Israel is the sixth favorite country of American citizens, a survey found. The Jewish state was viewed favorably by 61 percent of American surveyed in early November, according to a Pew Research Center survey released this week. Israel is sixth behind Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Brazil. Some 26 percent of Americans view…
Israeli government money was transferred for the first time to the Reform Movement in Israel to pay the salaries of four community Reform rabbis. The transfer of the more than $86,000 on Wednesday comes 18 months after Israel’s Supreme Court approved an arrangement to enable non-Orthodox rabbis who lead congregations to receive state salaries like…
Secretary of State John Kerry hopes to narrow differences between Israelis and Palestinians in peace talks this week that are intended to guide the sides toward a deal in April, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday. Kerry departs for the region on Wednesday in his first trip after a Christmas break. Israel and…
A petition signed by 106 Knesset members calling for the release of Jonathan Pollard, held in a U.S. prison for over 28 years for spying for Israel, was presented to Israeli President Shimon Peres. Both coalition and opposition Knesset members signed the petition, which was given Wednesday to Peres by the caucus to free Jonathan…
Pope Francis made an impassioned New Year’s peace address on Wednesday, saying the heart of humanity seemed to have gone astray and too many people were still indifferent to war, violence and injustice. The pontiff, who took his papal name from St Francis of Assisi, the saint most associated with peace, urged the world to…
From Sydney to London to San Francisco, revelers welcomed 2014 with extravagant fireworks displays, giant street parties and, in a new departure, fruit-flavored mist. In New York, hordes of people, many decked out in cartoonish hats, waving balloons or ringing bells, shrugged off freezing temperatures and heightened security in Times Square for the annual New…
A former hotel security guard was sentenced to four years in prison for defacing a Memphis Jewish school’s Torah scroll and prayer books. Justin Shawn Baker, 25, was sentenced Tuesday in Madison County Circuit Court, according to the Jackson Sun. Baker pleaded guilty earlier this month, admitting in court to violating the civil rights of…
Three times as many Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in 2013 as were in the previous year, according to an Israeli human rights watchdog. Israeli security forces killed 27 Palestinians in the West Bank in 21 separate incidents, and killed nine Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in seven incidents, according to a report…
An American-born rabbi was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Rabbi Mark Winer, a British subject and a U.S. citizen, is believed to be the first American rabbi to be so honored. The awards, including knighthoods, were announced on Monday. Winer, 71, received the honor for services…
(JTA) — Brooklyn Torah Animal World, an idiosyncratic collection of stuffed animals the New York Post has called “NYC’s weirdest museum,” is set to close due to financial hardship. The museum aims to lay out, for the viewer’s pleasure and edification, an array of animals depicted in the Hebrew Bible, including ibexes, emus, peacocks and…
Two artworks hanging in Germany’s parliament building in Berlin may have been confiscated or acquired at artificially depressed prices by the Nazis from the original owners, German newspapers reported. The news was first reported by Germany’s Bild newspaper. Further investigation by the Die Welt newspaper suggests that one of the works coincidentally stems from a…
אַ טייל פֿון די כינעזישע ליבהאָבער פֿון ייִדיש זאָגן, אַז מאַאָ צע טונג האָט ליב געהאַט שלום־עליכמען.
