Jewish news briefs: April 20, 2015

jns logo short version

Pope Francis meets with leading European rabbis at Vatican

(JNS.org) Pope Francis met with a delegation of leading European rabbis at the Vatican on Monday to discuss Jewish-Christian relations and the ongoing surge of European anti-Semitism.

The delegation was from the Conference of European Rabbis, which represents more than 700 rabbis from synagogues across Europe. In his remarks to the Jewish leaders, Francis noted this coming October’s 50th anniversary of the landmark Vatican II Nostra Aetate document, which ended centuries of anti-Jewish policies in the Catholic Church and ushered in a new era of Jewish-Catholic relations.

Francis said that it is more important than ever to emphasize “the spiritual and religious dimension of life in Europe,” and that Jews and Christians have a duty of “preserving a sense of the sacred and reminding people that our lives are a gift from God,” Vatican Radio reported.

The pontiff also addressed the rising anti-Semitism in Europe, saying that the “great tragedy” of the Holocaust should remain a “warning for present and future generations.”

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, told Pope Francis that many European Jews feel “trapped” between the growing anti-Semitism from Muslim immigrants and the secular backlash of many European political leaders.

Goldschmidt also raised concern regarding the West’s potential conflict with Russia, saying that there is a “new mounting wall between East and West.” He urged the pontiff to help build new bridges and bring the West back from the brink of war.

*

Netanyahu receives 14-day extension to form governing coalition

(JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a two-week extension from President Reuven Rivlin to finalize negotiations over forming Israel’s next governing coalition.

“We have made considerable progress in the negotiations, but more time is necessary for us to form a stable government that would meet the challenges Israel faces,” Netanyahu said in a statement following a meeting with Rivlin.

Netanyahu has yet to secure signed agreements with any of his Likud party’s potential coalition partners. An Israeli coalition requires a minimum of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset, and Likud itself won 30 seats in last month’s election. Likud insiders said negotiations with the party’s natural partners were in full swing, and predicted that agreements with the Kulanu, Shas, and United Torah Judaism parties would be signed by the end of this week, Israel Hayom reported.

*

Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, renowned religious Zionist leader, dies at 81

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, a leading religious Zionist figure and the chief rabbi of the prestigious Har Etzion yeshiva in Judea, died on Monday at 81.

Lichtenstein, who lived in the community of Alon Shvut in Gush Etzion, received the Israel Prize for Jewish religious literature in 2014 as well as a number of additional prizes for his prolific written work in Hebrew and English.

The rabbi was born in Paris in 1933. His family fled Vichy France for the United States eight years later. Having settled in New York, Lichtenstein was ordained at Yeshiva University and studied under his father-in-law, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik. He received his doctorate in English literature from Harvard University. In 1971, he moved to Israel at the invitation of Holocaust survivor Rabbi Yehuda Amital to join him at the helm of Yeshivat Har Etzion. In 1960, Lichtenstein married Soloveitchik’s daughter Tova, and they had six children.

Lichtenstein was unique among his peers for his dovish political stance and his support of military service for yeshiva students.

Israel’s Tzohar rabbinical organization said in a statement, “Rabbi Lichtenstein was among the rabbinical giants of religious Zionism and was a true genius in his mastery of both the worlds of Torah alongside culture and literature. The rabbi demonstrated an enormous sense of commitment and responsibility to both the worlds of halacha (Jewish law) alongside a remarkable sense of humanity and caring for the individual.”

*

Israeli soldier with cerebral palsy to be honored for excellence

(JNS.org) Cpl. Ori Cohen, 20, an Israeli soldier from Rehovot who was born with cerebral palsy, will be among the 120 soldiers to be honored for excellence at Israel’s annual Independence Day ceremony on Thursday.

“This honor belongs above all to my friends in the army and to my commanders, who accept me as an equal,” Cohen said, Israel Hayom reported. “They don’t make any assumptions, they simply listen and help me.”

Cohen serves as a network administrator at the computer support center in the Israel Defense Forces GOC’s C41 Corps. His job is to solve network problems. His parents, Sigal and Yitzhak, take him to and from his base, where he gets around using a walker or a wheelchair.

“My parents’ and my family’s devotion pushed me forward, and this is the right opportunity to thank them,” Cohen said.

*

Netanyahu: Death to Israel inscription on Iranian missiles never changes

(JNS.org) Commenting on Iran’s exhibition of its weapons during a military parade in Tehran on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would “do whatever is necessary to defend the security of the state and its citizens.”

“Every year [at Iran’s military parade] the missiles are bigger and enhanced—in accuracy, strength, and deadliness,” Netanyahu said at his cabinet meeting on Sunday. “However, one thing does not change. What does not change is the inscription ‘Death to Israel’ on the missiles.”

Netanyahu also reiterated his opposition to the recently reached Russian-Iranian missile deal.

“Israel views with utmost gravity the supply of S-300 missiles from Russia to Iran, especially at a time when Iran is stepping up its aggression in the region and around the borders of the state of Israel,” he said.

*

Israeli economy saw highest growth in years in fourth quarter of 2014

(JNS.org) The Israeli economy grew 7 percent in the last quarter of 2014, its highest rate of growth in recent years, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported.

In the third quarter of 2014, the Israeli economy grew only 0.3 percent while the war with Hamas was ongoing. The economy grew 1.5 percent in last year’s second quarter. By the end of 2014, Israel’s total economic value crossed the trillion-shekel threshold and reached its highest-ever amount: 1.09 trillion shekels ($278 billion).

Also in the fourth quarter of 2014, new car purchases jumped 75.5 percent in Israel, while purchases of refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, and dryers all increased about 22 percent. Purchases of clothing and footwear increased 10.3 percent, while spending on airfare for trips abroad rose 8.1 percent. The growth figures show that Israel’s military operation in Gaza took a smaller-than-expected toll on the country’s economy.

*

Lebanon set to receive $3 billion French-Saudi arms package

(JNS.org) The Lebanese military is set to receive the first round of a massive $3 billion arms package from France to bolster its defense against increasing threats by terror groups in Syria.

The French arms package, which was funded by Saudi Arabia, includes an initial shipment of light equipment and military accessories such as goggles, which will be shipped to Beirut from French arms depots, Lebanon’s Daily Star reported. Heavier weapons such as warplanes and cruisers are expected to arrive later.

The deal to arm Lebanon was signed nearly a year ago by French President Francois Hollande and the late Saudi King Abdullah. Western nations have sought to beef up the Lebanese military in the face of growing threats from terror groups in Syria such as Islamic State and the al-Nusra Front. But Israel has long expressed feared that Western arms provided to the Lebanese military could end up in the hands of the Hezbollah terrorist group.

*

Obama invites Gulf Arab leaders to White House for summit to discuss Iran

(JNS.org) President Barack Obama has invited the heads of several of America’s Arab allies from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to the White House and then to Camp David to discuss several important Mideast regional issues such as the situations in Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

The White House said it will host leaders from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates on May 13, before the group heads to the presidential retreat at Camp David on May 14 to “discuss ways to enhance their partnership and deepen security cooperation.”

The move comes as several key Arab allies of the U.S.—much like Israel—have expressed fear that the recently reached framework nuclear deal would allow Iran to continue to further destabilize the region.

*

French PM announces $107 million plan to combat anti-Semitism and racism

(JNS.org) French Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced an ambitious government plan on Friday to spend 100 million euros ($107 million) on a program to combat rising anti-Semitism and other forms of racism in France.

The 40-point program includes increased penalties for crimes deemed to have been fueled by anti-Semitism and racism, as well as increasing awareness and efforts against prejudice.

“Racism, anti-Semitism, hatred of Muslims, of foreigners, [and] homophobia are increasing in an unbearable manner,” Valls said in the Paris suburb of Créteil, which was the scene of a brutal attack on a Jewish man and his girlfriend last December, AFP reported.

That attack was followed by the January 2015 attack by Muslim terrorist Amedy Coulibaly on a Paris kosher supermarket that left four Jews dead, during the same week as the Islamist shooting that killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine’s offices.

*

Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.

 
__________________________________________________________________
Care to comment?  We require the following information on any letter for publication: 1) Your full name 2) Your city and state (or country) of residence. Letters lacking such information will be automatically deleted. San Diego Jewish World is intended as a forum for the entire Jewish community, whatever your political leanings. Letters may be posted below provided they are responsive to the article that prompted them, and civil in their tone.  Ad hominem attacks against any religion, country, gender, race, sexual orientation, or physical disability will not be considered for publication. There is a limit of one letter per writer on any given day.
__________________________________________________________________