew at center of trafficking ring case
A New York native who falsely claimed he is the newly elected president of the Jewish Communities of Dominican Republic is being sought in connection with a female trafficking ring in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Jorge...more
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Most Jews: National interest exceeds human rights
Some 52% of Israel's Jewish citizens oppose the claim that those criticizing the State's foreign and security policy abroad or when talking to foreign elements are traitors, according to the monthly War and Peace...more
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Christian student group case poses issues for Jewish groups
Is it discriminatory for government to fund some forms of discrimination and not others? And what does “funding” mean? These questions are at the center of a case concerning the right of a Christian student group to recognition...more
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Report: Mediation Between Chabad and Gur in Arad
According to chareidi media reports, mediation efforts are underway in Arad between Chabad and Ger representatives surrounding the recent shabbos violence in the city’s Central Ashkenazi Shul. According to the reports, the...more
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Lebanese sentenced to death for spying for Israel
A retired member of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces was sentenced on Thursday to death for having spied for Israel and for his involvement in the murder of two Palestinian militant leaders. Mahmoud Qassem Rafeh, 63, was...more
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Rabbi Bulka awarded key to Ottawa
During a candlelit reception at Jean Pigott Place inside City Hall Thursday night, Ottawans gathered to celebrate the decades-long commitment of Rabbi Reuven Bulka by awarding him a key to the city. Mayor Larry O'Brien...more
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March of the Living to honor survivors
The International March of the Living will honor six Holocaust survivors during its annual gathering at Auschwitz. The theme of the organization's annual gathering on Holocaust Remembrance Day, this year on April 12, is...more
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Brooklyn rabbi is charged with $4M hedge fund blackmail scheme
Oy, not again. A Brooklyn rabbi, accused seven years ago of stealing government grants, was busted Thursday for blackmailing a Connecticut hedge fund to give $4 million to two schools he works with, prosecutors said. Rabbi...more
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Movie About Nazi Propaganda Film Booed in Berlin
A film about the making of one of Nazi Germany's most notorious anti-Semitic propaganda films was booed on Thursday during a screening at the Berlin Film Festival. Sections of the audience jeered and hissed at the premiere...more
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France demands Israel explain Dubai passport affair
France demanded on Thursday that Israel explain how a forged French passport came to be used by assassins suspected of killing a Hamas commander in Dubai last month. The case has already caused diplomatic friction between Israel...more
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British threat to Israel over Dubai Hamas assassination
Ministers are understood to be furious that an alleged hit squad which murdered a Hamas leader in Dubai last month cloned the passports of six unsuspecting Britons, who are now living in fear of reprisals. Israel, which has not...more
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Watchdog: Iran may be working on nuclear warhead
Iran may be working on secretly developing a nuclear warhead for a missile, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency said Thursday in a draft report. It's the first time that the the International...more
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#Russia suspends #Iran arms sale following Israeli PM's visit to Moscow
Russia on Wednesday delayed the delivery of S-300 air defense missiles to Iran, citing unspecified technical problems. The announcement comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Russian Prime Minister...more
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Foreman title fight sparring with Yankee Stadium simcha
A bar mitzvah could stand in the way of Jewish boxing champion Yuri Foreman defending his title at Yankee Stadium.
The Belarus-born fighter, who now lives in New York, would fight former welterweight title holder Miguel Cotto...more -
Israel angered by Uzi, menorah sculpture in Spain
A display by a Spanish artist, including a candelabrum growing out of the barrel of an Uzi sub-machinegun and a sculpture of a haredi figure standing on a priest, who kneels on a prostrate Muslim, has drawn fire from the Foreign...more
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'Schindler's List' actor Liam Neeson takes sons to Shoah memorial
Liam Neeson, the actor who starred in the Oscar-winning Stephen Spielberg movie "Schindler's List", visited the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin on Monday, near the city's famous Brandenburg Gate. Neeson took his...more -
Israeli ambassador in London summoned over Dubai fake passports use
Britain summoned Israel’s ambassador in London Ron Prosor to a meeting at the Foreign Office to discuss the use of fake UK passports by suspected assassins of a top Hamas official in Dubai, the British media reported Wednesday...more -
ZOA asks donors to avoid UC Irvine
The Zionist Organization of America on Tuesday asked potential students and donors to the University of California, Irvine to look elsewhere after months of growing tension between Jewish and Muslim students. In a statement,...more
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Magen David Adom and Its U.S. Arm Feud Over Their Future
American Friends of Magen David Adom is a staple of American Jewish charity for Israel. Children give their bar and bat mitzvah money to it, communities take group photos in front of ambulances they donated to Israel through it,...more -
Rabbis Mull ‘Bill of Rights’ For Kashrut Inspectors
As the kosher food industry in America continues to grow, rabbis who organize supervision in their local communities are considering a measure to protect employees’ rights. At a conference next week in Dallas, representatives...more
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U.S. prosecutors probing Israeli rabbi over fraud
The Brooklyn District Attorney's office is investigating accusations that a popular kabbalist in Be'er Sheva has defrauded American Jews by reportedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars for promises that he would...more
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Iran threat is too much for the Mossad to handle
In recent years the Israeli media have been in love with a government official by the name of Meir Dagan. Over and over, the press waxed emotional over the clandestine work of the head of the Mossad. Again and again it hinted,...more
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Rabbi Elon accused of 'long-term' sexual relationship with student
Takana, the group that published allegations against Rabbi Mordechai Elon of sexually exploiting his students, said it did so because of "a long-term relationship that was clearly of a sexual nature." Elon Wednesday...more
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Residents dispute Rabbi's requests
Representatives of Rabbi Mendel Bogomilsky are scheduled to appear before the Zoning Board of Adjustment in March to apply for three variances to Bogomilsky's Jefferson Avenue and Old Short Hills Road property where he...more
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Nazi Olympic legacy touches Canadians
For an eight-year-old girl living in Berlin in 1936, the most enduring Olympic memory of that year’s games was her mother telling her she wouldn’t be able to go on account of her faith. “It was the first time I was told I...more
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Bnei Brak mayor: 'Pedophile capital' remarks baseless
Bnei Brak Mayor Rabbi Yaacov Asher on Tuesday slammed National Council for the Child chairman Dr. Yitzhak Kadman after the latter said that the ultra-Orthodox city is known as Israel's pedophile capital. Asher noted...more
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Neturei Karta, So Far Right They’re Left
It was 1979, right after Menachem Begin signed the peace treaty with Egypt. The Israeli prime minister and one of his closest aides, Yehuda Avner, were in a New York hotel when protesters began gathering on Park Avenue, far...more
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Ancient Arabic inscription found in #Jerusalem
A home renovation in Jerusalem's Old City has yielded a rare Arabic inscription offering insight into the city's history under Muslim rule, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. The fragment of a 1,100-year-old...more
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Orthodox Compulsive Disorder?
‘Mr. A” is a 43-year-old chasidic man who is so afraid to make mistakes in his daily prayers that he cannot bring himself to get out of bed until noon or 1 p.m. The reason? Obsessions he’s faced since his days in yeshiva, when...more
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Israel: No reason to think Mossad killed Hamas man
srael's foreign minister says "there is no reason to think" the Mossad spy agency was behind the killing of a Hamas operative in Dubai, though he is refusing to confirm or deny involvement. The comments by Avigdor...more
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Ex-slaughterhouse boss in Iowa loses bail appeal
A former vice president of an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse has lost two appeals for his request to be released on bail while he awaits sentencing. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday declined to hear a petition from...more
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US congressman claims Israelis snubbed him
A U.S. congressman says he's seeking clarification from Israel after an apparent snub by a top Foreign Ministry official. Rep. William Delahunt of Massachusetts is touring the region with a congressional delegation hosted...more
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Israel debates giving expats the vote overseas
Hilary Levenson holds three passports: from her native Britain; Israel, to where she immigrated in 1974; and the United States, where she has lived since 1990. But she exercises her right to vote only in the country in which...more
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Agudath Israel Reacts to Execution of Martin Grossman
An Orthodox Jewish organization that had been among several urging Florida Governor Charlie Crist to spare the life of Martin Grossman, and pursuing possible legal avenues to stay implementation of the death penalty, expressed...more -
Bank of Israel chief: Israel’s economy advanced
International calls to boycott Israeli goods have not posed a real threat to the country's economy, the Bank of Israel's governor said.
Stanley Fischer also told the annual leadership conference of the Conference of...more -
Netanyahu asks Russia to return manuscripts
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Russia's president to return a historic collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts.
During a meeting Monday with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Netanyahu requested that Russia...more -
#Israel Begins Campaign to Improve Nation’s Image
The Israeli government, deeply worried about the country’s declining international image, began a campaign on Wednesday to turn every Israeli — and ultimately every Jew — into a traveling public relations agent. With a Web site...more
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Three jailed for murder of leading theatre director in Uzbekistan
A court in Uzbekistan has sentenced three men to between 17 and 19 years imprisonment for the killing of leading Jewish theatre director Mark Weil in 2007, a head of a rights group said Wednesday. "Yakub Gafurov, 37,...more
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Mumps Outbreak in NY, NJ Tops 1, 500 Cases
A mumps outbreak among Orthodox Jews in New York and New Jersey has now surpassed 1,500 cases and shows no sign of ending soon, health officials said Thursday. The 7-month-old outbreak began last summer at a boys camp in the...more
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Young Brooklyn Boy Killed by Yeshiva School Bus
One of Borough Park's Yeshiva school buses struck and killed a young Orthodox boy today, after he slipped and fell on an icy patch of pavement. Different sources have reported his age to be either 4 or 7, but according to...more
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Was Chabad House target in Pune attack?
The bombing of a popular restaurant last Saturday evening in Pune, second in importance to Mumbai in the western State of Maharashtra and among the fastest growing cities in India, has left investigators wondering why the...more
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Hundreds flock to show support for embattled rabbi
Hundreds of supporters gathered at the home of Rabbi Mordechai Elon yesterday morning to show their support for the embattled rabbi, who had been accused the day before of inappropriate sexual behavior by a forum of senior...more
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Tea Party Revolution Could Undermine Republican #Jewish Outreach
An angry “Tea Party” movement that Republican leaders hope to harness to boost their party’s chances in the 2010 congressional midterm elections could also be a potential blow to GOP outreach to minorities — including Jewish...more
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Catholic scholars urge pope to slow Pius sainthood
Top Catholic scholars have written an unusual and impassioned private letter to Pope Benedict urging him to slow down the sainthood procedure for wartime Pope Pius XII, accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. The...more
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Netanyahu-Medvedev meeting centers on Mideast peace
The Middle East peace process was the main topic of discussion during a meeting in Moscow between Benjamin Netanyahu and Dmitry Medvedev. The Israeli prime minister and the Russian president met Monday as part of...more
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Latin American Jews are now following each other on Twitter
The Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the Caribbean is increasing interest among Latin American Jewry by engaging them in its activities electronically through social networking sites such as Twitter and...more
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Rosa Rein, world’s oldest Jew, dies
Rosa Rein, believed to be the world's oldest Jewish person, died about a month shy of her 113th birthday. Rein, Switzerland's oldest resident since September 2003, died Sunday in her sleep at an old-age home near...more
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Divorce Battle: Dad Faces Jail Time for Taking Jewish Daughter to Church
A veteran of the war in Afghanistan could find out today if he'll get jail time for taking his daughter to church in defiance of a Chicago family court order obtained by his estranged wife. The two are in a bitter divorce...more
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Hillary Clinton: 'Iran is moving towards a military dictatorship'
Hillary Clinton today said Iran was becoming a military dictatorship as the Obama administration's diplomatic campaign against the Tehran regime continued to escalate. Speaking to university students in Qatar, the US...more
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Mossad's foreign operations have often embarrassed Israel
If the assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai last month is confirmed as a Mossad operation, it will not be the first time that Israeli agents have used or tried to obtain foreign passports. Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, 49, was...more
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Rabbi rules against women's prayer quorum
Women's prayer quorum during the Purim holiday have become in recent years a widespread phenomenon in many religious communities in Israel, but a new Jewish ruling considers them illegal and forbidden. Chief Ramat Gan Rabbi...more
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Tonge fired over organ harvesting remark
Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg has sacked controversial peer Baroness Jenny Tonge as his health spokeswoman in the House of Lords after she suggested last week that Israel set up an inquiry if it wants to refute...more
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Brooklyn's Ultra-Orthodox Jew Matisyahu brings unorthodox Hasidic reggae to Winter Olympics
Brooklyn's own Matisyahu -- the ultra-Orthodox Jew with the unorthodox calling -- wowed the Vancouver Olympics Monday night with his own unique brand of Hasidic reggae. The 30-year-old from Crown Heights marries Jamaican...more
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Israel's home-grown danger
Threats to Israel typically come in the form of rockets. But economists also see a profound risk to the state that is entirely within its control: its education system. Inside a modern economy renowned for its innovative...more
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Rabbis call for delaying the execution of Martin Grossman in a letter to Governor Charlie Crist
Jewish leaders are calling for an execution scheduled for today to be delayed, while the mother of the victim says it is long overdue. Martin Grossman was 19 years old when he shot to death wildlife officer Margaret...more
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Collin County judge uses Nazi quote in campaign
A Nazi propaganda minister's quote about truth is being cited by Collin County's top elected official as he seeks a second term. The Nazi quote referenced by Collin County Judge Keith Self remained on his Web site...more
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Top Zionist rabbi slams 'blood libel' accusing him of sex crimes
Dozens of supporters gathered Tuesday morning at the home of Rabbi Mordechai Elon, a prominent member of the religious Zionist circles now being accused of inappropriate sexual behavior. It was a senior forum of rabbis that...more
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Hungarian victims of #Holocaust sue nation's railway
On her 17th birthday in 1944, Magda Brown and her parents were taken by train with hundreds of other Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz. Once at the concentration camp, she was separated from her parents and placed with other young...more
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#Hezbollah urges #France to 'rein in' #Israel
Hezbollah on Tuesday urged France to "rein in Israeli aggressiveness" amid heightened concern in Beirut over recent Israeli warnings to the Shiite militant movement and its backer Syria. "We ask that France take...more
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Jewish Valentines in Demand
“Famous Jewish Lovers” might seem like a dreamed-up category on “Jeopardy!,” but it’s easily real. Valentine’s Day is coming; why should Jews be left off the list of heartthrobs? Jews are hot. Askmen.com in its 2010 “Top 99”...more
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Ultra-Orthodox riot in Jerusalem over remand of Haredi protester
Ultra-Orthodox protesters erupted in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood on Thursday after a court ruled earlier to remand a Haredi man detained for rioting charges. Haredi youths reportedly hurled stones at buses driving...more
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U.S.: Iran's nuclear efforts are anything but peaceful
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement that the country has succeeded at creating higher levels of uranium enrichment shows its nuclear intentions are "anything but peaceful," the U.S. State...more
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Poland refuses to build shelter for Auschwitz cat
A cat living at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz has caused fur to fly between an animal care group and Polish authorities refusing to allow a shelter to be built for it. The grey and white cat, known variously as Rudolf...more
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A Match Made In ... Queens
Alan Steinberg likes to call it the “miracle on Grand Central Parkway.” Last summer, Yeshiva Har Torah, where Steinberg serves as executive vice president, was, like many other Jewish day schools, scrambling to raise funds to...more
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Project will provide online Judaica access
Ten institutions across Europe launched a two-year project aimed at providing online access to their Jewish culture collections. Judaica Europeana, which went live this week at www.judaica-europeana.eu, forms part of Europeana,...more
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'Jews only' building authorized in Jaffa
Residents of Jaffa's Ajami quarter were disappointed to receive news that the court petition submitted by 27 local residents to prevent the building of a "Jews only" building in the neighborhood was rejected. ...more
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Squirrel Hill food pantry only kosher site in Western Pennsylvania
In these times, more people than ever rely on food pantries to feed their families. But few suspect that some of those families live in one of the city's most affluent neighborhoods. "The assumption is that people in...more
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Moishe House Provides Residences for Young Jews
REBECCA KARP, Brian Cohen, Danielle Hardoon and Alissa Worly, all of whom are in their 20s, share a spacious red-brick house in Philadelphia. It rents for $3,200 a month. But they pay only a fourth of that. Every month, an...more
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Terrorist Murderer's Home to be Razed -
Following the terrorist murder of IDF St.-Sgt. Ihab Khatib at the Tapuach Junction on Wednesday, the security forces arrested several family members of the murderer, Mouhmad Khatib. The arrestees included five of his brothers...more
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Kosher milk comes to China
A Beijing dairy has begun distributing fresh kosher milk throughout China. The first ton of the milk, which is organic and cholev yisroel, a stricter kosher standard acceptable to ultra-Orthodox Jews, hit the market last week,...more
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Rabbis to deem haredi internet kosher
The war being waged against haredi internet channels is still in full swing, but one site has received its very own 'kosher' certification. "Etrog," which was closed following a rabbinical protest, will soon...more
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Millburn Residents Oppose Rabbi’s Zoning Request
The meeting of the Concerned Neighborhood Association of Millburn Township scheduled for tonight has been postponed because of the blizzard. The association, which leaders said is made up of Millburn residents, is fighting the...more
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Auschwitz sign theft: Swedish man arrested in Stockholm
A Swedish man has been arrested in Stockholm over the theft of the Arbeit Macht Frei sign from Auschwitz death camp, officials say. The arrest came after a Polish court last week issued a European arrest warrant for Anders...more
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Tension fills liberal Oregon campus as extremist group intensifies its anti-Jewish message
The students stomped their feet, heckled and then stood and turned their backs as the speaker at the University of Oregon defended red-baiting Sen. Joseph McCarthy and called Martin Luther King Jr. a communist dupe. With more...more
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Ahmadinejad warns Israel against any military move
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be resisted and finished off if it launched military action in the region, state broadcaster IRIB reported on Thursday. Ahmadeinjad's comments were made when the...more
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'Tense' Iran marks anniversary, confirms nuclear breakthrough
ttacks and clashes were reported in Iran's capital Thursday as thousands of pro- and anti-government demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran to mark a key national anniversary. Pro-government supporters filled Azadi,...more
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Demjanjuk's attorney questions evidence
John Demjanjuk's defense lawyer on Wednesday questioned the validity of evidence presented by a top German investigator, including an identity card that allegedly shows his client was a guard at the Nazi's Sobibor...more
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Touro’s Master Builder
This week, the Jewish community lost an educational powerhouse. Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, the founder and president of Touro College, was the driving force behind the growth of an impressive Jewish educational empire, with 29...more
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Costa Rica Elects First Female President, Jewish VP
The Central American nation of Costa Rica has chosen its first-ever female president and its first-ever Jewish vice president in national elections held Sunday. President-elect Laura Chinchilla, a social conservative, was...more
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Haredi son, parents hold double wedding
A young Christian American man who made aliyah seven years ago, converted to Judaism and became a student in one of the most prestigious Hasidic yeshivot in Jerusalem got married last week. "Hakol Haharedi" news...more
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Revealed: The Nazi board game to teach Hitler youth how to win wars
This World War II board game was designed by the Nazis to teach German children how to strategically defeat an enemy in battle. And with a picture on the box of a British plane being shot down by a Nazi gunner, the Hitler Youth...more
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Chicago rabbi plans for life in Israeli desert
Jews from Chicago and the North Shore are so passionate about a beloved rabbi's plans to build a new kind of community in Israel that they're willing to pull up stakes and follow him to fulfill what for many has been a...more
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Chabad’s Presence Making Big Waves In Oceanside
Rarely has a single day — one day less of Hebrew school instruction a week, to be exact — so polarized a Jewish community. But in the desperate fight for Jewish souls playing out in the Long Island town of Oceanside, Chabad of...more
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Lebanon backs Hezbollah against #Israel
Lebanon's prime minister voiced concern Wednesday about "escalating" Israeli war threats, and said his government will support the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah if a new war breaks out with the Jewish state. Saad...more
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The Greenbergs 17: An Emissary in Every Time Zone
Some call it “fate,” but the Greenbergs prefer “mission.” The children of Rabbi Moshe and Devorah Greenberg—there are seventeen in all—were raised in Bnei Brak, Israel. But today the family is dispersed around the globe in...more
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Pro-Shalit protest blocks Palestinian visitors at jail
Protesters calling for the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit have camped outside an Israeli jail. The protestors hope to block families of Palestinian prisoners from visiting their relatives inside. One member of...more
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Queens Assembly Candidate Sends Mailings With Swastika
In a recent over-the-top campaign mailing, David Weprin -- in a race for the Queens assembly seat -- superimposed a Swastika over a generic photo of crime scene tape, outraging his opponent and residents of nearly every...more
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Life imitates art in Oscar-nominated Israeli film
There's a reason for the gritty feel of reality in "Ajami," an Oscar-nominated Israeli film about the lives of Arabs and Jews in the impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhoods of this Mediterranean city: Its amateur...more
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Canadian lawmakers: Israel support may cause backlash
Some Canadian lawmakers fear the Conservative government's staunch support of Israel risks triggering a backlash against Israel and Canadian Jews. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his ministers have voiced nearly...more
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Nuke fears rise as Iran ramps up uranium enrichment
Iran began enriching uranium Tuesday to the threshold at which it could set off a nuclear reaction, following through on a warning it had issued a day before, state media said.
The enrichment was taking place at its Natanz...more -
Oren heckled at US college
Eleven people were arrested as Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren was repeatedly interrupted while trying to deliver an address Monday night at the University of California, Irvine. Oren was speaking about...more
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'I wouldn't cry if he was killed'
Well-known Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel relayed his efforts to speak out against both the Iranian regime and the Goldstone Commission's report on Tuesday. The prolific author has put together a petition denouncing Iranian...more
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UK Jews weigh fight after court ruling on ‘Who is a Jew'
To fight or not to fight? That question has bitterly divided the Jewish community in Britain following the Supreme Court ruling a month-and-a-half ago striking down a Jewish school’s policy of limiting admission to the children...more
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Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, 94
Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, founder and president of Touro College, Lander Institute and associated colleges, passed away on Monday in his home in Queens, N.Y. at the age of 94. Rabbi Lander was most noted for the unlikely...more
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Rabbi Defends Buyer Of Purported Mengele Document
A Jewish man who recently bought a document purported to be an infamous Nazi's journal lost more than 100 close relatives in the death camps, "including dozens who saw Dr. Josef Mengele in action at Auschwitz,"...more
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First ex-Marrano Israeli rabbi returns to Spain as emissary
For the first time since the expulsion of Spain’s Jews in 1492, a descendant of Marrano Jewry who immigrated to Israel and received rabbinic ordination will return to Spain to serve as a rabbi. Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham, a...more
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Young haredim building their muscles
In the evening hours, as their friends are still leaning over the Talmud pages, they leave the yeshiva and replace their hats and suits with sportswear. They enter the gym and engage in lifting weights and pedaling. They are 24...more
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Bachmann: America ‘cursed’ by God ‘if we reject Israel'
t a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Los Angeles last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann offered a candid view of her positions on Israel: Support for Israel is handed down by God and if the United States pulls back its support,...more
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Developers of electric car say Israel's revolutionary electric grid to launch next year
Israel is on schedule to inaugurate a revolutionary electric car grid with dozens of recharge stations and thousands of cars on the road by next year, the project's developers said Sunday. The California-based company...more
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Big cats at Iowa zoo score big with 20 tons of chicken wings from Agriprocessors
Hold the hot sauce and blue cheese, the big cats at the Cricket Hollow Zoo in Manchester like their chicken wings raw. The zoo has scored about 41,000 pounds of frozen wings from a distributor that almost threw them out. The...more
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Mumps outbreak strikes Orthodox enclaves in N.Y.
More than 300 people in two New York State Orthodox enclaves have contracted the mumps. The cases broke out in Monsey and New Square in Rockland County, about 25 miles from New York City, and have spread to Brooklyn and New...more
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Florida #rabbis seek to prevent Jew's execution
Florida rabbis in recent days have been working to prevent the execution of Martin Grossman, 45, who was convicted of murdering a female police officer in a nature reserve 26 years ago. A petition submitted to Florida...more
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Polish city displays two faces to its few Jews
A crucifix hangs on the back wall of the classroom at the Franciscan school. Beneath it stands a menorah ? an unusual sight in devoutly Catholic Poland. The Higher School of Hebrew Philology, located in Torun, Poland, is a new...more
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Prayers Continue for Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu
Many worshippers came to the Heichal Ya'akov synagogue in Jerusalem's Kiryat Moshe neighborhood on Monday to continue to pray for the recovery of former chief Sephardic rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, who is being treated at...more
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Tel Aviv "savior" accused of enslaving women
The women tattooed his name and portrait on their bodies and gave their children his name - Savior. They spoon-fed the bearded, one-time healer as if he were royalty, brushed his shoulder-length white locks, sent him text...more