International

Senate confirms Friedman as US ambassador to Israel

Washington (dpa) – The Senate confirmed US President Donald Trump’s choice to serve as ambassador to Israel on Thursday. The upper chamber approved David Friedman 52-46 to the post. Friedman advised Trump throughout his presidential campaign and has taken a hard-line position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, going after US Jewish groups who support a two-state […]

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Middle East, USA

Suspect in JCC bomb threats also harassed Israeli institutions

A 19-year old man with dual US-Israeli citizenship was arrested for allegedly making a series of threats to Jewish institutions in the US and Europe. The suspect has a long record of criminal behavior, authorities in Israel said Thursday. The man, whose identity has not yet been released for publication, was suspected by police of

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Middle East, USA

Moroccan Jewish community promotes interfaith harmony via development projects

By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir MARRAKECH, Morocco — In the Kingdom of Morocco, there are a number of sustainable development programs and policies that display innovation and promote social solidarity.  These participatory democratic initiatives are designed to catalyze people’s development that meet multiple human needs at the same time. For example, the Municipal Charter of the

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International, Middle East, Yossef Ben-Meir

At Least 25 Starve to Death in Somaliland – Official

At least 25 people have died of starvation in the self-declared republic of Somaliland as the Horn of Africa grapples with an increasingly severe drought. “The drought situation is at its most dangerous level. Eighty percent of the livestock have gone and we are struggling with saving people, who have started dying. So far, we

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International, Science, Medicine, & Education

Trump to reporter: “I’m president and you’re not”

President Trump didn’t give an inch on his claims about wiretapping and voter fraud in an interview published Thursday, and told the journalist, “I can’t be doing so badly, because I’m president and you’re not.” In the interview with Time magazine, Mr. Trump defended his tweets about former President Obama wiretapping his campaign headquarters, and

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USA

Minister vows to quit coalition if settlement freeze goes ahead

Uri Ariel, of the Jewish Home party, warns that halting building outside of main blocs would ‘not leave us any choice’ By Sue Surkes Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel attends the 14th annual Jerusalem Conference of the ‘Besheva’ group, on February 12, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) Jewish Home Minister Uri Ariel said on Thursday he would

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Middle East, USA

Obama defends Affordable Care Act as Republicans look to take first step in repeal

WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama marked the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act with a robust defense of the law Republicans sought to begin repealing Thursday. In a lengthy written statement, Obama made no explicit mention of the action pending in the House. But he clearly contrasted the grueling process that ended with his

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Charles Schumer says Democrats will filibuster SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Thursday that Democrats will attempt to filibuster Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination, saying he would tilt the Supreme Court too far away from what Democrats want to see. “After careful deliberation I have concluded that I cannot support Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court,” Mr. Schumer said,

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USA

Mom, I might be Jewish

Sara Renee Miller Growing up in an evangelical home while toddling between three locations (Maui, Missouri, Maine), there was a surprising lack of ethnic diversity and outside information available. By this, what I really mean is that I didn’t meet my first Jewish person until just two years before grad school at Hebrew University, nor

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International, Middle East, USA

Trump asked Israel to stop building outside ‘blocs’

President Donald Trump”s envoy Jason Greenblatt asked Israel to cease building in communities in Judea and Samaria located outside of the so-called “settlement blocs”, an Israeli source privy to Greenblatt”s talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Haaretz on Wednesday. According to the source, during the talks, which took place in Israel last week, Greenblatt

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Middle East, USA

Jewish group slams ‘specious accusations of anti-Semitism’

The Coalition for Jewish Values, an Orthodox Jewish advocacy group, today harshly condemned “specious accusations of anti-Semitism” coming from sectors of the Jewish community, directed at US government officials and the Trump Administration as a whole, dismissing these allegations as “unfounded, damaging and embarrassing.” CJV Senior Rabbinic Fellow Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer remarked, “these recriminations are

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USA