NEW DELHI (AJC)–Indian soldier and statesman Lt. Gen. (ret.) J.F.R. Jacob, 92, died Wednesday, Jan. 13, in New Delhi. He was for decades the most prominent member of his country’s Jewish community, whose remarkable life included service in World War II in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and command of India’s Eastern Army during […]
J.F.R. Jacob, India’s soldier – statesman Read More »
International, Obituaries & memorialsBy Kenneth Bandler NEW YORK– An AJC leadership delegation has concluded visits to Lithuania and Estonia. The seven-member group, led by AJC Chief Executive Officer David Harris and including lay and staff leaders, had meetings with Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaitė, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius, and Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius. The delegation also met with U.S.
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International, USAMarseille Jewish leader: avoid wearing kippah due to terror threats (JNS.org) The head of the Jewish community in the southern French city of Marseille has urged local Jews to avoid wearing a kippah in public, a day after an attack on a Jewish teacher by an Islamic State-inspired Muslim. “Not wearing the kippah can save
European & U.S. Jewish news: January 13, 2016 Read More »
International, USANazi graffiti spray-painted on historic Tel Aviv synagogue (Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli police launched an investigation after a Tel Aviv synagogue’s wall was spray-painted with anti-Semitic graffiti on Tuesday. The Chelouche Synagogue, which is part of a historic landmark in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood, has served as a prayer facility since the time
Middle East Roundup: January 13, 2016 Read More »
Middle EastWASHINGTON, D.C. (SDJW)–Following is the text of President Obama’s final State of the Union message as released by the White House. It was delivered on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, before a Joint Session of Congress: By President Barack Obama Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans: Tonight marks the eighth year
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USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — In one of the episodes of the TV drama, Homeland, a CIA operative reports to a meeting of senior officers about his experience in Syria. The discussion proceeds something like this. There are too many militias to count, and more than a few considered important. The US has no strategy guiding
Can radical Islam be defeated or moderated? Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USAIsraeli justice minister slams U.S. intervention in ‘internal legislation’ (JNS.org) Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked criticized the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv’s statements voicing concern over Israel’s recently proposed NGO transparency bill, saying the Obama administration is interfering with internal Israeli legislation. The U.S. Embassy released two statements on Monday outlining U.S. Ambassador to Israel
Middle East Roundup: January 12, 2016 Read More »
Middle EastBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Obama administration appears surprised by the sudden eruption of Saudi-Iranian hostility after the Saudi government executed Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and the Iranians responded by organizing/sponsoring/approving an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. Both sides have walked the rhetoric back just a bit in the last day
U.S. fails to understand Iran – Saudi rivalry Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, USACAMERA rebuts LA Times op-ed that urged boycott of Israeli education system (JNS.org) The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) has rebutted an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times that made claims of inherent racism toward Palestinians in Israel’s educational system. The op-ed by comparative literature professor Saree Makdisi—titled “Why
Middle East Roundup: January 11, 2016 Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–Even those who don’t take much interest in Jewish thought probably know of the late Emil Fackenheim’s 11th (or 614th) commandment that all Jews must observe: to survive and not give Hitler a posthumous history. The State of Israel was for him the best, perhaps the only, guarantor of Jewish survival.
Jews must cry with one eye, laugh with the other Read More »
International, Middle EastBy Kenneth Bandler NEW YORK — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) on Sunday, Jan. 10, condemned the desecration of the Catholic cemetery in Beit Jamal (near Beit Shemesh), Israel. In another action, the AJC welcomed the rejection by the American Historical Association of an anti-Israel resolution. Concerning the desecration of the cemetery, in which dozens of
AJC condemns cemetery vandalism; hails AHA vote Read More »
Middle East, USA
By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — As the motto of this website intones, “there’s a Jewish story everywhere,” and I found a good one in Morocco. It’s about a Moroccan Jew named Raphael Elmaleh and a Scottish expat living in Morocco named George Ricketts. They two men teamed up to write a guide
How a Jewish guide book of Morocco came to be Read More »
International, Middle East, Travel and FoodBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It’s hard to find a more emotional issue roiling our American friends than guns and what’s associated with them. Who can have one or lots of them, what the Constitution guarantees, how much damage they produce, and what benefits they offer. A close cousin to gun control are issues of
Gun control in Israel and the U.S. Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, USA
By Rabbi Jeffrey Lipschultz ROCK ISLAND, Illinois — One of the tough rituals I have done for the last twelve years is to go to Phoenix to visit my brother’s grave every January 3rd, the day he died in his tragic accident. This year, right before heading to the airport on January 3rd, I stopped by again
Speaking for your brother Read More »
Jewish Religion, USA