International News

Guyana Leader Was Always Her Own (Jewish) Woman

By J.J. Goldberg

One of the most colorful chapters in American Jewish history ended on March 28, with the death, at age 88, of Janet Jagan, former president of the South American country of Guyana. Born Janet Rosenberg in Chicago in 1920, she was one of only two Jewish women ever to lead a modern nation. The other was Golda Meir of nearby Milwaukee.Read More

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Visitors to Yemen Report That Jews Are Reluctant To Be Rescued

By Anthony Weiss

In recent weeks, Jewish organizations have insisted that Yemen’s tiny Jewish population is in grave danger and that a secret evacuation is necessary to bring the people to safety. But a new report written by on-the-ground observers suggests that one of the primary barriers to the Jews’ departure is the resistance of the Jews themselves.Read More

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Honoring Cape Verde’s Jewish History

By Nathan Guttman

One of the world’s smallest Jewish communities is getting attention after being all but forgotten for decades.Read More

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Secret Yemen Rescue Imperiled by Communal Turf Battles

By Anthony Weiss

A secret and delicate operation to evacuate a substantial portion of Yemen’s tiny and beleaguered Jewish population has been thrust into public view and put at risk by infighting among rival Jewish organizations. In the wake of disclosures in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, the organizations involved are now accusing one another of endangering Jewish lives.Read More

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Dramatic Shift In Diplomacy Draws Muted React, So Far

By J.J. Goldberg

It is an Obama revolution that has gone by virtually unremarked. In the space of one week, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have knocked down no fewer than five long-standing pillars of American foreign policy from the Bush years and earlier, leaving Israel and other countries affected to confront a transformed world of diplomacy.Read More

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In Iran, Baha’i Leaders Stand Accused of Spying for Israel

By Rebecca Spence

The Baha’i community is working to gain the release of seven of its leaders in Tehran, who are facing down their own charges of spying for Israel. The seven — including a 45-year-old mother of three and a 37-year-old optometrist — have been imprisoned since last spring. In addition to espionage, they stand accused of insulting religious sanctities and of spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.Read More

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Israelis Wary of Palestinian Unity Push

By Nathan Jeffay

Following reconciliation talks in Egypt at the end of February, efforts to reconcile rival Palestinian factions and form a unity government appear to be gaining momentum.Read More

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Clinton Calls on Israel To Halt Palestinian Home Demolition

By JTA

Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes in eastern Jerusalem. The U.S. secretary of state also said at a news conference Wednesday in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Israeli construction in eastern Jerusalem was “unhelpful” to peace efforts. Clinton and Abbas met prior to the news conference.Read More

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Israel Watches Carefully As U.S. Engages Iran

By Nathan Guttman

The Obama administration is moving ahead on its push to engage Iran, nearly concluding a review of its policies toward that country, and naming veteran Middle East diplomat Dennis Ross as a special adviser.Read More

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A New Debate on Where Antisemitism Comes From

By J.J. Goldberg

Responding to mounting signs of a resurgence of aggressive antisemitism in Europe and elsewhere, the British government recently hosted an unusual gathering to discuss ways of fighting the threat. Known as the London Conference on Combating Antisemitism, the mid-February gathering brought together 125 members of parliaments from 40 nations for two days of emotional calls to action, along with scholarly analyses of what speakers called “the new antisemitism.”Read More

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