French President Nicholas Sarkozy addressing guests at the CRIF dinner, Feb. 8, 2012. (Erez Lichtfeld courtesy of CRIF) PARIS (JTA) – Trailing in the polls and with elections just 10 weeks away, French President Nicolas Sarkozy went to one of his most reliable bases of support — French Jews — to drum up enthusiasm. On the morning of Feb. 8, Sarkozy met at Elysees Palace with released… Read more »
Protesters in the aftermath of deadly riots march in Cairo on Feb. 3, 2012. The increasing chaos in Egypt, including the recent arrest of U.S. democracy activists, has raised questions about it factors into U.S. and Israel security considerations in the region. (Gigi Ibrahim via CC) WASHINGTON (JTA) — The future of a key pillar of Israeli security could rest with the fate of a few dozen pro-democracy activists in Egypt. After Egyptian authorities filed charges on Feb. 6 against 43 American and other foreign pro-democracy activists who worked in the country, leading members of… Read more »
Sen. Lindsey Graham, shown attending Independence Day celebrations at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, in July 2011, has authored a resolution that would make an Iranian nuclear capability a "red line." (Courtesy U.S. Embassy, Kabul) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Is America’s red line on Iran moving? A new bipartisan resolution introduced Thursday on Capitol Hill is part of a growing effort to shift the longstanding U.S. red line from Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon to having the capability to build one. Such a shift would… Read more »
Evan Kaufmann, a U.S.-born hockey player whose great-grandparents were killed in the Holocaust, is now representing the German national team. (Courtesy Eishockey Magazin) WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (JTA) — More than 65 years ago, Evan Kaufmann’s great-grandparents were murdered in the Auschwitz death camp. Now he is taking the ice for the German national hockey team. Following a successful hockey career at the University of Minnesota, Kaufmann tried out for several professional clubs in… Read more »
Zidan Badran, mayor of the Israeli portion of the Arab town of Barta'a, stands on the seam that separates the Israeli part of town from its West Bank portion. (Linda Gradstein) BARTA’A, West Bank (JTA) — In these days of frozen peace negotiations, most Israelis and Palestinians have little contact. Palestinians need a special permit to enter Israel, and Israelis need army permission to enter the parts of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority. In fact, just a… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — What were the Jews doing becoming so involved in a debate over contraception? It was a question that more than one Jewish official asked themselves over recent months as tensions between the Obama administration and leaders of the Catholic Church rose to the boiling point over… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Iran and Israel appear to be locked in an assassination contest. Israeli leaders blamed Iran for two assassination attempts late Sunday and early Monday — in Tbilisi, Georgia, and in New Delhi, India. The bomb in Tbilisi was disabled before it could be activated, and the… Read more »
For the second year, the Tucson Jewish Community Library and the Weintraub Israel Center will present “Israel to Go,” a three-part series for people interested in traveling to Israel. The seminars will be held Feb. 15, March 29 and April 4 at 7 p.m. in the library, which is… Read more »
With four notable authors, including world-renowned “Clan of the Cave Bear” author Jean M. Auel and former University of Arizona President Peter Likins, the 16th Annual Brandeis National Committee, Tucson Chapter, Book & Author events promise to be a treat for readers. The Evening Soirée with authors Auel, Likins,… Read more »
Nancy K. Miller A Jewish uncle who was the first mayor of South Tucson, a family past discovered as an adult, ownership of unknown property in Israel — all this, and more, contribute to the story of Nancy K. Miller’s family. Miller, the author of “What They Saved: Pieces of a Jewish… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Northwest Division will present a talk by Laura Green, “When It Comes to Israel, Why is the World Silent?” on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Hilton El Conquistador in Oro Valley. Green is on the Utah board of the America-Israel… Read more »
Rachel Knox Rachel Knox will receive the 2012 Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, which honors an outstanding Jewish teenage girl, at the Women’s Philanthropy Connections brunch on Feb. 19. The award, which honors a late community leader, was created by the advisory council of Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »
Joe Pasternack (University of Arizona) University of Arizona basketball has a new Jewish assistant coach, Joe Pasternack. Pasternack, 34, came to the UA in May from the University of New Orleans, where he was head coach for four years. He’s friends with former UA assistant coach Josh Pastner, who is now head coach at… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will offer a Birthright Israel trip this June, with 20 spots available for local young professionals and graduate students, 22-26 years old. Birthright is a national nonprofit that sponsors men and women ages 18-26 to go on a free, educational 10-day tour of… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama meet at the United Nations in New York, Sept. 21, 2011. (Avi Ohayon/GPO/Flash90) It’s one of those coincidences too tempting to believe is a coincidence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is delivering a speech to AIPAC about what should happen next with Iran and likely meeting with President Obama to discuss Iran options on the same day that the International Atomic Energy… Read more »
Capitol Steps performer as Sarah Palin. (Capitol Steps) The Capitol Steps have sung about it all — from Bill Clinton’s sexcapades to George W. Bush’s language-shattering syntax. The Washington-based group will bring their equally-offensive-to-all musical satire to the University of Arizona’s Centennial Hall on Wednesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. The performance will benefit the UA Hillel… Read more »
Alan Dershowitz, right, speaking at the University of Pennsylvania in a bid to galvanize pro-Israel students there, Feb. 2, in light of the expected anti-Israel message expected at the BDS conference on the Penn campus. Political journalist Robert Traynham served as the moderator for the program. (Scott Weiner) (Jewish Exponent) — Did the National Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Conference at the University of Pennsylvania over the weekend backfire for organizers and illustrate the strength of the pro-Israel community on campus? Or did BDS speakers like Electronic Intifada co-founder Ali Abunimah reveal how much pro-Israel students need to… Read more »
Jerusalem – Just days after long-time Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiators Yitzhak Molcho and Saeb Erekat clashed yet again at a meeting in Jordan, thousands of young people from across the Middle East gathered together online for an event which set a new standard for mutual understanding and partnership. Conferences bringing… Read more »
Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinians' prime minister in the Gaza Strip, meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in the Bahraini capital of Manama, Feb. 4. (Flash 90) JERUSALEM (JTA) — Is Hamas trying to change its stripes? Terrorist attacks against Israelis appear to be on pause, and rocket fire from Gaza is down significantly. The Hamas leader in Damascus, Khaled Meshaal, is trying to distance himself from the Assad regime and align Hamas with the forces… Read more »
(Jewish Ideas Daily) — News flash: Top-secret intelligence memos written during the last years of the Bush administration describe covert activities — in intelligence parlance, a “false flag” operation — by Israeli Mossad officers, posing as American CIA agents, who recruited assassins from Jundallah, an obscure Pakistan-based Sunni Muslim… Read more »
