Breaking News

Romney To Meet In Boston With Jewish Donors

Adam Dickter — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:55:22 +0000

Breaking News

JTA

Mitt Romney is meeting with about 30 major Jewish donors to his presidential campaign as part of a "constituents day."

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and all-but-certain Republican nominee for president, will meet for about an hour with the donors in Boston on Thursday.

A donor who was invited told JTA that the purpose of the meeting would be an exchange of views.

There would be other meetings the same day with other constituent groups, the donor said, confirming reports of the meeting from a number of Jewish community officials.

Barack Obama Iran nuclear program Massachusetts Mitt Romney

U.S. Jewish Groups Condemn Anti-African Violence In Tel Aviv

Adam Dickter — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:52:00 +0000

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JTA

Jewish groups called on Israel to protect African migrants in Israel after riots in Tel Aviv.

Africa Gaza Israel Jerusalem JFNA Rabbi Steve Gutow RAC RCA tel aviv

Scattered Clashes As 30,000 Mark Jerusalem Day With Flag Dance

Adam Dickter — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:39:34 +0000

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JTA

At least 30,000 people participated in the Jerusalem Day parade known as the Dance of the Flags, which led to some clashes between marchers and counter-protesters.

The route went in part through eastern Jerusalem before entering the Old City of Jerusalem through the Damascus and Jaffa gates and ending at the Western Wall, where participants sang and danced.

Hundreds of police and security personnel were deployed throughout the city for Sunday's Jerusalem Day festivities.

Benjamin Netanyahu Damascus Gate Flag Dance Gush Etzion Jaffa Gate Jerusalem Day Temple Mount

Haredim Pack Citi Field As Rabbis Decry 'Impure' Internet

Adam Dickter — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:19:37 +0000

Breaking News

JTA

The sellout crowd that filled the New York Mets’ Citi Field on Sunday night wore black and white, not the Mets’ blue and orange.

And instead of jeering the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves, they faced a foe that was, to hear them talk about it, far more formidable: the World Wide Web.

"The internet even with a filter is a minefield of immorality," said Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman, a haredi lecturer. "This issue is the test of the generation. Your strength at this gathering will determine what Judaism will look like a few years from now."

asifah Atlanta Braves City Field Footsteps heredi Ichud HaKehillos Mets World Wide Web Yechiel Meir Katz Yitzchak Weinberger

House Rejects Containment Of Iran Nuke Without Authorizing Force

Adam Dickter — Sun, 20 May 2012 03:40:35 +0000

Breaking News

JTA

An overwhelming majority in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution rejecting containment of Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, but a sponsor made clear that the bill did not authorize use of force.

The nonbinding resolution, which also says it is in the U.S. "vital interest" to keep Iran from achieving a nuclear capability, passed 401-11 on Thursday. A similar resolution is under consideration in the Senate.

The language it embraces is in line with "red lines" Israel has suggested could trigger a military attack.

Harry Reid House of Representatives Iran nuclear program Mitch McConnell

U.S. And Israel Agree On Immigration Fast Track

Adam Dickter — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:08:11 +0000

Breaking News

JTA

The United States and Israel are set to add Israelis to a fast-track immigration system.

Yediot Ahronoth reported Thursday that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman have agreed to add Israel to the “Global Entry” program, which was negotiated during a recent trip of Homeland Security officials to Israel.

For a $100 fee, frequent business travelers undergo a thorough security clearance. Once cleared, they enter the United States through a biometric fingerprint check, skipping passport checks.

Avigdor Lieberman Global Entry immigration Israel

Hynes Considering Expert Panel To Deal With Witness Intimidation By Rabbis

Adam Dickter — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:11:00 +0000

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Hella Winston

Special To The Jewish Week

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes is apparently considering convening “a law enforcement expert committee to think about an approach” to the problem of witness intimidation in ultra-Orthodox sex abuse cases, The Jewish Week has learned.

Andrew Cuomo Charles J. Hynes Ed Och Orthodox Jews sex abuse

JCPA Statement Looks AT Benefits And Drawbacks Of Fracking

Adam Dickter — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:58:00 +0000

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JTA

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs announced its qualified support for "fracking," a technique used to extract underground deposits of natural gas.

The JCPA statement issued Tuesday noted that last week's annual plenum of the consensus-driven public policy umbrella approved a resolution highlighting the potential benefits and drawbacks of the process known as “hydrofracking,” which extracts “vast amounts of natural gas from previously inaccessible underground deposits.”

fracking hydrofracking JCPA Jewish Council for Public Affairs Steve Gutow

IOC Rejects Moment Of Silence For Israeli Athletes This Summer

Adam Dickter — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:45:45 +0000

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JTA

The International Olympic Committee officially rejected a request to hold a moment of silence for the Munich 11 at the London Olympics this summer.

Andrei Engel David Harris Eliot Engel International Olympic Commitee Israeli athletes Munich Olympics Nita Lowey

Judge Denies Katzav New Hearing On Rape Sentence

Adam Dickter — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:07:33 +0000

Breaking News

JTA

An Israeli Supreme Court justice denied a new hearing for former President Moshe Katsav to request a reduction in his seven-year prison sentence for a rape conviction.

Supreme Court Justice Esther Hayut on Sunday denied the motion for a new hearing, meaning that the only possibility that Katsav has for a reduction of his sentence is through presidential pardon.

Esther Kayut Moshe Katzav rape trial Shimon Peres

Mandy Patinkin Backs Actor Boycott Of Settlements During Israel Trip

Adam Dickter — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:59:00 +0000

Breaking News

JTA

"Homeland" star Mandy Patinkin expressed solidarity with Israeli actors who refuse to perform in West Bank settlements.

Patinkin, who is in Israel to film the second season of the award-winning Showtime drama "Homeland," spent part of last week touring the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem with the organization Peace Now. He spoke at a Peace Now conference last Friday attended by about 700 participants.

Americans for Peace Now Ariel Cultural Center Hebron Homeland, Mandy Patkinkin Showtime West Bank

Social Protests Return In Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

Adam Dickter — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:15:20 +0000

Breaking News

Social protest rallies were held in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and three other Israeli cities.

The Saturday night rallies, held also in Haifa, Kiryat Shemona and Pardes Hana, were called the beginning of nationwide social justice protests such as those that took place across Israel last summer.

Several thousand Israelis protested in Tel Aviv, with demonstrators marching from poorer southern neighborhoods to Rabin Square. At least nine demonstrators were arrested.

Hundreds marched in Jerusalem toward the Prime Minister's Residence.

Haifa Jerusalem Kiryat Shemona Madrid Pardes Hana Puerta del Sol social protests in Israel tel aviv

New York Kosher Law Ruled Constitutional, On Appeal

Adam Dickter — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:07:06 +0000

Breaking News

JTA

New York's kosher law, which regulates the labeling and marketing of kosher food, does not violate the Constitution's First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled.

The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled May 10 in a constitutional challenge to the New York State Kosher Law Protection Act of 2004. Previously, kosher was defined legally as “according to orthodox Hebrew religious requirements.” Several butchers challenged the law in a 1996 suit.

Commack Kosher Judge Christopher Droney New York State kosher laws

Peres Undergoes Hernia Surgery After Trip Abroad

Adam Dickter — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:55:09 +0000

Breaking News

JTA

Israeli President Shimon Peres successfully underwent surgery to treat a hernia.

Peres underwent the surgery on Friday at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer. Doctors say that the surgery was successful and that Peres is feeling well, according to Haaretz.

The hernia was discovered in Peres’ abdomen during his recent state visit to Canada.

Sheba Medical Center Shimon Peres Tel Hashomer

JDC Chief Executive Stepping Down

Adam Dickter — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:43:50 +0000

Breaking News

JTA

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s CEO is stepping down.

The JDC announced Friday that Steven Schwager would step down as CEO at the end of June and will retire from the organization in January 2013.

Schwager has served as CEO since 2002 and has been with the Jewish international humanitarian assistance organization since 1989.

Joint Distribution Committtee Stephen Schwager