Jewish Democrats welcome Meeks’ appt. as chair of Foreign Affairs Cmte.

WASHINGTON – Jewish Democrats congratulated Gregory Meeks of New York on Thursday after being elected as the next chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Meeks will replace Eliot Engel, a staunch supporter of Israel, who lost his primary reelection bid and will not serve in the next Congress.“I congratulate my dear friend Greg Meeks

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Middle East, USA

Jimmy Carter joins other ex-presidents encouraging COVID vaccine use

ATLANTA — A day after America witnessed its worst day in coronavirus-related deaths, Jimmy Carter joined three other living former presidents Thursday in encouraging Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccination shot as soon as it becomes available. In a statement, Carter said that he and his wife, Rosalynn, “are in full support of COVID-19 vaccine

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USA

Martin Schram: GOP leaders — don’t wait ’til the morning after!

Attention, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and all the Republican leaders who are your followers: You have maintained your craven silence as President Donald Trump has sabotaged our democracy and is now inciting his cult followers in ways that are endangering patriotic public officials and their families. So today we must ask you: What will

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USA

Biden’s DHS pick reveals immigration vision during virtual summit

Alejandro Mayorkas — President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security — gave the public a first glimpse Thursday of how he’ll approach his new post overseeing the country’s “broken immigration system.” His public comments via Zoom during a virtual bipartisan immigration summit held by the American Business Immigration Coalition, a

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International, USA

Bahrain to allow occupied West Bank goods to be labeled as ‘Made in Israel’

Goods coming to Bahrain from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights will be labeled as “Made in Israel”, the country’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al-Zayani said on Thursday. “Without going into details and border lines, Israeli products or services… will be treated like Israeli,” Al-Zayani said according

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Middle East

How to fight Holocaust denial in social media – with the evidence of what really happened

Holocaust survivor Shalom Stamberg holds a book with a photo of himself in Auschwitz, alongside a copy of his concentration camp record. AP Photo/Ariel Schalit One in four American millennials believe the Holocaust was exaggerated or entirely made up, according to a recent national survey that sought to find out what young adults know about

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International, Jewish History, USA

Facebook changing ‘race-blind’ hate speech policy

San Francisco (AFP) – Facebook on Thursday said it is revising its systems to prioritize blocking slurs against Black people, gays and other groups historically targeted by vitriol, no longer automatically filtering out barbs aimed broadly at whites, men or Americans. The change in Facebook’s algorithm is a shift from the social network’s ethnicity and

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USA

Free Exercise of Religion vs. Promoting the General Welfare

It all comes down to “promote the general welfare” vs. “the free exercise…of religion.”

On Nov. 8,  Satmar Grand Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum more than freely exercised his religious traditions by hosting a family wedding in Brooklyn reportedly attended by 7,000 guests at a time when coronavirus cases persisted at high levels of infection. On Nov. 23. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio promoted the general welfare by socking the organizers with a laughable $15,000 fine. On Nov. 26,  our dysfunctional Supreme Court stamped a final judgment on a synagogue attendance case – rooted in Brooklyn – prioritizing “the free exercise…of religion” over “the general welfare.” [Bruce S. Ticcker]

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Bruce Ticker, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, USA

316 Ethiopian Jews Arrive in Israel to Official Welcome

Three hundred sixteen olim (immigrants) arrived in Israel Thursday morning from Ethiopia, with another 100 landing tomorrow, as part one of “Operation Zur Israel.” The operation follows the Government of Israel’s decision in October of this year to approve the Aliyah (immigration) of 2,000 members of the Ethiopian community, many of whom have been waiting for decades to move to Israel and reunite with their families. Minister of Aliyah and Integration Pnina Tamano-Shata and Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel Isaac Herzog, along with the Ministry of Interior, are overseeing the operation. [Jewish Agency for Israel]

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International, Middle East

Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, ‘modernist’ French president, dies at 94

France’s former president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who brought about rapid social change and was a leading force in founding the European Union, died Wednesday at the age of 94 from complications linked to Covid-19, his family said. Giscard d’Estaing “died on Wednesday 02/12/20 in his family home in the Loir-et-Cher”, his foundation said on Twitter.

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International

Czech Republic to open ‘diplomatic office’ in Jerusalem

The Czech Republic plans to boost the status of its mission in Jerusalem without moving its embassy, Prague announced on Wednesday.The Czech Foreign Ministry said the new office will be part of “efforts to further strengthen Czech-Israeli relations,” but emphasized that “this is not about opening a new embassy.”The diplomatic office is slated to be

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International, Middle East