Jewish News

New Group Works on Israel-Diaspora Ties

A group of prominent Israeli public figures has established a new body, the Israeli Jewish Congress, based on similar organizations in Europe, America and around the world, to create “a channel of mutual cooperation” between the Diaspora and Israel, and to advance the principles of Jewish identity and democracy as the fundamental principles of the State of Israel.The initiative is ...

New German Agency Set Up to Combat Neo-Nazi Propaganda

A new German agency tasked with advising local authorities on how to counteract neo-Nazis was announced in Berlin Tuesday, two months after the exposure of an anti-immigrant gang that has been blamed for 10 deadly shooting.Germany Family Affairs Minister Kristina Schroeder said the information and skill agency would be a one-stop source of advice to municipalities seeking ways to check ...

New Evidence Shows Judge Reade Unlawfully Presided Over Rubashkin Trial, Participated In Raid Planning

New documents produced in response to a Freedom of Information Act request show that U.S. District Court Chief Judge Linda Reade met frequently with the law-enforcement team that was actively engaged in the planning of the May 2008 raid on the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant and participated in preparations for the raid. On this account, Judge Reade should have been ...

New emissary to crypto-Jews of Portugal named

Beginning this week, Rabbi Elisha Salas will be Shavei Israel’s new emissary to the Bnei Anousim, or crypto-Jews of North Portugal. Rabbi Salas, 53, was born in Chile and made aliyah to Israel in 1999. Salas now lives in Jerusalem and is married with four children. After graduating from Santiago University in Chile with two degrees in accounting and religious ...

New Cookbook Adds ‘Kosher Elegance’ to Shavuot Table

Quick – you’ve got 30 minutes, it’s almost Shavuot and you’ve got to put together a decent-looking meal. Something out of the ordinary to impress your guests.Where do you turn?If you were smart and kept up with the latest offerings on the new cookbook shelf – or if you were real lucky and someone went shopping for you instead – you ...

New Chabad Center at Sarah Lawrence College

Wisdom with understanding,” the motto of Sarah Lawrence College, fits perfectly with the ideals of Chabad, which is opening a center at the Bronxville campus in time for the 2012 fall semester.Rabbi Sruli and Mushka Deitsch will begin their activities as full Chabad representatives, where they will introduce a variety of Jewish educational and social programs for the Jewish student ...

New Bulgarian Conversion Course Offering a Pathway to ‘Official’ Judaism

As a child, Gabrielle Pavlova pored over pictures of her Jewish paternal grandmother, who died decades before Pavlova was born.The family had no other tie to Judaism, and Pavlova was fascinated. She delved into her Jewish heritage, read books and, ultimately, wrote her master’s thesis on Polish Jewish literature. Her Jewish roots, she says, were “very close to my heart ...

New Book by U.S. Rabbi Depicts Jesus as a Jewish Patriot

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach revels in speaking publicly about topics most Orthodox Jews avoid. In 1999, he gained worldwide popularity with his best seller “Kosher Sex.” He has since written more than 20 books, among them “Kosher Adultery” and “The Kosher Sutra.” And while Boteach’s newest work – due to be released on February 1 – does not take on the ...

New App Raises Money for Israel While You Shop

The British-based Myisrael charity, which provides Israel supporters with donation opportunities, recently launched a phone app to collect donations for Myisrael from many British retailers every time an online purchase is made.The app, which is free for users, operates in partnership with about a thousand participating retailers including Boots, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, PC World and Amazon.Every time users ...

New Aid to Reduce Lubavitch of London’s Debts

The Lubavitch movement is set to turn a corner in its battle against debt with plans for two more of its schools to become state-aided.Its senior girls’ and boys’ primary schools hope to have aided status approved by Hackney Learning Trust early next year, joining the girls’ primary, which became voluntary-aided in 2004.Chabad Lubavitch UK chief executive, Rabbi Bentzi Sudak, ...

Nevada Senators Reid, Heller Celebrate Chanukah

Nevada Senators Harry Reid and Dean Heller celebrated the fifth day of Chanukah with Chabad Shluchim in the country’s capitol.The senators were aided by Rabbi Mendel Cunin of Chabad of Northern Nevada, Rabbi Chaim Cunin and Rabbi Yosef Cunin of West Coast Chabad, and Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of Ohev Sholom Synagogue. This is the fourth year Senator Reid has joined ...

Netrei Karta protest Holocaust Day

Several members of the anti-Zionist haredi Neturei Karta faction clashed with passersby at Jerusalem’s Shabbat Square on Monday, Holocaust Remembrance Day.The protestors marched on the main intersection of the ultra-Orthodox Geula neighborhood, waving anti-Zionism signs comparing Zionism to the Holocaust and chanting, “The Zionists are not Jews.”The activists drew a swastika on a flag of Israel and set it on ...