JTA
By JTA
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Fast Forward Reuven Rivlin Hosts Unity Event With Reform and Conservative Rabbis
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin hosted leaders from the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and secular movements at his residence for an event demonstrating Jewish unity. It was a significant move for Rivlin, who has drawn criticism in the past for denigrating non-Orthodox Jews. Earlier in his career, he had declined to say whether as president he would…
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Fast Forward Israel Moves To Outlaw Alternative Kosher Certification Agency
A bill to prohibit an alternative kosher certification agency from operating passed an initial vote in Israel’s Knesset. The bill, introduced by lawmakers from the haredi Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, would prohibit the alternative organization, called “Private Certification,” from granting kosher certificates to restaurants, according to Haaretz. The bill passed Wednesday by…
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Fast Forward Mariah Carey Says ‘Shalom Israel’ — Plans First Debut Gig
Mariah Carey will perform in Israel for the first time. The 45-year-old pop star will appear at the Rishon Lezion Live Park Ampitheater on Aug. 18, the Times of Israel reported. “Shalom Israel, I will be coming to see you live on August 18, so come to see me!” Carey said in a video. Carey…
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Fast Forward Jerusalem Gives Slice of Funds to Non-Orthodox for First Time
The city of Jerusalem will provide funding to a group of non-Orthodox institutions for the first time. The city’s allocations committee provided roughly $10,000 to the institutions for Jewish studies classes, out of about $130,000 the city allocates for that purpose. The institutions receiving the funding, according to Haaretz, include the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union…
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Fast Forward Aleksander Laks, Brazilian Holocaust Survivor, Dies at 88
Prominent Brazilian Holocaust survivor and longtime Jewish activist Aleksander Laks died at age 88. Laks died Tuesday of a lung infection, according to Brazilian news website Surgiu. Born in Poland in 1926, Laks was held in the Lodz ghetto, as well as Auschwitz and other concentration camps, between 1940 and 1945. In 1945, he fled…
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Fast Forward 48% of Americans Disapprove of Iran Nuclear Deal
A poll by the Pew Research Center has found that nearly half of Americans disapprove of the recent accord over Iran’s nuclear program. The poll, conducted during the past week and released Tuesday, found that 48 percent of Americans who had heard of the agreement disapproved of it, versus 38 percent who approved. The deal,…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Rabbi Agrees To Join Reuven Rivlin Unity Session
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will host a study session with rabbis from various streams of Judaism in a unity-building effort. Thursday’s event in Jerusalem will mark the upcoming fast of the Ninth of Av. The Orthodox representative who originally had agreed to participate backed out, Haaretz reported. Rabbi Uri Sherki told Haaretz he would not…
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Fast Forward Europe Ministers Call for End to Israeli Settlements and Land Grabs
The foreign ministers of the European Union called on Israel to halt settlements and policies including “forced transfer.” Their statement on the Middle East peace process was released Monday at the end of a monthly European Union Council meeting in Brussels. It reiterates “strong opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and actions taken in this context,…
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