(JTA) — New York’s decidedly left-leaning new mayor, Bill de Blasio, was assailed by a group of decidedly left-leaning Jews for a speech in which he pledged his friendship to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Now, a prominent right-leaning Jewish activist is coming to de Blasio’s defense. In an open letter to de Blasio,…
A painting by an 18th-century German artist, one of tens of thousands of Polish art objects looted by the Nazis and missing for 75 years, was returned to Poland by U.S. officials on Thursday. In an emotional ceremony in New York, Poland’s U.S. Ambassador Ryszard Schnepf thanked the officials as he accepted the painting by…
Coca-Cola Co’s $1.3 billion investment in Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc puts pressure on at-home soda leader SodaStream International Ltd to bolster its position through a partnership or merger with the likes of a PepsiCo Inc or Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. Coke’s deal to buy 10 percent of the popular Keurig one-cup coffee brewer…
Four people arrested in New York have been charged with drugs offences possibly connected to narcotics found at the home of film star Philip Seymour Hoffman following his death of an apparent heroin overdose, police officials said on Wednesday. The four were arrested on Tuesday during a raid on a building in the Chinatown district…
The New York Assembly is modifying a bill that would bar state funds from being used for groups that boycott Israeli universities. A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who sponsored the bill, told The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog on Wednesday that the bill was being altered to make clear that it did not…
Efforts are underway to prevent Hungary’s far-right Jobbik party from holding a political rally in a former synagogue. Last week, the chairman of the local chapter of the opposition Hungarian Socialist Party sent an open letter to the mayor of Esztergom urging her to bar the rally from the synagogue. “The choice of location for…
A British lawmaker who arranged a Nazi-themed bachelor party in France said he will not seek re-election. “After a difficult time, I have decided to announce I will stand down at the next general election,” Aiden Burley of the Conservative Party announced on Wednesday, The Guardian reported. The announcement came two weeks after an internal…
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel blocked highways and clashed with police on Thursday in protest at a government decision to cut funds to seminary students who avoid military service. Police arrested about three dozen demonstrators at a number of hot spots, including eight who threw stones at officers, and used water cannon to disperse…
Israeli lawmaker David Rotem apologized for comments attributed to him that said members of the Reform movement are not Jewish, saying his words were “misinterpreted.” “Comments attributed to me regarding the Reform Movement have been misinterpreted by elements within the media. I have never said belonging to the Reform Movement makes anyone less Jewish,” Rotem…
U.S. relations with Cuba are at their best in almost two decades, but President Barack Obama seems unwilling or unable to confront a well-organized anti-Cuba lobby and push for further progress. Obama suggested change was coming at a Miami fundraiser in November, saying “we have to be creative, and we have to be thoughtful, and…
A Dallas-area rabbi who uses his home as a synagogue is being sued by a neighbor who says it has lowered his property values. Rabbi Yaakov Rich told the local Fox affiliate Fox4 in a video posted Wednesday that his 3,700-square-foot home is a synagogue with about 25 members. A website identifies his synagogue as…
