International

Iraqis weigh suing Israel for 1981 destruction of nuclear reactor

BAGHDAD (WJC)–Iraq is planning to sue Israel for bombing its nuclear reactor at Osirak nearly three decades ago. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has instructed his Foreign Ministry to find out from the United Nations whether it can receive compensation from Israel. Israel’s Air Force bombed the reactor, which had not yet gone on line, […]

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Middle East

Ayalon says Palestinian vilification of Israel hinders peace talks

JERUSALEM (WJC)–Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon has said that peace talks with the Palestinians were not likely to resume in the coming weeks. “Instead of moving toward negotiations, the Palestinians just attack Israel in the world,” Ayalon said at a gathering of the Israel Council for Foreign Relations in Jerusalem, which is sponsored by

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Middle East

ADL urges Supreme Court to let states keep guns out of hands of violent extremists

NEW YORK (Press release)–In a brief detailing the “serious threat” of armed violence by extremists and extremist groups, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Wednesday  urged the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure that states retain the right to reasonably regulate the possession of firearms by those who practice and preach racial and ethnic violence. “We have placed

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USA

Six charges brought against Abdulmutallab in attempted Christmas bombing

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – The Justice Department announced that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian national, was charged Wednesday in a six-count criminal indictment returned in the Eastern District of Michigan for his alleged role in the attempted Christmas day bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to Detroit. Count one of the indictment

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USA

Historical center will tell story of first Jewish settlers of the Negev

RIBBON CUTTING—Ruthie Goltz and representatives of JNF, Sha’ar Hanegev municipality, and  the Ministry of Tourism cut the ribbon in front of the renovated area at the site of the first settlers of the Negev. ___________________________________________________________ By Ulla Hadar KIBBUTZ RUHAMA, Israel–On the first day of Chanukah, in December 1911, Ruhama farm was founded on lands

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Middle East

Book examines the images Jews have of their own bodies

The Jewish Body by Melvin Konner, Nextbook, New York; ISBN 978-0-8052-4236-2, $22.00, 255 pages * By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California–The Jewish people are obsessed with the body. While the Sumerians, Egyptians, Canaanites, and others prayed and sacrificed to idols, the embodiment of their gods, the Hebrews announced to the world that God is invisible.

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Fred Reiss, EdD, Middle East

RJC leader Brooks says Senate retirements harbinger of Democratic losses in 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matthew Brooks released the following statement on Wednesday:   “The sense that Democrat incumbents are abandoning a sinking ship was strengthened by the announcements that Democrat Senators Chris Dodd (CT) and Byron Dorgan (ND) will not seek re-election this year. This brings the number of

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USA

Municipality approves four new apartment buildings in East Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (Press Release)–The municipality of Jerusalem has approved construction of four apartment buildings next to a Jewish seminary in the eastern part of the city. “As far as the municipality is concerned, building can begin,” a  spokesman for Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said after a planning committee gave the go-ahead on Monday for the complex

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Middle East

Jerusalem Mayor Birkat protests possibility of both chief rabbis of Jerusalem being haredi

JERUSALEM (WJC)—Mayor Nir Barkat of Jerusalem  has announced that he would petition the High Court against an election process which is likely to lead to the appointment of two ultra-Orthodox chief rabbis for the city. Barkat said 70 percent of Jerusalem’s population was not haredi. On Sunday, a five-man committee, including three haredi members from the

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Middle East

Has the influential Rabbi Daniel Gordis lost his way?

By Rabbi Philip Graubart LA JOLLA, California–Who is the most influential writer for American Jews?  To my mind, it’s Daniel Gordis, the American-born rabbi, writing from Israel.  Gordis grabs his readers with passionate, cogent arguments, but also through his chosen medium: emails, which fly through cyberspace, landing in tens of thousands (or more) inboxes, provoking

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Middle East

Can there be Middle East peace without real leadership?

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Prime Minister Netanyahu isn’t specific and doesn’t exactly endorse the upbeat news that comes from Cairo, and perhaps also from Washington, that speaks not only of the imminent resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians but also the possibility of a deal within a couple of years. But he doesn’t

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Middle East, USA

Business air travel seen as unaffected by Christmas Day bombing plot

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (Press Release) – A survey of more than 150 travel managers by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) — the association for business travel professionals — shows that the December 25, 2009 attempted bombing of an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight is likely to have little impact on business travel levels.                                                            The number of respondents

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USA