Michael Siegal of Cleveland has been nominated to chair the board of trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America. The JFNA nominating committee on Monday also announced the nomination of Dede (Diane) Feinberg of Washington, D.C. as chair of the Executive Committee and Stephen Silverman of Jacksonville as treasurer. Siegal, the chairman and CEO…
An auction of jewels belonging to billionaire Lily Safra raised nearly $38 million for charity. The auction, “Jewels For Hope: The Collection of Mrs. Lily Safra,” was held Monday at Christie’s Geneva. Proceeds from the auction were set to go to 32 charitable organizations through The Lily Safra Foundation. Among the organizations are: ALEH: Caring…
Israel Prison Services reported on Monday that Palestinian prisoners have agreed to end their hunger strike. Senior sources within the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club told Haaretz that an agreement was forged between the Israel Prison Services and the prisoners, containing three main chapters concerning administrative detainees, solitary confinement policy, and visits from family members residing in…
Seven days before the opening of the next round of Iran nuclear talks, the pressure is on, as the media spins every trickle of information leaked about Iran. Troubled by a possible deal between Iran and the world powers, Israel views the talks, set to take place on May 23 in Baghdad, with some bitterness,…
Israeli businessmen have launched a website to help counter calls to boycott products made in Israel. The campaign, called Shop-A-Fada – a play on the word of the violent Palestinian uprising, the intifada, was launched Monday. It encourages the public to counter anti-Israel boycotts with the purchase of merchandise manufactured in Israel. Shop-A-Fada was developed…
A series of performances in Montreal by a French comedian whose act has included anti-Semitic references has been cancelled. Quebec’s largest concert promoter pulled the plug on four shows scheduled for this week in Montreal by Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, whose routine has included Holocaust denial and joking praise for Adolf Hitler. He has also been…
The debate over anti-Semitism in Hungary has sharpened since the anti-Israel, anti-Jewish and anti-Roma (Gypsy) Jobbik movement entered Parliament two years ago as the country’s third largest party. Seeking scapegoats and channeling paranoia at a time of severe economic, social and political woes, Jobbik’s lawmakers regularly – and loudly – spout xenophobic, anti-Roma, anti-Israel and…
Students at Tel Aviv University will mark Nakba Day with an approved campus ceremony, despite opposition from campus employees and other students. The ceremony marking Nakba Day, or Catastrophe Day, which marks the date on the Gregorian calendar when Israel achieved statehood in 1948 and is commemorated with mourning, was scheduled to take place on…
Oil drilling in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Haifa has been halted as the investment partners prepare to put a new oil rig in place. Drilling in the Leviathan oil field, which began more than a year ago, has not yet produced any oil. But it is believed that oil will be discovered…
The national unity government has created a new opportunity to move the peace process ahead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a letter he sent Abbas on Saturday night. Netanyahu added that he wants to restart negotiations as soon as possible. Ever since taking office, Netanyahu has told U.S….
A ministerial legislation panel rejected a bill geared at applying Israeli law on settlements in the West Bank on Sunday, following an intervention by Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman. The justice minister’s move came after it had become apparent that the bill would pass the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, after nine of the panel’s members indicated…
