By Rabbi Ben Kamin BERLIN, Germany—Not lost upon me is the irony of commemorating Martin Luther King Day while visiting here in the one-time capital of the Third Reich. My daughter Sari is posted here for a work assignment; I have come over during a sojourn in Israel. Dr. King would be pleased with this […]
MLK was a man, not a postage stamp Read More »
International, USABy Barry Shaw NETANYA, Israel — Recent incidents highlighted the dangerously failed European left-wing politics that has draped itself in the false cloak of morality and judgment. Israel has been hit by over a thousand terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinian Arabs in a four month period. With knifing, car ramming, fire bombing, rock throwing and
Sweden’s leftist government inviting terror Read More »
Barry Shaw, International, Middle EastBy Sheryl Rowling SAN DIEGO — The stock market is going crazy. When it bumps up, we’re all happy. When it drops, especially more than one day in a row, we panic. We can’t control the market; all we can do is react – or not. Rather than act rashly, let’s take a look of
Even if stock market is crazy, you don’t have to be Read More »
Sheryl Rowling, USABy Richard L. Cravatts, PhD BOSTON — Winston Churchill could have been observing the sorry state of academic free speech today when he observed that “Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they
Open Hillel seeks to install enemies in the tent Read More »
Middle East, Richard L. Cravatts, USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — BDS has some traction among academics, performers, trade unions, churches, and retailers, but it has also generated opposition in all of those fields. If it has had any tangible economic impact, it is more likely against Palestinians dependent on employment with Israeli firms located in the West Bank, and in lowering
Why the BDS campaign is ludicrous Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
JERUSALEM (WJC) — Benjamin Netanyahu lashed back at Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, saying her call to investigate whether recent killings of Palestinian attackers by Israel were “extrajudicial” was “outrageous”, “immoral” and “stupid”. The Israeli prime minister, who also holds the post of foreign minister, said at the Government Press Office’s annual toast for members of the foreign media in Israel: “It
Netanyahu blasts Swedish foreign minister Read More »
International, Middle EastNetanyahu writes final letters of Torah scroll in memory of soldiers (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday wrote the final letters of a Torah scroll dedicated to Israel’s fallen soldiers. The scroll was one of 73 scrolls donated in August and showcased at the Western Wall before being sent to
Middle East Roundup: January 15, 2016 Read More »
Middle EastBy Joe Spier CALGARY, Alberta, Canada — In the Spring of 1991, my wife and I, touring Israel, together with a small group of Calgarians, found ourselves in a caravan camp on the outskirts of Mazkeret Batya, our sister city. There we encountered the most remarkable sight; Jews who before their very recent arrival in Israel
The amazing saga of Operation Solomon Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle EastBy Rabbi Ben Kamin GAN YAVNEH, Israel—I wiped away a tear as my El Al jumbo jet floated in the sky above the blue Mediterranean and then gracefully tipped its wings over the Tel Aviv skyscrapers and the nearby groves and meadows of my birth-land. Below, in the sands and the sea foam, was the
An emotional return to his birthplace Israel Read More »
Middle East
By Eitan Arom/JNS.org NEW YORK — Conservative Judaism has always had something akin to middle-child syndrome: squeezed on both sides by the Orthodox and Reform movements. But lately, its identity crisis has become acute. This week, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ)—an umbrella body that represents Conservative congregations across North America—is set to receive
The remaking of Cons. Judaism Read More »
Jewish Religion, USA
By Michael Freund PALERMO, Italy — Something extraordinary is happening in Palermo, the capital of Sicily. More than five centuries after the forced conversion to Catholicism of large numbers of Sicilian Jews, followed by the expulsion of the rest, a nascent rebirth is well underway, as growing numbers of Sicily’s Bnei Anousim (whom historians refer
Jewish life reborn in Sicily Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM–Police state? Not quite. But it’s best to behave yourself hereabouts. A while ago the stories were about Shin Bet interrogators who had tortured Jewish youths accused of burning an Arab home in the West Bank, killing three members of a family, and other crimes. Relatives and other supporters of the accused
Police must strike delicate balance in Israel Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle EastIsraeli Foreign Ministry’s ex-director slammed over push for pressure on Israel (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Former Israeli Foreign Ministry director general Alon Liel was slammed over his push for international institutions—including the United Nations and FIFA (world soccer’s governing body)—to put more pressure on Israel. “Alon Liel served for many years in senior roles in
Middle East Roundup: January 14, 2016 Read More »
Middle EastBy Barry Shaw NETANYA, Israel — In January, 2016, a group of emergency relief experts from Indonesia joined their counterparts from India and Sri Lanka in a six day disaster and emergency education seminar in Israel This is part of a major new initiative between the Jewish state and Muslim-majority states outside the Middle East. Organized
Israel’s high- tech success trumps political barriers Read More »
Barry Shaw, International, Middle East