— John Shapiro, the former chairman of the American Jewish Committee’s board of trustees, was elected president of the organization. Shapiro was elected at the group’s recent Global Forum in Washington, D.C., the AJC announced in a statement Wednesday. He succeeds Stanley Bergman. Shapiro, managing director of Chieftain Capital Management, Inc., which he co-founded in…
The wife of the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando gay nightclub could face criminal charges as early as Wednesday after a federal grand jury was convened to study possible wrongdoing by her, a law enforcement source said. Omar Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, knew of his plans for what became the deadliest mass…
Frustrated by a series of recent setbacks for Jewish pluralism in Israel, Conservative and Reform movement leaders have decided to fight back. On Thursday, in defiance of longstanding custom at the site, they will hold a mixed-prayer service for men and women at the Western Wall, in plain sight of the Orthodox-run segregated prayer area. The…
WASHINGTON — The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said it was “deeply disappointed” in the Obama administration’s opposition to increased missile defense funding for Israel, weighing in on an issue that is apparently obstructing U.S.-Israel talks on renewing defense assistance. “We are deeply disappointed that a June 14 ‘Statement of Administration Policy’ on the defense…
Israel’s top intelligence official offered Saudi Arabia rare public praise on Wednesday for what he deemed its efforts, under King Salman, to lead “pragmatic” Sunni Muslim states confronting Iran and to overhaul Riyadh’s oil-dependent economy. The tribute by military intelligence chief Major-General Herzi Halevy at an international security forum followed years of veiled references by…
— A security threat to the Jewish community of Kansas City was “resolved” by local law enforcement, the head of the local Jewish Federation said. Helene Lotman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, said in a statement issued on Tuesday that: “This morning our Jewish agencies became aware of a…
Hillary Clinton formally concluded the U.S. Democratic presidential race on Tuesday with a win in the District of Columbia primary, then turned her focus to uniting the party during a 90-minute private meeting with defeated rival Bernie Sanders. Clinton, who secured enough delegates to clinch the nomination last week, met with Sanders in a downtown…
— Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone told a Parliament committee hearing that he regretted saying Adolf Hitler supported Zionism because of the furor it sparked but did not back down from the claim. Livingstone testified Tuesday before the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee hearing on anti-Semitism. He ignored repeated offers from committee members to…
(JTA) — Jewish Republicans are criticizing Donald Trump for his renewed call to ban Muslim immigration, although few of his Jewish supporters seem to be reconsidering their endorsement of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But at least one, celebrity Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, rescinded his apparent backing of Trump following the billionaire real estate magnate’s remarks….
In what is believed to be a first, Orthodox Jews temporarily took over the space at the Western Wall that has been designated for non-Orthodox prayer services. A — a physical divider separating men and women — was set up at the southern section of the Western Wall on Tuesday for a service led by Jerusalem Chief…
— Congregation Shearith Israel in New York will appeal a federal court ruling last month stripping its control of the historic Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island. The Manhattan congregation filed a notice Tuesday saying it will appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an effort to reverse last month’s decision concerning its…
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