Noses buried in their smart phones, armies of Pokémon Go players are scouring neighborhoods in search of elusive cyber monsters lurking in real locations identified by the wildly popular game. Seeing a way to lure customers, some retailers are already using a paid feature in the game to attract… Read more »
News
Israelis create wave-propelled robot that swims, crawls and climbs
New Ben-Gurion University of the Negev robot has applications in medicine, homeland security and search and rescue BEER-SHEVA, Israel — The first single actuator wave-like robot (SAW) has been developed by engineers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The 3D-printed robot can move forward or backward in a… Read more »
Knesset committee recognizes Armenian genocide
Members of Knesset Zehava Galon (L) (Meretz) and Shuli Mualem (R) (Jewish Home) (Hillel Maier/ TPS)
Jerusalem (TPS) – The Education, Culture and Sports Committee decided to recognize the Armenian genocide on Monday at a meeting initiated by Meretz Chairwoman MK Zehava Galon. “It is our moral obligation to recognize the holocaust of the Armenian nation,” said the committee’s chairman and Shas MK Yaakov Margi.… Read more »
Netanyahu criticized across the board for quashing freedom of press in Israel
Israel Broadcasting Authority
Jerusalem (TPS) – The Israeli political spectrum lit up with debate after an extremely heated Knesset session about the new Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) on Sunday evening. Several public figures from inside and outside the government alleged that Prime Minister Netanyahu is harming freedom of press. Both left-wing and… Read more »
2016 Olympics: 7 Jewish American Olympians to watch in Rio
Aly Raisman competes in the floor exercise at the 2016 U.S. Women's Gymnastics Olympic Trials in San Jose, Calif., July 10, 2016. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(JTA) — There are athletes, and then there are Olympic athletes. And then there are Jewish Olympic athletes. When the 2016 Summer Olympics open Friday, we’ll of course be cheering the American athletes — all 555 of them — and we’ll be rooting for Israel, too, which this year is… Read more »
2016 Olympics: Israel’s largest-ever delegation is ready for Rio
Israeli gymast Neta Rivkin competes in the women's rhythmic gymnastics all-around individual final at the Baku 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, June 19, 2015, is one of Israel's best hopes to medal. (David Ramos/Getty Images for BEGOC)
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) – When the 2016 Olympic Games open here on Friday evening, Israel will proudly show off its largest delegation ever, with 47 athletes competing in 17 sports. Among them are golfer Laetitia Beck, the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor; Lonah Chemtai, a Kenyan-born marathoner, and Ron Darmon, the first triathlete to represent… Read more »
JFSA holds shoe drive for Sister Jose Women’s Center
The shoe collection bin at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona was overflowing last week.
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona has chosen the Sister Jose Women’s Center, a grassroots nonprofit serving homeless women in our community, as the focus for its 70th anniversary mitzvah project. Bruce and Jane Ash will lead a group of past Federation chairs, JCRC leaders and others on the… Read more »
Can this Israeli start-up help solve the United States’ gun safety problem?
"Zore" gun-lock cartridge (Hillel Maeir/TPS)
Jerusalem (TPS) – Jerusalem-based startup Zore has developed a unique lock for weapons that would prevent them from being used by any unauthorized personnel. The founders of the company have already raised almost half a million dollars and argue that the product is more efficient and user-friendly than traditional… Read more »
ANALYSIS On her big night, Hillary Clinton stresses Israel’s security, not the quest for peace
Hillary Clinton acknowledges the crowd during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, July 28, 2016. (Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)
It was Hillary Clinton’s night, but the Rev. William Barber II was the sleeper star. The self-described “theologically conservative, liberal, evangelical biblicist” drew repeated, enthusiastic applause –including when he described Jesus as a brown-skinned Palestinian Jew and declared that “when we love the Jewish child and the Palestinian child… Read more »
5 Jewish things to expect from Hillary Clinton tonight
Hillary Clinton arrives on stage during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 27, 2016. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — After Tim Kaine, Biden, Bloomberg, Bernie, Bill and both Obamas, it’s finally Hillary’s turn. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, will close out a Democratic National Convention centered on highlighting America’s diversity, touting her qualifications and bashing her Republican opponent, Donald Trump. Clinton’s address will be… Read more »
Q&A with author Yossi Shain: Why do Israeli politicians always seem to be under investigation?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the launch of a new innovation center at the Peres Center for Peace in Jaffa, July 21, 2016. (Yair Sagi/Flash90)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The Israeli prime minister is being investigated, and the media is atwitter. The probe is preliminary and no details have been released. But reports sayBenjamin Netanyahu is suspected of money laundering. His former chief of staff was interrogated recently and held under house arrest, reportedly in connection… Read more »
For Jews of Nice, terrorist attack comes as no surprise
A French flag flies at half mast at an empty beach on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice a day after a terrorist attack in the French city killed 84, July 15, 2016. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — To the millions of tourists who visit Nice annually, the city in southeast France is an ultimate holiday destination that offers inviting beaches and luxury casinos, stunning architecture and world-class museums. Sandwiched between the Maritime Alps and the Mediterranean Sea, Nice is France’s largest tourist destination after Paris, with 5 million… Read more »
Israel’s had success against ‘lone wolf’ terrorists — here’s how
Israeli soldiers check Palestinian IDs at the Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem, July 1, 2016. (Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — “Lone wolf” terrorism in Europe is making headlines around the world. But in Israel, the phenomenon of angry or troubled individuals taking up arms is old news. Since October, Israelis have endured a wave of violence that has been carried out largely by individual Palestinians without backing from terrorist… Read more »
Democrats scramble for a unique message that appeals to Jewish millennials
Shabbos Kestenbaum, 17, attending a breakfast for the Virginia delegation to the Democratic National Convention, July 26, 2016. (Ron Kampeas)
PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — Amanda Renteria, the national political director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, was running through the campaign’s messages for minorities and women: immigration for Hispanics, land use for Native Americans, various policies for defending children and women. She didn’t mention Jews in her briefing Tuesday morning for specialty media, and there’s… Read more »
Democrats seek unity on Israel, but cracks begin to show
Florida State Sen. Dwight Bullard, wearing a Palestinian kaffiyeh, or headscarf, said Palestinians should have the right to citizenship in Israel. He visited the West Bank and Israel in May as part of a delegation from the Black Lives Matter movement. (Ben Sales)
PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — The Democratic Party has spent the first couple days of its convention projecting unity on issues from fighting racism to fair trade. But fissures are showing here on one issue that Democrats have long been united on: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Their party, which has long commanded… Read more »
JFCS confirms new date for ethical wills workshop
Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona will hold a free ethical wills workshop for the Jewish community on Thursday, Aug. 11, from 1-3 p.m. at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging. Rabbi Stephanie Aaron of Congregation Chaverim will lead the workshop, which was originally scheduled for July.… Read more »
Bernie Sanders wants his delegates to back Clinton. They’re not listening.
Bernie Sanders supporters gathering at City Hall in downtown Philadelphia on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, July 25, 2016. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — Bernie Sanders’ delegates are going to raise hell on the floor of the Democratic National Convention, his own wishes be damned. “Change that’s worth a damn always comes from the bottom up, not from the top,” said Norman Solomon, coordinator of the Bernie Delegates Network, an… Read more »
How Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the ‘Jewish mother’ of Congress, rose and fell
Debbie Wasserman Schultz sitting for an interview at the Wynn Resorts Ltd. before the first Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, Oct. 13, 2015. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — When Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke Monday morning to the Florida delegation as the national Democratic convention got underway, some delegates cheered. Other delegates booed. The chaos at the Marriott Hotel here demonstrated the degree to which the Florida congresswoman, perhaps the party’s most prominent Jewish leader,… Read more »
This Lithuanian concentration camp is now a wedding venue
A boy playing soccer at the entrance to the former concentration camp known as the Seventh Fort in Kaunas, Lithuania, July 12, 2016. (Cnaan Liphshiz)
KAUNAS, Lithuania (JTA) — In this drab city 55 miles west of Vilnius, there are few heritage sites as mysterious and lovely looking as the Seventh Fort. This 18-acre red-brick bunker complex, which dates to 1882, features massive underground passages that connect its halls and chambers. Above ground, the… Read more »
ANALYSIS After playing anti-Semitism card against Trump, Wasserman Schultz sunk by aides’ anti-Bernie emails
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, speaking to a reporter before the Democratic Party debate in Manchester, N.H., Dec. 19, 2015. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Just last week, Debbie Wasserman Schultz was playing the anti-Semitism card against Donald Trump. But in a startling turnaround, on the eve of her own party’s convention, it’s the South Florida congresswoman who is out as chair of the Democratic National Committee — over a… Read more »



