BERLIN (JTA) — The confessed perpetrator in the attack in Norway that killed at least 76 people espoused a right-wing philosophy against Islam that also purports to be pro-Zionist. Anders Behring Breivik is charged with detonating a car bomb outside Oslo’s government headquarters, which houses the office of Norwegian… Read more »
News
Jerusalem tries to get its cultural groove on
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Amid the alleyways that zigzag through Jerusalem’s Nahlaot neighborhood, a nonprofit collective run by five young artists is trying to make art more accessible in a city known more for conflict than culture. The turquoise gate of Barbur Gallery opens onto a stone courtyard and garden… Read more »
Jewish leaders condemn, Argentine officials welcome Iranian offer
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — Jewish leaders are doubting the sincerity of an Iranian offer to help solve the Buenos Aires Jewish center bombing, while the Argentine government has welcomed the proposal. Following a ceremony Monday marking the 17th anniversary of the attack on the AMIA Jewish center, which… Read more »
Amid Murdoch scandal, Israel backers worry about muting of pro-Israel media voice
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Pro-Israel leaders in the United States, Britain and Australia are warily watching the unfolding of the phone-hacking scandal that is threatening to engulf the media empire of Rupert Murdoch, founder of News Corp. Murdoch’s sudden massive reversal of fortune — with 10 top former staffers and… Read more »
J Street, the book — expect more controversy
NEW YORK (JTA) — If there’s one thing J Street is good at, it’s getting attention. Supporters, critics and relatively neutral observers all have conspired — with plenty of prodding from J Street’s own aggressive communications operation — to shine an intense media spotlight on the self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace”… Read more »
In N.Y. and Houston, Jewish communities are struggling with tragedy
NEW YORK (JTA) — The two tragedies occurred 1,500 miles apart and in much different circumstances, but both united a community in shock, horror and grief. In New York, the abduction and gruesome murder last week of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky while walking home from summer day camp in Borough… Read more »
Chabad royal wedding in Moscow
MOSCOW (Tablet) — Blumi Lazar’s wedding was not an intimate affair. A thick white dek tichel completely covering her face, Blumi stood under a massive raised chuppah of indigo velvet and gold fringe, swaying ever so slightly next to her groom, Isaac Rosenfeld, before some 1,500 invited guests. Among… Read more »
Cottage cheese becomes symbol of Israeli frustration with rising food prices
TEL AVIV (JTA) — For Israelis, cottage cheese is no mere dairy product. Whipped to exceptional creamy and airy perfection, it is a coveted staple of tables across the country. Israelis spend $440 million per year on cottage cheese. But now, with the price of a 9-ounce container climbing… Read more »
Supreme Court to consider Jerusalem passport question, minister exception cases
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Among the issues the U.S. Supreme Court will consider when it reconvenes next October is whether an American born in Jerusalem may list his birthplace as Israel in his passport. That case probably will garner the most Jewish attention in a fall docket that includes several… Read more »
In helping Palestinians, IDF paramedics defy sterotypes
CARMEI TZUR, West Bank (JTA) — Yana Kisluk tosses her long ponytail over one shoulder and adjusts her M-16 over the other. The pretty 21-year-old, who wears diamond stud earrings and perfect eye makeup, looks like any other young Israeli doing her compulsory military service. As a paramedic in… Read more »
‘Never Better’ in Krakow?
KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) — Jews in Krakow have a new slogan — “Never Better.” The catchphrase is deliberately provocative, a blatant rejoinder to “Never Again,” the slogan long associated with Holocaust memory and the fight against anti-Semitic prejudice. It may be counterintuitive, acknowledges Jonathan Ornstein, the American-born director of… Read more »
Meet Australia’s Aborigine who is president of her Orthodox shul
SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — Lisa Jackson Pulver is not your average Australian Jew. Yes, she is one of this country’s 110,000 or so Members of the Tribe, but she is also a member of another tribe: an Aboriginal clan called the Wiradjuri. Jackson Pulver says she’s not the only… Read more »
With Beckers, Tucsonans see Israel from biblical perspective
Rabbi Israel Becker and his wife, Esther, who have led Congregation Chofetz Chayim since 1979, have visited Israel dozens of times and lived there for extended periods in the ’60s and ’70s. But until last month, the Beckers had never led a group of their fellow… Read more »
Delta Saudi flap leaves questions of openness to Jewish flyers
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Saudi government wants you to know: It doesn’t ban visits by Jews. Whether the Saudis make travel difficult for Jews, particularly when it comes to those who have Israel stamps on their passports or come carrying religious items like tefillin, is another question entirely. The… Read more »
CAI and COC team up for summer film series
Congregations Anshei Israel and Or Chadash will host a themed film series, “All God … And Only God,” Sundays, July 10 – August 7 at 7 p.m. at Congregation Anshei Israel. The series is free and will include complimentary popcorn and lemonade. A discussion with Rabbi Robert Eisen, Rabbi… Read more »
A provocateur to some, Michele Bachmann also offers Jewish voters common cause
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Michele Bachmann in a bathroom confronted by two lesbians and screaming for help, or Bachmann at the Western Wall surrounded by Jews and weeping with joy. Where your politics are likely will determine which incident involving Bachmann you’d highlight. But supporters of Bachmann, a presidential aspirant… Read more »
Member of two tribes: Aussie Aborigine is Orthodox shul president
SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — Lisa Jackson Pulver is not your average Australian Jew. Yes, she is one of this country’s 110,000 or so Members of the Tribe, but she is also a member of another tribe: an Aboriginal clan called the Wiradjuri. Jackson Pulver says she’s… Read more »
Jewish camps review safety measures in wake of Ramah tragedy
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — It’s the nightmare of every parent — and every teacher, youth leader and camp director. When a child dies in an accident while in someone else’s care, the agonizing questions begin: Could we have done anything different? Were all the proper procedures followed? And above… Read more »
Activists, Israeli Navy prepare for flotilla bound for Gaza
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Navy is preparing to intercept the pro-Palestinian flotilla due to set sail for the Gaza Strip from Mediterranean ports later this week. Commandos from the Israeli Navy’s elite Shayetet 13 unit have spent weeks preparing to stop the flotilla from reaching Gaza, including practicing new ways… Read more »
Five years on, Shalit’s imprisonment an open wound for Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Michal Naamani traveled to Jerusalem from her home near Kfar Saba to hand out yellow ribbons to passers-by and bumper stickers to motorists reading “Gilad is alive.” Naamani, a high school teacher, felt that she wanted to do something to help captive Israeli soldier Gilad… Read more »