U.S. Treasury Department freezes assets of Iraqi insurgent group

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Tuesday designated the Iraq-based insurgent group Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi (JRTN) for threatening the peace and stabilization efforts in Iraq. JRTN has committed, directed, supported, or posed a significant risk of committing acts of violence against Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces and was […]

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USA

Reform movement expresses mixed reactions over Health Care bill

WASHINGTON, D.C., (Press Release)– In response to the Senate’s early morning procedural vote on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Mark Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement: We are pleased to see the Senate’s vote to move forward with crucial health insurance reform legislation that

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USA

Wyden calls for action to shut off flow of money from Saudi Arabia and other countries to Taliban

 WASHINGTON, D.C (Press Release)–As the United States prepares to ramp up troop levels in Afghanistan and bring that war to a close, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat, Oregon) called on Richard C. Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, to turn attention to the illicit funding streams that are propping up the Taliban’s ability to

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Travel and Food

Shonda file: Spinka Rebbe Naftali Tzi Weisz sentenced to two years in prison for tax evasion

LOS ANGELES (Press Release)– The Grand Rabbi of Spinka, a religious group within Orthodox Judaism, was sentenced Monday morning to two years in federal prison for orchestrating a tax evasion scheme that prosecutors called “an astonishingly complex and sinister enterprise.” Grand Rabbi Naftali Tzi Weisz, 61, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty last summer to a

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Middle East, USA

Jimmy Carter says an 'Al Het' if any of his words stigmatized Israel

ATLANTA (WJC)–Former US President Jimmy Carter has asked the Jewish community for forgiveness for any offense he may have caused when criticizing Israel. In a letter release by the news agency JTA, Carter sent season’s greeting and wished peace between Israel and its neighbors. He concluded: “We must recognize Israel’s achievements under difficult circumstances, even

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Middle East, USA

Auschwitz sign thieves apolitical, may have been commissioned by collector

KRAKOW, Poland (WJC)–Polish police have interrogated the five professional thieves who stole the infamous ‘Arbeit macht frei’ sign from the entrance of the former Nazi death camp in Auschwitz. According to rumors, a foreign collector might have commissioned the gang to steal the wrought-iron sign which was recovered 72 hours after being stolen from the

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Travel and Food

WJC provides background on its doubts about Pius XII sainthood

VATICAN CITY (WJC)–Pope Benedict XVI has moved his controversial war-time predecessor, Pius XII, a step closer to sainthood, declaring that Pius had displayed “heroic virtues” throughout his life and thus been a Christian worthy of imitation. Pius was one of 17 people approved by Benedict on Saturday in a list that also includes Pope John

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Middle East

This Jewish single dad wonders what to do on Christmas Eve

By Gary Rotto SAN DIEGO-I did my neighborly duty and helped my neighbors celebrate Christmas on Sunday night.  For our immediate neighborhood, we have an annual “Holiday Lights” judging party, in which families get together for an hour, roam the neighborhood together and judge the light displays.  Yes, holiday lights as several neighbors tried to

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Travel and Food

ZOA reports poll finds Americans favoring military action to stop Iran's nuclear program

 NEW YORK (Press Release)–A new poll has revealed that 61% of Americans support the United States coming to the military defense of Israel if it strikes Iranian nuclear facilities and Iran retaliates. The December Survey of The Israel Project, carried out during December 14-16, also found that 51% of Americans favor military strikes by the

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Middle East, USA

Two recipes from the Israeli shlicha at United Jewish Federation

SAN DIEGO — Shoshi Bogoch, the new Israeli emissary or shlicha assigned to the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County submitted some recipes reflecting her mixed Ashkenazic-Sephardic background to A Taste of Hebrew Day School recipe book now on sale for $18. One recipe,  which might have been made by the German Jewish side

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Travel and Food

Climate Change Summit long on rhetoric, short on action

By Gary Rotto SAN DIEGO–The Guardian of Great Britain called the recently completed Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, “the biggest environmental meeting in history.”  But the final result is an agreement that calls for monitoring emissions but neither sets a target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and no deadline for reaching a formal international climate treaty. 

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Middle East, USA