Special Envoy Nominee Lipstadt Vows to Fight Antisemitism ‘Without Fear or Favor’

(JNS) The Biden administration’s nominee Deborah Lipstadt to lead the U.S. State Department’s office that monitors and combats antisemitism appeared in the Senate on Tuesday for her confirmation. Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Lipstadt made the case that antisemitism is on the rise. “Increasingly, Jews have been singled out for slander, violence and […]

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USA

US Hopes to Seal Israel-Lebanon Maritime Agreement

By Yaakov Lappin (JNS) In recent days, Lebanese President Michel Aoun told a U.N. envoy that his country is ready to return to indirect negotiations with Israel over the maritime border between the two countries. Days later, the U.S. envoy to the maritime negotiations, Amos Hochstein, began conducting shuttle diplomacy, involving meetings with Israel’s Energy

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Middle East, USA

‘Ripped Away’ Is a Jewish Tale of Time Travel

Here is a short time-travel novel suitable for Young Adults and older readers imagining two high school students who barely acknowledge each other being transported to Whitechapel, London, during the time of the Jack the Ripper murders.  Abe and Mitzi, who are both Jewish Americans, find themselves transformed into the 19th Century Asher and Maya, two Jewish teenage neighbors, born to impoverished immigrant families. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

2 Potential Successors to Palestinian President Named to Top Posts

Published by Reuters UK RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Two potential successors to 86-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were named on Monday to top posts in the Palestine Liberation Organization at a meeting boycotted by his Islamist rivals. Official Palestinian news agency WAFA said the PLO’s 141-member Central Council appointed Hussein Al-Sheikh, 61, an Abbas

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Middle East

US Warns of Extremism After Texas Synagogue Attack, Bomb Threats in Colleges

Published by Reuters By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) – The United States faces heightened threats from extremist groups domestic and foreign, underscored by last month’s hostage standoff crisis in a Texas synagogue and bomb threats at many historically Black colleges and universities, a U.S. government agency said on Monday. The warning comes after some schools across

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USA

Rep. Jacobs Leads Letter Calling for Special Envoy and New Strategy in the Sahel

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53), who is Jewish and whose district is in San Diego County, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-5) addressed a letter to President Joe Biden urging the Administration to devise a new strategy for the Sahel region and appoint a Special Envoy to the

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International, San Diego County, USA

Discussing the Secrets of Torah Numerology with Author Rabbi Aaron Raskin

By Menachem Posner Chabad.org/News BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Viewers of Chabad.org/Video and consumers of the website’s in-depth essays have long known and enjoyed the prolific scholarly output of Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin, Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to Downtown Brooklyn and rabbi of Congregation B’nai Avraham in Brooklyn Heights. The rabbi’s most recent work, Simanim: Parsha Mnemonics, provides a

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Jewish Religion, USA

Redefining ‘Religious’ With Yuval David

By Eric George Tauber CINCINNATI, Ohio — When most of us hear the term “religious,” we think of sheitels, shtreimels, and what we can’t do on Shabbos, which is why most of us aren’t “religious” or “that religious.” However, Yuval David, an actor, filmmaker, and activist, is reclaiming what it means to be “religious” as

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Eric George Tauber, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Moving Backwards

By Shoshana Bryen (JNS) U.S. Ambassador Thomas Nides spoke before the conference of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel this week. He was charming and reassuring, and stressed the bipartisan nature of American government support for Israel. “We have unbreakable ties, and we will reinforce them.” Unfortunately, he also took a large

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Middle East, Opinion, Shoshana Bryen, USA

StandWithUs Urges University of Chicago Administration to Condemn Discriminatory SJP Campaign

LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — The Israel education organization StandWithUs sent the following letter to University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer and Dean of Students Michele Rasmussen. * February 4, 2022 Robert J. Zimmer, Ph.D., President, The University of Chicago Michele Rasmussen, Ph.D., Dean of Students, The University of Chicago VIA EMAIL: president@uchicago.edu; mrasmussen@uchicago.edu

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Israel Virtually Drops COVID-19 Vaccine Passport Requirement

Published by DPA Israel has virtually dropped a rule requiring people to show documents to prove their vaccination status, despite record numbers of severely ill patients suffering from Covid-19. As of Monday, people will only have to prove they have been vaccinated or recovered by showing their “green passport” when attending major events such as

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Middle East

Satire: Republican Revisionism

By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO — The Republican National Committee censured Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for serving on the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol which the RNC considers “legitimate political discourse.”  Unbeknownst to the public, the RNC also appointed a historical committee to censure Republicans whose policies the

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Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Jewish Trivia Quiz: Jewish Music at the Olympics

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Jason Brown is a Jewish figure skater who will be representing the United States at the Beijing Olympic Games. He has won numerous events in the past, including 9 medals at Grand Prix international events, the 2015 United States National Championship, and a bronze medal in a team event

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Amnesty’s Report Assures Distortion on Israeli Arabs

By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — On February 1, Amnesty International, claiming to be a movement of 10 million people, published a report headlined, “Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity.” A couple of days before then, Israel managed to obtain a copy, and began a campaign that

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International, Ira Sharkansky, Middle East, Opinion