Kiev’s oldest synagogue was the target of a firebomb that burst into flames outside the building. The firebombing at the Great Choral Synagogue on Sept. 24, the eve of Rosh Hashanah, did not cause damage, according to the news website evreiskiy.kiev.ua, which belongs to the Jewish Kiev watchdog on anti-Semitism. Police suspect that an arsonist…
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday tried to shift the spotlight away from Islamic State fighters and back to Iran, warning the United Nations that a nuclear-armed Tehran would pose a far greater threat than “militant Islamists on pickup trucks.” It was the fifth day of speeches at the annual gathering of the 193-nation…
The Muslim custom of killing sheep at temporary slaughterhouses jeopardizes all ritual slaughter in Belgium, a Cabinet minister there warned. Ben Weyts, Belgium’s minister for animal welfare, made the warning Sunday during an interview with the VRT broadcaster about a ban that will go into effect next year throughout most of Belgium on the slaughter…
South Africa may turn to an Israeli circumcision device to reduce the number of young males who die in botched initiation ceremonies, provoking an outcry from union allies of the ruling party who support sanctions against the Jewish state. Every year, dozens of teenaged South African males die of blood loss or infection in traditional…
Argentina’s president turned “victims into victimizers” in her address to the United Nations General Assembly, a Jewish political umbrella leader said. Jewish leaders in Argentina on Monday responded to Cristina Fernandez’s public criticism of Argentinean Jewish leaders in her U.N speech on the first day of Rosh Hashanah for not supporting the pact with Iran…
The Vatican has joined 30 other states in contributing funding to help preserve the site of the former Auschwitz death camp. An announcement Monday on the website of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum said the Vatican will contribute $135,000 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, which aims to raise $162 million to preserve the authentic remains of the…
Pro-Palestinian activists prevented the unloading of an Israeli cargo ship at the Oakland Port for the second time in less than two months. In Saturday’s incident, the Zim Shanghai was unable to unload its cargo after some 200 activists gathered at the port and prevented workers from getting near the ship, which is owned by…
The Chabad emissary to Nepal spent the first day of Rosh Hashanah in a Kathmandu jail due to a clerical error on his visa. Rabbi Chezki Liftshitz, co-director of Chabad of Kathmandu, was freed on the second day of the holiday following urgent appeals from his wife, Chani, Chabad officials worldwide, and U.S. and Israeli…
The Liverpool FC soccer team deleted a tweet wishing its Jewish supporters a happy Rosh Hashanah after the message elicited dozens of anti-Semitic responses. The message — “Liverpool FC would like to wish all our Jewish supporters around the world a happy new year. #RoshHashanah” — was posted Friday and removed several hours later, the…
Haredi Orthodox men who refused to sit next to women delayed the takeoff of an El Al flight from New York to Tel Aviv. The haredi passengers offered money to other passengers to switch seats on the flight, which arrived in Israel hours before Rosh Hashanah, Ynet reported. Haredi passengers who could not switch their…
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed the United States and its allies for the rise of extremists and terrorists while also reaching out to the West. “Extremism is not a regional issue that just the nations of our region would have to grapple with; extremism is a global issue,” Rouhani said Thursday in an address to…
