The United States on Thursday imposed financial penalties on two Lebanese charities that fundraise for Hamas, an effort by the Obama administration to disrupt the Islamist group’s activities. The U.S. Treasury added the two Beruit-based charities, Al-Waqfiya and Al-Quds International Foundation, to its list of entities hit with asset freezes. It is not known whether…
Limmud, the international network of Jewish learning conferences, has appointed a new director and a new chairperson. Shelley Marsh, currently director of informal education for the United Kingdom’s United Jewish Israel Appeal, will become Limmud’s executive director after Sukkot, according to a Limmud press release. She replaces Raymond Simonson, who will become CEO designate of…
The United Nations is likely to hold a debate on whether to upgrade the Palestinians’ U.N. status to a sovereign country in mid-November – after the U.S. election, the president of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly said on Wednesday. Having failed last year to win recognition of full statehood at the United Nations, Palestinian President…
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Wednesday the replacement of the city’s entire ethics board with seven new members, saying the new board will have the professionalism to do the job in a city notorious for corruption. “These nominees will ensure that everyone in public office understands exactly where they stand and who they serve,” said…
Trading charges of abusing government funds and and profiteering from campaign contributions, Democrats Brad Sherman and Howard Berman shook the Sukkah on Monday in their fight for the San Fernando Valley’s new 30th Congressional District. The two liberal, pro-Israel incumbents, who were thrown into a race against each other due to redistricting of their respective…
Ads for President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign dominated TV airwaves in key states in September, despite Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s powerful “Super PAC” backers, according to an academic analysis released on Wednesday. Republican Super Political Action Committees and tax-exempt advocacy groups – which can raise and spend unlimited funds – had been widely expected to…
The United States reportedly warned European governments in a memorandum not to support a Palestinian bid for increased status at the United Nations. The memorandum, which was seen by the British newspaper the Guardian, called giving the Palestinians enhanced non-member state status “extremely counterproductive” and threatened “significant negative consequences” for the Palestinian Authority, including financial…
Congregants at a Chicago synagogue walked out of Yom Kippur services when the rabbi acknowledged the presence of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann. “I am aware of the fact that our congregation’s policy in regards to public officials clearly caused pain to some members of our community on the most precious day of reconciliation on the…
The French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen said that B’nai B’rith had signed a “pact” with other politicians to keep him out of the government. “The leader of the soft right signed a pact in which they vowed never to unite with Front National,” Le Pen, who founded the National Front party 40 years ago,…
Cyber attackers have targeted Iranian infrastructure and communications companies, disrupting the Internet across the country, a state official was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Iran, the world’s No. 5 oil exporter, has tightened cyber security since its uranium enrichment centrifuges were hit in 2010 by the Stuxnet computer worm, which Tehran believes was planted by…
Adam Greenberg, a baseball player who was hit in the head by a pitch during his first major league at-bat for the Chicago Cubs in 2005, struck out in his second ever appearance in the major leagues. Pinch hitting for Miami Marlins left fielder Bryan Petersen on Tuesday, Greenberg struck out after facing three knuckleball…
