(JTA) — The presidents of Yeshiva University’s seven student councils have abstained from voting on whether or not to approve an LGBTQ club. The fate of the YU Alliance as an official campus organization will be left to the administration, The Commentator student newspaper reported. In a statement emailed… Read more »
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London borough’s City Council opposes plans to build national Holocaust memorial next to Parliament
(JTA) — A London borough’s City Council has voted unanimously to oppose a national Holocaust memorial in a park next to the Parliament building. The Westminster City Council said it is committed to building a national Holocaust memorial and education center and locating it near Parliament, just not in… Read more »
UC Berkeley student government votes down resolution condemning pro-Palestinian display
(JTA) — A student government committee at the University of California, Berkeley, voted down a resolution condemning a display by a pro-Palestinian student group. The Associated Students of the University of California Senate’s University and External Affairs Committee met on Monday night to discuss the resolution presented by a… Read more »
Polish Jewish museum director offers to step down to break stalemate with Culture Ministry
WARSAW, Poland (JTA) – The former director of the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews was chosen last year to return to the position he held for six years. But Dariuz Stola says he won’t take back the post due to a stalemate that his rehiring has… Read more »
UN publishes blacklist of companies operating in settlements
(JTA) — The United Nations published its list of companies doing business in settlements — what it calls “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” or the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released the list on Wednesday following delays to its… Read more »
Brooklyn Orthodox community gives nearly $50,000 to family of slain Jersey City cop
(JTA) — A crowdfunding campaign spearheaded by an Orthodox community in Brooklyn raised some $48,000 for the family of the police officer killed in the Jersey City attacks that also left three dead at a kosher market in the city. A check was presented Tuesday to the widow and… Read more »
Jussie Smollett indicted again over false reports of hate crime
(JTA) — Jussie Smollett, the “Empire” actor who had charges dropped last year for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack, has been indicted by a special prosecutor on the same charges. The special prosecutor, Dan Webb, said in a statement Tuesday that Smollett faces six felony… Read more »
White supremacists distributed more propaganda in 2019 but held fewer events, ADL says
(JTA) — One flyer reads “Holocaust = fake news.” Another says “America is not for sale.” And another: “Diversity destroys nations.” These are just a few of the 2,713 pieces of propaganda distributed in the United States by white supremacist groups in 2019, according to a report published Wednesday… Read more »
Trump briefs family members of Parkland victims on a new way to improve school safety
(JTA) — President Donald Trump briefed some family members of the victims of the school shooting in Parkland on a new tool to assist schools with safety practices. One father said he was not invited to participate. Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jamie, 14, was killed in the South Florida… Read more »
US government settles lawsuit brought by Jewish groups against refugee ban
(JTA) — The U.S. government must expedite the resettlement applications of over 300 refugees affected by the Trump administration’s 2017 ban as part of an agreement settling a lawsuit by Jewish groups and others. HIAS, the Jewish immigration advocacy group, had brought the suit on behalf of its partners,… Read more »
Abbas asks UN Security Council on Trump peace plan: ‘Who among you would accept a similar state?’
(JTA) — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s peace plan “or any part of this plan should not be considered as an international reference for negotiations.” “It leaves Palestine fragmented. It will end all basis for a peace plan,”… Read more »
German state launches investigation into police response to Halle synagogue attack
BERLIN (JTA) – A surveillance video of the Yom Kippur attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany, has raised questions about police response and readiness, leading to an investigation by the state government there. Concerns were triggered after German news organizations examined the synagogue’s security video. The state parliament… Read more »
Documentary filmmaker files federal lawsuit against Georgia’s anti-BDS law
(JTA) — A documentary filmmaker is suing the state of Georgia over its law against boycotting Israel, saying it violates the Constitution. Announcing her federal suit on Monday, Abby Martin said that after she refused to sign the required oath from the 2016 law pledging not to boycott Israel,… Read more »
Dozens of cars vandalized, racist graffiti painted on buildings in Arab town in northern Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Dozens of cars were vandalized and racist graffiti was painted on the wall of a mosque and other buildings in an Arab-Israeli town in northern Israel. Israeli news reports said as many as 170 cars had their tires slashed in Jish. The vandalism was discovered on… Read more »
Tel Aviv prof Vered Noam is first woman to receive Israel Prize in Talmudic Studies
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Vered Noam of Tel Aviv University has been awarded the Israel Prize in Talmudic Studies — the first time that a woman has received the award. Noam, current chair of the university’s Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology and a full professor in the… Read more »
Bet Shalom farm festival will celebrate desert garden, New Year for trees, family fun
The Midbar Project located at Congregation Bet Shalom will host a Tu B’Shevat Farm Festival on Sunday, Feb. 9. This festival will include the garden’s first plantings, painting the fence and chicken coop, clearing and pruning space for the mindfulness area, along with face-painting, music, PJ Library books, and… Read more »
JFSA seeks camp scholarship applications
The Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is accepting applications for scholarships to Jewish overnight summer camps for the summer of 2020. Funded by the Mo and Frances Beren Family Scholarship Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona and the Loebl Scholarship… Read more »
Mountain camp experience in April set to bond PJ Library families
PJ Library will partner with Camp Daisy and Harry Stein in Prescott, Arizona, for a family weekend getaway April 17-19. The first five families from Southern Arizona to register will get $100 off the event. “We are having family camp to give families the opportunity to spend the weekend… Read more »
‘Prostate Hoax’ topic at health seminar
Temple Emanu-El Men’s Club will hold a free health awareness seminar, “The Great Prostate Hoax,” with Richard J. Ablin, Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon.), on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 9:30 a.m. Ablin is a research scientist and educator who serves as president of the Robert Benjamin Ablin Foundation for Cancer Research.… Read more »
Fresh from visit home, teens to bring ‘spice’
Hello Friends, We have just returned from our vacation at home, in Israel. Our vacation was great, but it’s good to be back! We are excited to start again and see all of our friends. In this second half of our year in Tucson, we have so many fun… Read more »