Judaism

First women kashrut inspectors certified in Israel

JERUSALEM (Press Release) — Nine women have completed the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s exams to become kashrut inspectors, the newspaper ‘Haaretz‘ reports. The country’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau approved the move over the objections of some council members. Emunah, the Orthodox women’s movement, battled to end the ban on women, and called the move “an achievement of historic significance.” The rabbinate said […]

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

Corneulius Gurlitt, heir of Nazi art collector, dies

MUNICH, Germany (WJC) — Cornelius Gurlitt, a reclusive German collector whose long-secret hoard of well over 1,000 artworks triggered an international uproar over the fate of art looted by the Nazis, died on Monday aged 81. Gurlitt’s spokesman Stephan Holzinger said that the collector died at his apartment in Munich, where he had asked to

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International, Jewish History

Canadian student wins int’l Bible quiz

  By Anav Silverman JERUSALEM (TNA) –This year’s Intersnational Bible Quiz winner is Eitan Amos from Toronto, Canada. The 18-year-old, who lived in Karnei Shomron until he was 11, competed against 15 other finalists during this year’s International Bible Quiz traditionally held on Israel’s Independence Day.  Seventy-five contestants from 33 countries including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina,

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

Netanyahu explains making the ‘Jewish state’ a basic law

JERUSALEM (Press Release)– Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, May 4, began his weekly Cabinet meeting with an explanation of his call for anchoring in the country’s Basic Law a provision recognizing that Israel is a Jewish state.  Following is the text of his comments on this issue: “The State of Israel is a Jewish and democratic

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Jewish History, Middle East

Historian says Israel can remain Jewish and democratic

By Alex Traiman/JNS.org WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent controversial remark that Israel risks becoming “an apartheid state” in the absence of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict shined a spotlight on the perceived demographic threat to Israel—a threat that some experts say is not based on current reality. The

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Jewish History, Middle East

PM backs monument depicting Hungary as Nazi victim

  BUDAPEST (WJC) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has  told Jewish community leaders that he would build a controversial Nazi occupation monument despite their opposition. Orbán presented his firm position on Wednesday, April 30, during a meeting with leaders of Mazsihisz, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary, according to media reports. Mazsihisz believes

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International, Jewish History

KPBS honors Ed Samiljan, Camp Mountain Chai creator

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Amidst the towering, aromatic pines of the San Bernardino National Forest is Camp Mountain Chai. Like most summer camps, it offers typical activities such as swimming, crafts and sing-alongs. It’s an experience that each summer draws hundreds of San Diego children, and in the process, they’re getting something else: a

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Jewish History, San Diego County

‘A Shepherd’s Song’ analyzes Psalm 23’s metaphor

A Shepherd’s Song: Psalm 23 and the Shepherd Metaphor in Jewish Thought by Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel, Kodesh Press, New York, NY;  ISBN 978-0-61599-132-0 ©2014, $22.95, p. 360, plus Notes and Index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.   WINCHESTER, California — Psalm 23 is arguably the most well known of the one hundred fifty psalms. Its opening

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Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Israel’s enemies deny, lie about, or exploit the Shoah

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. -For Palestinians, suffering — and sympathy for suffering — is a zero-sum game. Sympathy used up on the Holocaust means less for Palestinians in the territories. Even among Palestinian groups, while thousands suffer and die in Syria — most heinously starved in the Yarmouk refugee camp — Israelis joined relief

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Jewish History, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen