Middle East

How Jews Made Purim Personal

By Sarah Ogince (JNS) “Cursed is Hitler, cursed is Mussolini … Blessed is Roosevelt, blessed is Churchill.” With these words, the Moroccan scribe Prosper Hassine concluded his account of World War II and the Holocaust. The story was familiar, but what made Hassine’s work unique was its style: Written on a long parchment scroll, it […]

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Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA

US Defense Secretary Aims to Reassure Mideast Allies, Deliver Tough Message

Published by Reuters By Idrees Ali AMMAN (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in Jordan to begin a three-country Mideast visit, is aiming to reassure key allies of American commitment to the region despite Washington’s recent focus on Russia and China, officials said, but plans frank messages for leaders of Israel and Egypt. The Pentagon

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Middle East

Oman Opens Airspace to Overflights by Israeli Carriers

(JNS) Oman has opened its airspace to overflights by Israeli airlines, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced on Thursday. “This historic decision will shorten the time of flights from Israel to Asia and lower ticket prices. I thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the National Security Council and the director general of the Foreign Ministry,” said Cohen.

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Business & Finance, Israel, Middle East

Netanyahu Talks With US Senators, Including Padilla, About Iran and Abraham Accords

(JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met separately on Tuesday with U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), stressing to them the importance of the bilateral relationship and that America is the Jewish state’s “greatest friend.” Netanyahu told the lawmakers that despite any disagreements between Jerusalem and Washington, such meetings were an expression

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California, Israel, Middle East, USA

Film on Ethiopian Jewry’s ‘Yearning’ to be Screened in San Diego

By Sam Litvin SAN DIEGO — “They love our work, but they do not love us” says an elderly man in the high mountains of Ethiopia. He is a Jew. His family has been Jewish as far back as they can remember, and they can remember all the way to the days of Queen Sheeba

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Israel, Middle East, Sam Litvin, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Reflections on Jimmy Carter

By Eric George Tauber CINCINNATI, Ohio — When I read the news that former President Jimmy Carter had gone into hospice, I began reflecting on his life and career. While I greatly admire his post-executive humanitarian work, Carter’s relationship with Israel and the American Jewish community is a bit more complicated. Hungry for Honesty In

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Eric George Tauber, International, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA

Federation Raising Funds for Earthquake Survivors in Turkey and Syria

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — We are heartbroken by the news of the two devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria. Right now, the death toll is over 20,000 and over 1 million have lost their homes. While an overwhelming number of buildings, homes and businesses have been destroyed, rescuers work around the clock to

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Middle East, USA

Omar’s Removal is a Frightful Omen for Israel-Bashers

By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — As the competing votes tracked upward on the Congressional scoreboard last Thursday, my memory summoned up a moment more than two decades ago when I spotted an anti-Israel sketch posted on a bulletin board. It featured a message that compared Israel to the civil rights struggles in the South.

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Bruce Ticker, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA

Many Jews Receive Mentions in Brief History of 17 US Presidents

Ronald Gruner, who spent his working career as a CEO of three different tech companies (Alliant Computer; Shareholder.com; and Sky.Analytics), is a lay historian deeply interested in economic policy and outcomes.  His book, analyzing the presidencies of the 17 U.S. Presidents from Warren G. Harding to Donald J. Trump, focuses largely on issues like unemployment, interest rates, and inflation.  But along the way he also makes mention of significant geopolitical events that occurred during those presidencies. I will leave it to economists to determine the value of Gruner’s economic analyses.  They are beyond my depth.  What I did take notice of was how often our fellow Jews, and issues of direct relevance to the Jewish community, cropped up in the book.  [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

Israel Offers Humanitarian Aid to Turkey and Syria

Published by DPA Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered humanitarian assistance to Turkey and Syria, announcing the dispatch of search and rescue teams as well as medical teams “in accordance with a request from the Turkish government.” The precise nature of the assistance to Israel’s northern neighbour, with which it remains at war, was

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Middle East

Archaeologists Find Evidence of Asian Trade Route Through Israel in 8th Century

“Our findings seem to provide the first evidence that there was also an ‘Israeli Silk Road’ used by merchants along the international trading routes. This route branched off from the traditional Silk Route that passed to the north of Israel, crossing the Arava and connecting to the main historical trade routes that crossed the country, as well as to the main ports of Gaza and Ashkelon that served a major gateways to the Mediterranean world.”

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International, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, Travel and Food

Iran Expects Russia to Deliver Su-35 Fighter Jets in Two Months

Published by IntelliNews By bne IntelIiNews Russian Su-35 fighter jets ordered from the Kremlin by Tehran should arrive in Iran at the start of the next Persian calendar year (starts March 21), Shahriyar Heydari, a lawmaker who is a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis), has informed

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Middle East

UN Security Council Members Stress Al Aqsa Mosque Status Quo

Published by Reuters By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Security Council members voiced concern on Thursday and stressed the need to maintain a status quo at the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, days after Israel’s new far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir briefly visited the site. The decades-old status quo allows only Muslim

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Middle East