JTA
By JTA
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Fast Forward Trailblazing Hasidic Woman Wins Montreal Council Seat
A 24-year-old beautician, Mindy Pollak, became the first Hasidic woman to hold public office in Montreal. Pollak, a member of the Vishnitzer sect, defeated four candidates to win her race for the municipal council on Sunday in the Outremont borough. She garnered about 35 percent of the vote in a district that is home to…
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Fast Forward Polish Synagogue Defaced With Swastikas on Kristallnacht Eve
Unidentified vandals painted several swastikas and other anti-Semitic symbols on a synagogue building in Gdansk, Poland. Police are investigating the case and do not exclude the possibility that it may be the same vandals who three weeks ago set fire to a mosque in the city. Swastikas were noted on the facade of the building…
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Fast Forward Israel Bill Would Open Door to Adoption by Non-Orthodox Families
A new bill would allow non-Orthodox Israeli parents to adopt non-Jewish children. The bill was approved Sunday by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation and would amend the current Adoption Law. It must undergo a preliminary reading in the Knesset and pass two more readings before becoming official. Under the current law, only Orthodox couples are…
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Fast Forward 5 Nobel Laureates Join South African Campaign To Free Palestinians Held by Israel
An international campaign launched in Cape Town to free Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails has been condemned by the South African Zionist Federation. Launched late last month by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 of his 27 years’ imprisonment by the apartheid government, the Free Marwan…
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Fast Forward 800 Gather for Women of Wall’s 25th Anniversary at Kotel
In a display of the changes the group has experienced this year, Women of the Wall held a peaceful prayer service under police protection at the Western Wall to mark the group’s 25th anniversary. Absent from Monday’s service, which the group said drew at least 800 worshippers, were large crowds of Orthodox girls who –…
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Fast Forward Former Israeli Baseball Manager Brad Ausmus Picked To Head Tigers
Brad Ausmus, who managed the Israeli national team’s bid for the World Baseball Classic, was named the manager of the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers announced the hiring of Ausmus, 44, on Sunday, making him the only Jewish manager in Major League Baseball. Ausmus was a catcher for four teams in his playing days. His Israel…
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Fast Forward Conversion Bill That Would Allow for More Local Control Presented to Knesset
A bill that would allow local rabbis to oversee conversions will be introduced to the parliament after passing a Knesset committee. Under the measure advanced Sunday by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, a city rabbi could convene a beit din, or rabbinical court, for conversions under his jurisdiction. Conversions are handled in Israel by the…
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Fast Forward On Eve of Kristallnacht Anniversary, Merkel Calls for Stand on Anti-Semitism
The people of Germany need “civil courage” to stand up against anti-Semitism, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on the eve of Kristallnacht’s 75th anniversary. Merkel, speaking on her weekly podcast with 17-year-old Jewish student Samuel Vingron, also said the fact that Jewish institutions still need police protection is a sobering reality 75 years after the…
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