This is the Forward’s coverage of the continent of Europe and its Jews.
Europe
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Israel News Israel Wades Into Europe Circumcision Debate — and Reaction Is Mixed
(JTA) — The Israeli government is wading into the burgeoning European debate over circumcision and receiving a mixed reception from the continent’s Jews. On Dec. 11, Israel initiated a motion in defense of circumcision at the Council of Europe, an intergovernmental organization devoted to enhancing cooperation among its 47 member states. Intended to offset a…
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Opinion Busting the New Year’s Jewish Myths
It takes no special insight to predict some of the topics for conversation among Jews in this new year. The Mideast peace process, such as it is. Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The endless need to engage young people in meaningful Jewish life. The prohibitive cost of day school and summer camp. The unlikelihood of any Jew…
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Fast Forward Lithuanian Lawmaker Says ‘Jews Only Want Money’
Lithuania’s prime minister condemned a lawmaker for suggesting Jews are cheap and “are just looking to take from Lithuania.” “I judge this statement to be very negative and it doesn’t represent the party’s position,” Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said Dec. 23, according to the news site Delfi.lt. A spokesperson for Butkevicius’ Social Democratic Party of…
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Fast Forward Europe Lawmakers Push Back on Circumcision
Encouraged by Israeli diplomats, parliamentarians from the Council of Europe have submitted a motion opposing an earlier resolution condemning ritual circumcision of boys. The motion was submitted last week by 101 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the council, according to Micaela Catalano, a spokeswoman for the assembly, which has 318 parliamentarians and whose resolutions…
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Fast Forward Swedish Province Will Ban Circumcision for Boys
A county in Sweden is planning to ban non-medical circumcision of boys, its commissioner said. Per-Ola Mattsson, commissioner of Blekinge County, said he would move ahead with plans to ban ritual circumcision by bringing the subject up in February with the county’s health board, according to an article published Thursday by the Sydöstran Daily. According…
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Fast Forward Israel Admitted As Full Member of Nuclear Physics Lab CERN
Israel was admitted as a full member of the prestigious European nuclear physics lab CERN. The CERN Council on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution making Israel the organization’s 21st member state. Israel also is the council’s first non-European member state as well. A formal signing ceremony will be held next month. “This is a very…
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Fast Forward Israel May Join European Group of U.N. Human Rights Council
Israel may join for the first time a regional group within the United Nations Human Rights Council as part of a deal to improve the U.N. body’s relations with the Jewish state. The council’s Western European and Others Group (WEOG) is expected to announce that its member states have voted in favor of Israel’s admittance,…
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Fast Forward Belarus Synagogue Ravaged by Fire, No Injuries Reported
One of Europe’s oldest functioning synagogues sustained heavy damage in a fire that broke out in the city of Grodno in Belarus. The flames erupted Tuesday night as a result of malfunctioning heating system and consumed the dining room and part of the second floor of Grodno’s Great Choral Synagogue, according to a report Wednesday…
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