Jewish News

Court delays Katsav’s prison term

The Supreme Court granted an appeal by former President Moshe Katsav, to postpone the commencement of his jail sentence pending a ruling in his appeal on the matter, Ynet learned Wednesday.Katsav was sentenced to seven years in prison after he was found guilty of rape and sexual assault.Justice Yoram Danziger, presiding over the hearing, ruled that “it cannot be said ...

Couple Seeks ‘Unknown Soldier’ they Named their Son For

A Canadian Jewish couple is looking for the Israeli man whose name their son bears.The story began when the couple was in Israel for their honeymoon. They offered a ride to a soldier named Lior, and were so impressed with him that after the woman became pregnant, they decided to name their son after him.Two young Israelis, Gefen Hazan and ...

Councilman David Greenfield Proposes ‘Leiby’s Law’

“Leiby’s Law” — proposed by Councilman David Greenfield (D-Borough Park) — would create a program that allows businesses to voluntarily submit background checks for their employees. Upon successful completion, businesses can display a city-issued sticker in their windows that indicates to children that the store is a safe place to seek help.Read More: @ yiddishnayes.comReaders found more information by searching for:leibys ...

Could Jews become a minority in Israel? Higher Palestinian birth rates could lead to power shift in one-state solution

Jews could become a minority in Israel if Palestinians are given the vote in a single-state solution, it has been claimed.Israel, a country of 7.7million people, is traditionally a majority Jewish country with the ethnic split is roughly 75 per cent Jewish and 20 per cent Palestinian.However, if the disputed territories of Gaza and the West Bank we absorbed by ...

Cops Must Be Charged for Lying Under Oath

A homeless man sleeping at a Jewish youth center in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was roused from his sleep, wrongly accused of trespassing, then repeatedly and violently pummeled by the police after he jerked his hands and held them behind his back in an effort to non-violently avoid being handcuffed.The homeless man was then falsely accused of causing the officer to ...

Conversion law bad for the Jews

Relations between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman have reportedly hit a low after the government’s budget meeting and the prime minister’s reaction to the conversion bill. The two plan to meet on Monday to mend ties. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he opposes the conversion bill, proposed by Israel Beiteinu MK David Rotem.Read ...

Controversial bill seeks to keep chief rabbis in office

The Knesset approved Wednesday a preliminary reading of a bill that would change the law limiting a chief rabbi’s term to 10 years. According to a proposal by MK Eli Aflalo (Kadima), backed by other members of his party, chief rabbis – including those currently in office – would be permitted to put forth their candidacy for another term.Aflalo explained ...

Continental tests ‘self-boarding’ at Houston airport

Boarding a plane without an agent to inspect or take your pass has arrived in the USA. Continental Airlines has confirmed it’s testing the procedure at a gate at its hub in Houston Intercontinental. It’s the first experiment at what’s called “self-boarding” in the U.S. In self-boarding, passengers — much like customers of the New York City subway— swipe their ...

Conservatives Overrule Officials to Fund Chabad Project

The Conservative government overruled federal bureaucrats and gave $1-million to a social hall project submitted by an Ottawa rabbi with close ties to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.After speaking to Mr. Baird, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley personally approved the project even though her officials determined it did not meet the criteria for a federal program aimed at making facilities ...

Conservative Movement Mulls Ordaining Gay, Lesbian Rabbis

The Conservative Movement in Israel is considering ordaining gay and lesbian rabbis, the Jewish Press reported.According to the website, the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary in Jerusalem has decided to start accepting gay and lesbian students for ordination classes beginning in the next academic year.The Schechter Seminary is “affiliated with the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and trains educational and spiritual, ...

Congresswoman Giffords on road to rehab in Texas

Representative Gabrielle Giffords has begun what will likely be a months-long recovery at a Houston rehabilitation center two weeks after being shot in the head by an Arizona gunman, medical staff said on Saturday.The day after Giffords flew in a private plane to Houston’s massive Texas Medical Center from Tucson, she is in the early stages of therapy in the ...

Confessions of a Jewish infant genital mutilator

In the course of the exhaustive research that preceded the writing of this column ‏(yes, I did a quick Google search‏), I learned a new word. Intactivism. My spell-checker may not yet recognize it but apparently intactivism is a growing movement. Its spiritual and organizational headquarters is in San Francisco but they are spreading globally, or so at least the ...