A special envoy from the British government came to Israel about two weeks ago on a secret visit for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. According to an Israeli source who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter, the high-ranking visitor delivered a stern message from…
A Conservative rabbinic group is supporting a proposed New York City Board of Health measure that requires parental consent for a controversial circumcision practice, while an Orthodox group opposes the regulation. The health department is scheduled to vote this week on a measure that would require parental consent if a mohel wants to obtain a…
Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned a symbolic decision by the Israeli Cabinet to change the status of the Ariel University Center in the West Bank into a full-fledged university. Hague’s statement Monday also hinted that Sunday’s decision, which is non-binding, could affect academic cooperation between British and Israeli universities. The final authorization for making…
Anti-Islam groups in America have provided financial support to Dutch politician Geert Wilders, an anti-immigration campaigner who is seeking re-election to the Dutch parliament this week. While this is not illegal in the Netherlands, it sheds light on the international connections of Wilders, whose Freedom Party is the least transparent Dutch parliamentary group and a…
Speakers at a conference on Middle Eastern and North African Jewish refugees called for legislative initiatives to support compensation for the refugees. The conference, which began Sunday night and ends Monday, took place in Jerusalem under the title “Justice for Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries.” It was organized by the World Jewish Congress and Israel’s…
A public water reservoir dating to the First Temple period was unearthed next to the Western Wall. The discovery unveiled late last week shows that “It is now absolutely clear that Jerusalem’s water consumption during the First Temple period was not solely based on the output of the Gihon Spring, but that it also relied…
Jews and Muslims in Berlin demonstrated for the right to carry out ritual circumcisions, a right that has been endangered in Germany. Under the slogan “On Knife’s Edge: Religious Freedom,” some 300 demonstrators rallied Saturday at Bebelplatz, the site of the 1933 Nazi book burnings, to protest the May ruling in a Cologne court that…
The Joshua Venture Group named eight fellows for its 2012-14 Dual Investment Program. The North American social entrepreneurs announced Monday each will receive $80,000 in unrestricted funding for their Jewish ventures and more than $20,000 in personalized coaching, training and networking. The new cohort of fellows includes Sarah Heitler Bamberger of Berkeley, Calif. for the…
An Estonian weekly newspaper ran a mock ad for weight loss pills using a photo of prisoners at a Nazi concentration camp, raising the ire of the country’s Jewish community. The fake ad appeared in the humor section of the Eesti Ekspress, according to reports. It was designed to make fun of a recent ad…
Los Angeles Democratic Rep. Howard Berman has reportedly won the support of two high-profile Republican senators and independent Joe Lieberman in his intramural showdown with Rep. Brad Sherman. Politico reports that Sens. John McCain and Lindsay Graham plan to join Lieberman today in announcing their support for the longtime Democratic stalwart, who was forced into…
Jewish pluralism and women’s rights groups are up in arms over a series of presentations featuring only men to be held at the Israeli town of Petah Tikva’s municipal cultural center. In a letter to Petah Tikva’s Mayor Yitzhak Ohayon, the groups said they would boycott the center unless he ensured that women appear in…
