President Barack Obama met the family of South Africa’s ailing anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela on Saturday and he praised the critically ill, retired statesman as one of history’s greatest figures. The faltering health of Mandela, 94, a figure admired globally as a symbol of struggle against injustice and racism, is dominating Obama’s two-day visit to…
Secretary of State John Kerry extended his Middle East peace mission on Saturday, shuttling between Jerusalem and Amman for more talks with Palestinians and Israelis on reviving their stalled negotiations. Cancelling a scheduled trip to Abu Dhabi, Kerry flew from Jerusalem to the Jordanian capital Amman for yet another meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas….
Two people, one an American, were killed when protesters stormed an office of Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, adding to growing tension ahead of mass rallies aimed at unseating the Islamist president. A third man was killed and 10 injured in an explosion during a protest in Port Said, at the mouth of the…
A Jewish college student stabbed to death during a protest in Egypt was in the country to teach English to children and improve his Arabic, his family said. READ: Full Forward profile. How Jewish values drove Andrew Pochter to help others. Andrew Pochter, 21, from Chevy Chase, Maryland, was active in his college’s Hillel,. He…
Amar’e Stoudemire is showing that he really owns his connection to Judaism. The Knicks player with Jewish roots announced on his Twitter account that he has joined a group that is trying to purchase the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team. “Excited to join the partnership that is giving back to the city of Jerusalem by offering…
An Israeli Orthodox rabbi ruled that distributing and smoking medicinal marijuana are kosher, but using weed for fun was “forbidden.” Efraim Zalmanovich, the rabbi of Mazkeret Batia, a town south of Tel Aviv, made the distinction in a recent halakhic ruling, NRG, the news site of the Maariv daily reported on Friday. Leading rabbis frequently…
Ron Dermer, Benjamin Netanyahu’s close adviser known for his strong ties with Republican politicians, will reportedly be Israel’s next ambassador to the United States. Several Israeli media outlets reported Friday that Netanyahu has made a final decision on the selection and will officially tap Dermer for the post in coming days. Dermer will replace Michael…
Secretary of State John Kerry accelerated his Middle East shuttle diplomacy on Friday in the hope of persuading the Palestinians to resume direct peace negotiations with Israel stalled over its West Bank settlements. After seeing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan, Kerry travelled to Jerusalem for evening talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu –…
An Orthodox Jewish patrol group in London said it would protect a mosque after a rise in hate crimes against Muslims. The Shomrim patrol group accepted a request for protection by the North London Community Centre in Cazenove Road, an Islamic institution situated in the heavily-Jewish Borough of Hackney in northern London. The deal was…
Rejecting a defamation suit, Hungary’s highest court found that a cofounder of the country’s ruling party had made anti-Semitic statements. In the June 26 ruling, the Kúria, Hungary’s highest judicial body, rejected a libel suit by Zsolt Bayer, a columnist and one of the cofounders of the Fidesz center-right ruling party. Bayer sued the radio…
The immigration overhaul passed in the U.S Senate includes provisions that protect a visa program used by Jewish summer camps and that makes permanent a law that facilitates immigration for victims of religious persecution. The bipartisan bill passed Thursday by the Senate, 68-32, creates a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented workers…
דער באַגריף, ייִדישע אױטאָנאָמיע אין גלות — הײַנט פּאָפּולער בײַ קריטיקער פֿון ציוניזם — איז היסטאָריש ניט געװען קײן דערפֿאָלג.
