Jewish News

AllJewishLinks.com Newsletter Issue # 72 – March 21, 2013

Pope Francis reaches out to Rome’s Jewish community at the very start of his pontificate, pledging to continue to strengthen the increasingly close ties between Catholics and Jews. Just hours after he was elected the first Latin American pope in history, Francis sent a letter to Rome’s chief Rabbi Riccardo di Segni, saying he hoped to contribute to the progress that ...

Hollande Marks 1st Anniversary of Toulouse Attacks

An official memorial was held on Sunday in Toulouse, France, commemorating the first anniversary of the deaths of seven civilians, among them four Jews, killed by terrorist Mohamed Merah.On March 17, 2012, Merah, a young Franco-Algerian Islamist, launched a series of deadly attacks over several days, killing three soldiers, a rabbi and his two children, and a third Jewish child. ...

Sex Offender Becomes Rebbe

Ex-convicts are usually sent to post-imprisonment rehabilitation programs, but in Israel such a person has immediately attained a high position – without any cooling-off period.Yaakov Yitzhak Rata, who was convicted of rape and sentenced to 16 years at the Maasiyahu Prison’s religious wing, was released from jail last week only to become a rebbe – a position he inherited from ...

111 Orphans Celebrate Special Bar Mitzvah

111 boys who have reached the age of Bar-Mitzvah (13) celebrated their Bar-Mitzvah in a unique event organized by Colel Chabad in Israel. All of the boys are orphaned by one or both parents, and Colel Chabad produced a full program in honor of their important birthday, which included an event at the Jerusalem Convention Center (Binyanei Hauma) in Jerusalem, followed by a celebration ...

Baking Matzah Enlivens Little Girl

“Mom, I had fun! Rolling the matzah dough was my favorite!” Four year old Jayden Roll beamed up at her mother in the lobby of the YM-YWHA (Young Men’s – Young Women’s Hebrew Association) in Montreal. In many ways she is just like the 5,000 other toddlers and children who ground wheat, rolled dough, and baked matzah at the Living ...

Ancient Cemetery in Amsterdam Reopens with Help of Moroccan, Jewish Youths

An ancient Jewish cemetery in Amsterdam has been reopened after almost 70 years of neglect, thanks to help from Moroccan and Jewish youths who renovated it.The Zeeburg cemetery will be open to the public on the first Sunday of every month, a spokesperson for the Association for the Restoration of the Zeeburg Cemetery told JTA.The opening was made possible by ...

Jewish Leaders Have Hope in Election of New Pope

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) along with the World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Wednesday welcomed Cardinal Jorge María Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, on his election as Pope Francis I.Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said he was “reassured” over the record of the new Pope, stating that Bergoglio was crucial in maintaing “positive Catholic-Jewish relations.”In a statement, ADL listed ...

US Survey: Support for Israel at All-Time High

According to a Gallup survey released Friday, 64% of Americans sympathize with Israelis, versus 12% who sympathize with the Palestinians and 23% who said they did not support either.Support for Israel has been exceeding 60% for the last three years, but the recent poll sees the highest percentage in the last 22 years.The last time that 64% of Americans expressed ...

Temple-Times Passover Sacrifice Nixed by Government

Israel’s Veterinary Services will not authorize the planned public ritual sacrifice of a goat in honor of Passover this year, Veterinary Services representative Zohar Dvorkin said Thursday.Jewish groups dedicated to the Temple Mount and Temple renewal are planning the sacrifice as a reminder of what Passover looked like in Temple times. The ritual slaughter is to take place in Jerusalem, ...

Two Translated Classic Chasidic Discourses Published

The Lubavitch publishing house, Kehot Publication Society, has just released two new works in the popular Chasidic Heritage Series. Faith and Knowledge is a translation of a discourse, delivered more than 200 years ago, by the founder of Chabad, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.All for the Sake of Heaven is a translation of a 1907 discourse by the fifth Lubavitcher ...

New Pope Reaches Out to Rome’s Jewish Community

Like his predecessor, Pope Francis reached out to Rome’s Jewish community at the very start of his pontificate, pledging to continue to strengthen the increasingly close ties between Catholics and Jews.Just hours after he was elected the first Latin American pope in history, Francis sent a letter to Rome’s chief Rabbi Riccardo di Segni, saying he hoped to “contribute to ...

Australian Jews Debate Media Role in Abuse Cases

A confrontation between a rabbi’s wife and the brother-in-law of sexual abuse victims’ advocate Manny Waks last week highlighted a divide between two views within Australian Jewry over the proper role of the media in cases of sexual abuse.Waks, who heads the Tzedek advocacy organization, claimed on Facebook on Monday that Peninah Feldman, the wife of local Chabad Rabbi Pinchas ...