International

Orthodox Union joins suit to protect parsonages

NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America – the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization – has joined with other religious organizations in filing a ‘friend of the court’ brief that defends a longstanding tax exemption for housing costs for rabbis, pastors, and other clergy in the face of a lower court ruling finding the allowance unconstitutional. The legal brief, authored by law professor […]

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Jewish Religion, USA

Deja Vu in Europe

By Steve Kramer KFAR SAVA, Israel — “Will Europe’s Jews stop wearing kippahs [skullcaps]? Most already have,” was the lead article in the Times of Israel internet newspaper on April 26. (timesofisrael.com) Unfortunately, it’s not hard to believe the above statement.  Times have certainly changed since the 1950s, when as a youngster I first learned about

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International, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

U.S., Israel defense chiefs meet

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) –Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Dana W. White provided the following readout: Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met today with Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman to discuss mutual security issues, including Iranian malign influence and destabilizing affects in the region.Secretary Mattis and Minister Lieberman reaffirmed their commitment to the U.S. –

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Middle East, USA

JREC opposes proposed Israeli law on conversion

NEW YORK (Press Release) –The Jewish Religious Equality Coalition (J-REC), a wall-to-wall coalition of Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist communal leaders and organizations, strongly opposes the proposed conversion bill currently under consideration by the Israeli government. J-REC has long believed that the unofficial monopoly enjoyed by the Chief Rabbinate on matters of personal status,

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Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA

Congress reacts to report of European anti- Semitism

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — Representatives Peter Roskam (R-IL), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Kay Granger (R-TX), and Marc Veasey (D-TX), the co-Chairs of the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, issued the following joint statement on a recent report by the Kantor Center for the

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

Nine teens die in flash flood near Arava Junction

  ARAVA JUNCTION, Israel (Press Release)–Nine teenagers, eight of them girls, were drowned in a flash flood near Arava Junction in Israel’s Negev Desert.  Another two youths were lightly injured, and evacuated to Saroka Hospital in Beer-Sheva. Thirteen were unharmed and one girl was missing, according to Magen David Adam. Eitan Shlomo, an emergency medical

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Middle East

House measure restricts drones in emergency areas

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – The House  on Thursday passed an amendment authored by Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) to protect emergency responders from illegal drone use during disasters. Davis’s amendment directs the federal government to work with state and local entities to educate the public about the dangers of flying unmanned aircraft into areas

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USA

AJC welcomes Pompeo as Secretary of State

NEW YORK (Press Release) — The American Jewish Committee (AJC),  the global Jewish advocacy organization, congratulated Mike Pompeo on his swearing-in as Secretary of State today. The letter from AJC  CEO David Harris to Secretary Pompeo follows: As longtime admirers and supporters of the State Department’s defense of American interests and values across the globe,

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International, Middle East, USA

U.S. must re-engage in Syria

By Alon Ben-Meir NEW YORK — President Trump’s characterization of the US attack on specific Syrian chemical storage and research facilities as “mission accomplished” is technically accurate, as the intended targets were in fact destroyed. But declaring mission accomplished in the context of the continuing unfolding tragedy being inflicted on the Syrian people is cynical

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Alon Ben-Meir, International, Middle East, USA

Labour party tries to separate Jews from Zionism

By Barry Shaw NETANYA, Israel — Britain’s Jewish leadership met with Jeremy Corbyn, the man who is leading a Labour Party that is drenched in unbridled anti-Semitism, on April 24th and came away “disappointed,” calling the two hour meeting a “missed opportunity.” Their requests were straightforward. They wanted a fixed timetable to deal with the numerous anti-Semitism cases within the

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Barry Shaw, International, Middle East

NYU, GWU student actions decried by SWU

LOS ANGELES (Press Release)–StandWithUs, an Israeli advocacy group headquartered here, is protesting actions at New York University and George Washington University, respectively in New York and Washington, as both anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. Fifty-one NYU student organizations on April 9 co-signed a joint statement pledging to boycott Israeli goods, Israeli academic institutions and conferences, and numerous pro-Israel outside

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

HIAS chief hopes Supeme Court will end Muslim ban

SILVER SPRING, Maryland (Press Release)—The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Trump v. Hawaii, the case challenging the most recent iteration of the administration’s travel ban. The September 2017 executive order restricts the entry into the United States for nationals of a specific list of mostly Muslim-majority countries. While HIAS is not a

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International, USA