(JTA) — An anti-Zionist activist from one of Jerusalem’s Haredi communities said he may name his 17th son after Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who freed the man from jail. Yoalish Krois, a senior member of the Orthodox Council of Jerusalem who was sentenced last year to five months in prison for tax evasion, was released…
The arts and crafts giant Hobby Lobby will pay a $3 million fine and return over 5,500 Biblical artifacts smuggled out of Iraq. But art crime and archaeological scholars say that the consequences from the scandal have only just begun. Hobby Lobby president Steve Green sits on the board of the Bible Museum, an $800…
(JTA) — Over 140 Jewish leaders signed a letter encouraging Jewish institutions to support the goals of the Paris climate accord. “We call upon all Jewish federations, JCCs, synagogues, camps, day schools, Jewish organizations, leaders, businesses, and community members to identify ways in which we, the organized and powerful American Jewish community, can and must…
Researchers from Cambridge have identified the author of an 10th century collection of biblical scriptures: Samuel ben Jacob, the same scribe who penned the Leningrad Codex. The Codex is the main Hebrew copy of the bible on which most modern translations are based. The manuscript contains sections from Prophets, Judges and Kings, and was likely…
The United Nations’ cultural organization declared an ancient shrine in the occupied West Bank a “Palestinian World Heritage Site in Danger” on Friday, angering Israel. The edict applies to two adjoined shrines at the heart of Hebron – the Jewish Tomb of the Patriarchs and the Muslim Ibrahimi Mosque. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said…
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — The Dutch Prime Minister complained to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, about Israel’s dismantling of solar panels set up without permission in the West Bank thanks to funding from the Netherlands. Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said on Tuesday in parliament that Mark Rutte had complained to Netanyahu about the move last…
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — A major intergovernmental agency for cooperation in Europe called attempts to limit religious customs on the continent forms of “intolerance and discrimination.” A spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, made the assertion at the end of a two-day rountable meeting on non-medical circumcision of minors, ritual…
PARIS (JTA) — A Muslim website called on pro-Palestinian activists to crash a Holocaust commemoration ceremony in Paris to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attendance. On Friday, the Le Muslim Post urged readers to show up in large numbers at the July 16 state ceremony at the Vel d’Hiv former stadium, where French police…
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — A municipal hall bearing the name of a former city official who helped deport Jews to their deaths will be renamed, the mayor of the Dutch capital said. Mayor Eberhard van der Laan’s decision this week about the conference hall named after Piet Mijksenaar followed a call last year by the Center for…
Six more Jewish couples have been arrested in Lakewood, N.J., in connection with a massive public benefits scheme that is estimated to have stolen millions of dollars from the state, according to the Associated Press. Those arrested include a rabbi and the former leader of a religious school. The investigation is continuing, and more arrests…
Sheila Michaels, an iconic feminist activist who was credited with coining the title “Ms.,” has died, the New York Times reported Thursday. She was 78 and had been battling leukemia. “A giant has left us,” said Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, where Michaels was an active member, according to the St. Louis…
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