Sami Rohr, a major philanthropist whose giving created and sustained hundreds of Chabad Lubavitch houses around the world, died at the age of 86. Rohr, who died Sunday in South Florida and was buried Tuesday in Jerusalem, reportedly gave some $250 million to Jewish causes, especially Jewish education and culture, throughout the world through his…
A prominent European rabbinical group has warned that kosher slaughter could come under further attack this year in European Union countries. “Many European Jewish communities are not aware that shechitah could be put in danger,” Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, wrote in an email sent to multiple recipients on Tuesday….
The International Olympic Commmittee (IOC) and its president Jacques Rogge were severely criticized last night at an event commemorating the Munich Eleven. Rogge sat through the event as he was attacked. The London memorial event for the fortieth anniversary of the murder of eleven Israeli sportsmen at the 1972 Olympics in Munich was unprecedented in…
The appointment of a Romanian lawmaker who denied his countrymen’s complicity in the Holocaust “seriously concerns” Romanian Jews, a community leader said. Dan Sova was appointed minister for parliamentary affairs on Monday. In March, Sova was filmed saying that Romanians never participated in the persecution of Jews. The Social Democrat lawmaker added that only 24…
Australian sprinter Steven Solomon ran out of steam in the 400m Olympic final. After posting two personal best times to become the first Australian man in 24 years to qualify for a 400m Olympic final, Solomon trailed the pack on Monday night, finishing eighth in 45.14 seconds – his second fastest time and just 0.17…
An Orthodox rabbi from Pittsburgh filed a federal lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Board of Funeral Directors for requiring the oversight of licensed funeral directors in Jewish burials. Rabbi Daniel Wasserman, spiritual leader of Shaare Torah Synagogue in Squirrel Hill and head of the chevra kadisha – or Jewish burial society- for the Vaad Harabanim of…
British Prime Minister David Cameron at a memorial event said the world should “stop and remember” the 11 Israelis killed 40 years ago at the Munich Olympics. “It was a truly shocking act of evil. A crime against the Jewish people. A crime against humanity. A crime the world must never forget,” Cameron said Monday…
Jewish organizations from across the country have released statements of support for victims of the mass shooting that killed six people at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee. The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the Rabbinical Assembly…
For the first time ever, four Jewish sites are among the historical venues throughout Germany competing for placement on a list that Germany will propose to UNESCO for recognition as World Heritage sites. The 24 German historical sites will be submitted to a special committee charged with deciding which ones the country will recommend to…
The World Union for Progressive Judaism will gather in Buenos Aires for the fourth Conference of the Jewish Communities of Latin America. The Mishkan Jewish Spirituality Center will host the event Aug. 8-12 for an umbrella group of 1,200 Progressive, Liberal and Reconstructionist congregations in 45 countries representing 1.8 million people. Mishkan is one the…
Sheldon Adelson, the American Jewish billionaire and close friend of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has asked Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to publicly demand the release of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, according to The Daily Beast. Romney refused the request, saying he “could not consider the Pollard situation because he doesn’t have access to the…
