By Anav Silverman JERUSALEM — Hamas government spokesman in Gaza, Ihab al-Ghussein, stated that Mahmoud Abbas was deceiving the Americans in public statements calling for peace with Israel. In a Facebook post on June 8, al-Ghussein wrote that the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is “tricking” the Americans. “When I go out and say that the […]
Hamas: Abbas doesn’t really want peace Read More »
Middle East
SUMMIT, New Jersey (Press Release)– “Palestinians must choose between peace with Israel as a Jewish state and a marriage with Hamas, a terrorist organization,” Senator Robert Menendez declared at the AJC New Jersey Region Annual Meeting. The “marriage will have severe consequences.” The agreement between the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas to
Menendez plans review of U.S. aid to Palestinians Read More »
Middle East, USAPope Francis, Peres, Abbas pray for peace in Vatican City (JNS.org) Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas joined Pope Francis to pray for peace in Vatican City on Sunday. “Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare,” Pope Francis said. “It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter
JNS news briefs: June 9, 2014 Read More »
International, Middle EastBy Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It looks like everyone is angry, but that is only the top layer. Only a bit deeper down, the status quo–including everybody else’s anger–looks pretty good from all the competing perspectives. Israelis are angry with Palestinians for creating an alliance with Hamas, and angry with Americans and Europeans for recognizing
Diving into the sub- surface of Middle Eastern politics Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
By Jeffrey F. Barken/JNS.org TEL AVIV (JNS) — Janet Tauro and Varda Kahanovich made a deal upon which their lives depend. Tauro, a foreign worker from Mumbai, provides Kahanovich, a 90-year-old Israeli woman living on Kibbutz Maagan Michael, warm and devoted care. In return, Kahanovich hopes to live a long and happy life, well beyond
Foreign caretakers for Israeli elderly quite common Read More »
Middle East, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — Because we are so crushingly interconnected, wired, opinionated, and free, our national tendency to bewail and even condemn ourselves sometimes weighs us down with self-flagellation and remorse and some sense that we are somehow finished as a civilization. Many folks transfer this national melancholy onto the shoulders of
Hey Americans, stop beating yourselves up! Read More »
USA
VATICAN CITY (VNS)–Pope Francis joined in prayer with Israel’s President Shimon Peres and the Palestine Authority’s Presidentg Mahmoud Abbas. Here, as provided by the Vatican, are the comments made by each of the leaders on Sunday June 8: Pope Francis — Distinguished Presidents, I greet you with immense joy and I wish to offer you,
The prayers of Pope Francis, Peres, Abbas Read More »
International, Middle East
By Maayan Jaffe/JNS.org Many questions surrounded the future of the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Hasidism after the death of its seventh and final leader—“the Rebbe,” Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson—on June 12, 1994. Schneerson had no children, and no successor was named. But 20 years later, Chabad is not only alive and well, but increasingly receiving the
Other movements emulating Chabad’s outreach Read More »
Jewish Religion
By Maayan Jaffe/JNS.org MASON, Ohio (JNS)–Age can be just a number. “Just because someone is older or has limitations does not mean that [he or she] cannot continue to be valuable and make a difference for others,” said Carol Silver Elliott, president and CEO of Cedar Village Retirement Community here. It was with this in
Jewish seniors joining tikkun olam projects Read More »
USASAN DIEGO (SDJW)– Trainer Art Sherman provided some insight into California Chrome’s 4th place finish in the Belmont Stakes, which disappointed fans who had hoped the wonder horse would win the Triple Crown of horseracing. After the race, Sherman found a cut on California Chrome’s right front foot and surmised in an interview with the
San Diego Jews in the News: June 8, 2014 Read More »
Jewish Religion, San Diego County
By Aryeh Savir JERUSALEM – Fawzi Ayoub, a Hezbollah terrorist who was imprisoned in Israel for an attempted terrorist attack in Jerusalem and was also on the FBI’s most wanted terrorist list, has met his death in Syria. The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) provides us with a glimpse in to
Terrorism information center tells of Fawzi Ayoub Read More »
International, Middle EastBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — In a post on this page almost two years ago, I noted that Lawrence Block, master storyteller with a sense of Yiddishkeit and gumshoe charm, has fans all over the world, mostly in North America, where his detective novels have done very well over the years. Block, who
Fiction’s Matthew Scudder coming to Big Screen Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Ask any procrastinator – and he or she will tell you that which should be done today is better done tomorrow – or, better yet, in a thousand years. For countless generations the congregants of the ancient Ben Ezra Synagogue of Cairo, Egypt, never got around to cleaning out
From the Jewish library: Genizah tales Read More »
Travel and FoodKIEV, Ukraine (Press Release) — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has welcomed the inauguration of Petro Poroshenko as the new President of Ukraine. “The successful democratic election on May 25th, and yesterday’s swearing in of President Poroshenko, herald a new era for Ukraine,” said AJC’s Sam Kliger, a specialist on the former Soviet Union, who
AJC hails Ukraine’s new president Read More »
International, USA