Jewish News

Poland Tries to Calm Dispute Over Kosher Slaughter

Poland is to draft new laws so that it does not have to stop slaughterhouses from producing kosher meat, a prospect that has angered the Jewish community in the country where Nazi Germany massacred millions of Jews during World War Two.The constitutional court ruled this week that kosher slaughter methods, which involve killing livestock while they are still conscious, contravened ...

Poland to Step Up Slaughter Regulations

Poland’s prime minister said Tuesday his government has drafted new regulations that would reduce the suffering of animals during slaughter, including for the needs of religious groups like Jews and Muslims.Poland is covered by European Union laws allowing for ritual slaughter, but the country’s own regulations say that an animal must be stunned before slaughter, including the ritual practice of ...

Poland to Reintroduce Kosher Shechita Practices

The Polish government has drafted regulations aimed at reducing animals’ suffering and permitting kosher and halal slaughter.In December 2012 the Polish Constitutional Court banned the practices of Jewish shechita and Muslim dhabiha livestock slaughter, following a campaign led by animal rights groups.In a statement on Tuesday, Prime Minster Donald Tusk said the new regulations, which still have to be adopted by the Sejm, the Polish parliament, will “eliminate the most ...

Poland Returns Yiddish Writer’s Works Confiscated by Communists to Daughters

The daughters of a Yiddish writer persecuted under communism reclaimed copies of his works on Tuesday, following a prolonged legal fight to establish their ownership.The letters, newspaper articles and poems by Naftali Herts Kon, whose real name was Jakub Serf, were deposited with the City of Warsaw Archives by communist authorities after he was sentenced to prison on fabricated charges, ...

Poland has largest gathering of rabbis since Holocaust

Dozens of rabbis from across Europe have gathered in Warsaw for the largest meeting of Jewish religious leaders in Poland since the community was virtually wiped out during World War II.This year’s Conference of European Rabbis will focus on a range of issues affecting European and global Jewry, including attempts in Europe to ban the Jewish method of religious slaughter ...

PM to Abbas: Show Sadat’s courage

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pledged to show the courage of former prime minister Menachem Begin to advance the diplomatic process that is set to begin Wednesday, and he challenged Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to follow the lead of Begin’s peace partner, slain Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.Read More: @ jpost.comYou might also like:Abbas and Fayyad slam Israeli peace campaign for using ...

PM distances himself from Yosef’s rant

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rushed on Sunday evening to distance himself and his government from Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s death wish for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian people, after the flood of angry Palestinian reactions to the comments.“These words do not reflect the approach of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, nor the position of the government of Israel,” the ...

PM agrees to free Barghouti for Schalit

Saudi newspaper al-Madina on Tuesday reported that Prime Minster Binyamin Netanyahu has agreed to release senior Fatah man Marwan Barghouti as part of a deal for the release of captive soldier Gilad Schalit.The report said the German mediator told Hamas that Israel was willing to include Barghouti in the deal, but would not add the remaining names on Hamas’ list.The ...

Plans for Jewish Center in Long Island Progressing

A new Jewish center planned for Stony Brook, NY is just about halfway through the fundraising process and its administration hopes to break ground on the project this summer.Rabbi Chaim Grossbaum said in an interview Sunday that the Chabad of Stony Brook community is eager for the new facility to be built because it has expanded to essentially grow out ...

Planned haredi-only city is unconstitutional

Human rights lawyers are attempting to challenge a government decision designating the planned city of Harish as a haredi-only town.In a letter sent Tuesday to the directors-general committee established by the government to promote the city’s establishment, attorneys Michael Sfard and Ishai Shneydor, representing residents of the region, wrote that the plan to populate Harish with only haredi residents was ...

Pittsburgh Jews Volunteer to Mentor Jewish ACJ Inmates

At age 79, Patti Anouchi has a new career: mentor to soon-to-be released Jewish inmates. Actually, Anouchi is a volunteer, but she’s taking this work as seriously as she did her former career as counselor to domestic violence victims.“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Anouchi said. “That’s what you have to figure, how can you assist [an inmate] in coming to ...

Pilots lock down cockpit over tefillin

An Orthodox Jewish prayer observance by three passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines flight on Sunday alarmed flight attendants unfamiliar with the ritual, prompting them to lock down the cockpit and issue a security alert, officials said.Alaska Flight 241 from Mexico City to Los Angeles International Airport landed safety at LAX and was met by fire crews, foam trucks, FBI agents, ...