By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — It has been said that Jordan is the only Arab country in which Palestinians have “full citizenship.” That is less than a complete truth. As Secretary of State John Kerry pursues his plan for a “two state solution,” the insecurity of Palestinian legal status in Jordan is emerging. Israel’s […]
Why Jordanians want IDF at their boundary Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana Bryen
ATHENS (WJC) –The leftist Greek party Syriza dropped a controversial candidate for the post of regional governor of Western Macedonia after he had made headlines with anti-Semitic statements. Syriza announced that journalist Theodoros Karypidis would not be running on the party’s ticket. In a brief statement, the party’s secretariat revealed that Karypidis would no longer
Greek leftists drop Karypidis after Jewish protests Read More »
International
BUDAPEST (WJC)–Hungary’s main Jewish umbrella organization voted on Sunday to boycott official Holocaust commemorations this year unless the role of locals in the Nazi deportation and killing of Hungarian Jews is made clear. The Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz) decided to stay away from events marking the 70th anniversary of the deportation of
Hungarian Jews to boycott Holocaust observance Read More »
InternationalNetanyahu and Obama to meet in U.S. in March (JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House and deliver a speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual conference in Washington, DC, during his five-day U.S. visit in the first week of March. According to
JNS news briefs: February 10, 2014 Read More »
InternationalNEW YORK (Press Release)–AJC deplores the abominable treatment of gays in Nigeria. The harassment, imprisonment and torture of gays, sanctioned by a Nigerian law enacted last month, was the focus of a major front-page story in the New York Times of Sunday, Feb. 9. “Nigeria’s unforgiving attitude towards gays violates the most basic human rights
AJC deplores Nigeria’s mistreatment of gays Read More »
International, Travel and FoodNEW YORK (Press Release)–The visit to Spain this week of a delegation of top American Jewish leaders for high level meetings including with his majesty King Juan Carlos I, President of the Government Mariano Rajoy, The Ministers of Justice and Interior, The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and other top government leaders, will offer
Right of Spanish citizenship for Sephardic Jews Read More »
International
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM — As thousands of the Ultra-Orthodox community protested violently at various cities across Israel against a government bill that may bring to their draft into the IDF, 170 soldiers of the Ultra Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion were sworn in on Thursday, Feb. 6. Hundreds of family members from Jerusalem who
Haredi IDF unit enlists 170 new recruits Read More »
Middle East
By Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California –How was it that a bawdy, bulky, cowboy-caricature of a roughshod politician, a man with a foul mouth and oversized hands, a classic “good ol’ boy,” became the one who truly signed off on the civil rights legislation that Martin Luther King had dreamed about for so long? And
The saga of Lyndon Baines Johnson Read More »
USABy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM– The people of Israel of have survived worse than the threats currently being made by Palestinians, John Kerry and Thomas Friedman. The betting is that Israel and Palestine will agree to continue talking for another year, if only to avoid a frontal insult to the American administration. Kerry and Friedman do
Israel’s controversies to prompt incremental responses Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
PALM BEACH, Florida — Citing his inspirational leadership in promoting democratic values worldwide when faced with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 during one of the most dramatic and consequential periods in American history; his commitment to securing Israeli-Palestinian peace; and his establishment of the United States’ first Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat
George W. Bush receives ADL award Read More »
USALOS ANGELES (Press Release)–The AMCHA Initiative on Friday, Feb. 7, issued the following statement commending House Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Representative Dan Lipinkski (D-IL) for their bipartisan bill to make universities that fund groups boycotting Israeli academic institutions ineligible for federal funds. “Academic boycotts violate academic freedom and are antithetical to the
AMCHA praises anti-BDS efforts in Congress Read More »
USAPALM BEACH, Florida (Press Release) — On the eve of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) National Executive Committee passed a resolution on Friday, Feb. 7, condemning “in the strongest terms” Russia’s oppressive law against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. The resolution was unanimously
ADL resolution condemns Russia’s anti-gay laws Read More »
InternationalEditor’s Note: Noah Silverman, congressional affairs director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, on Friday, Feb. 7, 2014, sent out the following status report on proposed legislation to impose sanctions on Iran if the current nuclear negotiations are unsuccessful. By Noah Silverman WASHINGTON, D.C. — As you know, the RJC has been the most consistent voice
RJC: Obama pressure forces AIPAC reversal on Iran Read More »
International
NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (OU), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, praised the U.S. Senate for passing Senate Resolution 333 Thursday night, which strongly recommends the United States renegotiate the return of the Iraqi Jewish Archive to Iraq. The resolution was adopted unanimously, with 30
OU, others, welcome Senate vote on Jewish archives Read More »
International