Jewish News

Actor Russell Crowe rants against circumcision on Twitter

Australian actor Russell Crowe of Gladiator fame went off against circumcision on his Twitter account Thursday, calling it “barbaric and stupid”.A Crowe follower told the Australian celebrity that he was expecting a son soon, and asked for his input on whether he should have his baby circumcised.Crowe responded harshly, saying that “circumcision is barbaric and stupid. Who are you to ...

Activists: Gaza flotilla will set sail next week

The flotilla of boats planning to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip will set sail next week, a spokeswoman said on Friday, after repeated delays that activists blame on Israeli sabotage.“Israel is doing its very, very best to make sure we don’t get out of port,” spokeswoman Greta Berlin said, speaking by telephone from Greece where some of ...

Activist Jews use Passover festival to protest ultra-Orthodox conversion stance

Sam Ben-Sheetrit is one of the people who turned the Mimouna Festival into a national holiday, without any mention of discrimination. He’s chairman of the World Federation of Moroccan Jews, which chooses a “positive” subject for the Mimouna every year, such as “Every person is a world” and “Bridges.”This year, for the first time, the federation is coming out against ...

‘Act Expeditiously to Totally Reverse Israel Academic Boycott’

The American Jewish Committee has expressed outrage over the Association of Asian American Studies’ (AAAS) endorsement of an academic boycott against Israeli academic institutions.A resolution favoring the boycott was adopted at the national organization’s recent annual meeting, though only ten percent of the membership reportedly voted.“This pernicious resolution stands in stark contrast to the broader American academic community position opposing such boycotts,” said ...

ACLU Seeks New Trial for Ex-Agriprocessors Executive Rubashkin

The bankruptcy of kosher slaughterhouse Agriprocessors Inc. may be long over, but the legal drama continues. Former executive Sholom Rubashkin, who was sentenced in 2010 to 27 years in prison for fraud, now has the American Civil Liberties Union on his side.Last week, the ACLU’s Iowa chapter submitted a friend-of-court brief seeking a new trial for the company’s former vice ...

Accused synagogue slaughter plotter is actually a falsely-accused proud American, lawyer says

A Queens man accused of plotting synagogue slaughters with a friend is a proud American who’s been slimed by trumped-up terror charges, his lawyer insisted Tuesday.Mohamed Mamdouh and suspected mastermind Ahmed Ferhani, who are accused of scheming to launch killing sprees while dressed as Hasidic Jews, returned to court on hate crime and terrorism charges.Lawyer Aaron Myskiwiec pointed to reports ...

Accused Spies Blended In, but Seemed Short on Secrets

The suspected Russian spy ring rolled up by the F.B.I. this week had everything it needed for world-class espionage: excellent training, cutting-edge gadgetry, deep knowledge of American culture and meticulously constructed cover stories. The only thing missing in more than a decade of operation: actual secrets to send home to Moscow.Read More: @ nytimes.comYou might also like:Birthright Israel tours are insulting ...

Abbas warns Fatah to get organized or die

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned the Fatah party he leads that its days are numbered unless it puts its house in order. His remarks underscore the troubles facing a party in decline since the death of Yasser Arafat, its co-founder, in 2004. The movement’s weaknesses have contributed to the rise of the Islamist group Hamas, which has governed the ...

Abbas: Second intifada was one of our worst mistakes

“The second intifada was one of our worst mistakes,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told an Egyptian television station on Wednesday. “[Late Palestinian leader Yasser] Arafat didn’t want the intifada to erupt, but he couldn’t stop it,” he added. The second intifada, or uprising, was a period of intensified Israeli-Palestinian violence which began in October 2000.Read More: @ haaretz.comYou might also like:Abbas: ...

Abbas rejects calls to suspend talks

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday rejected calls to suspend peace talks with Israel and said that the US-sponsored “proximity” negotiations would continue despite the IDF operation against the Gaza-bound convoy. Abbas made the announcement during a phone conversation with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.Read More: @ jpost.comTags: Abbas rejects calls, calls to suspend talksYou might also like:Abbas mulls Gaza visit in bid ...

Abbas mulls Gaza visit in bid to end Hamas rivalry, source says

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is “seriously considering” visiting the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported Sunday, in what would be his first visit since before the Islamist group took power of the coastal enclave. Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006. The Palestinian secular Fatah movement, headed by Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, did not accept ...

Abbas: Even if talks break down, Palestinians won’t resort to violence

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying on Sunday that even if the recently relaunched direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians were to break down, his people would not resort to violence.“We tried the intifada (uprising), and it caused us a lot of damage,” Abbas said in an interview with the London-based Arabic language daily Al Hayat.Read More: @ ...