Archive for Jewish News

| February 22, 2014
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NY Jewish Museum Cancels BDS Speaker

Decision to invite BDS activist Judith Butler, a noted academic & extremely anti-Israel activist, sparked heated debate and anger among Jewish community. 

By Tova Dvorin

 

Anti-Israel activist Judith Butler’s scheduled speaking event at the New York Jewish Museum has been cancelled, according to the Forward.

Anti-Israel demonstration in Istanbul – Photo: Reuters

Butler, a literary professor and sociolinguistics expert, is a high-profile supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. While the scheduled event was due to be about Franz Kafka – not the Jewish state – the museum faced a strong backlash over the choice of speaker, initiated by public relations executive Ronn Torossian’s op-ed on Arutz Sheva and continued by mainstream Jewish groups. Continue Reading »

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| February 21, 2014
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The anti-Semitic face of Facebook

 

How can a Facebook page devoted to ‘Jewish ritual murder’ not be an overt and obvious violation of Facebook’s Terms of Service?

By Jeff Abramowitz

 

 

Facebook has a page (at least one) dedicated to the subject of Jewish ritual murder also known as “Blood libel.” Facebook also has much vaunted community standards which do “not permit individuals or groups to attack others based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition.”

Refusing to hear us. Photo Courtesy

Refusing to hear us. Oct 14, 2013, Demonstration organized by Michael Mendelson – Photo: courtesy

This begs the question… how is a page devoted to the subject of Jewish ritual murder NOT a violation of Facebook’s community standards? Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: ,
| February 21, 2014
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Hundreds of Diary of Anne Frank, Holocaust books vandalized in Tokyo libraries

 

Simon Wiesenthal Center calls on Japan to deal with “hate campaign” as pages were torn out of 250 copies of diary and other Holocaust era books.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

 
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has expressed its “shock and deep concern” over the vandalizing of hundreds of copies of the Diary of Anne Frank in libraries across Tokyo, Japan.
Anne Frank

Anne Frank – Photo: REUTERS/Handout Old

The council of public libraries in Tokyo said at least 250 copies of the diary or publications containing biographies on Anne Frank, Nazi persecution of Jews and related materials were torn, according to an AFP report.

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Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| February 21, 2014
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Jordanian tribe distancing from Sheikh after claims Israel belongs to Jews

 

Sheikh Ahmed Aladoan, who visited Israel last year, supports the idea that Jordan is Palestine, and based his assertions that Palestinian claims to Israel are erroneous, not supported by the Koran.

By

 

A sheikh from Jordan’s prominent Adwan tribe caused a stir recently when he said that Israel belongs to the Jews, and that Palestinian claims to the territory are false.

A screenshot of footage of Sheikh Ahmed Aladoan in Safed.

A screenshot of footage of Sheikh Ahmed Aladoan in Safed with Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu.

Sheikh Ahmed Aladoan of Amman, who made the remarks on his Facebook page, based his assertions on the Koran. In a post earlier this month he said that those who “distort the word of the Koran” are liars, and questioned the origins of the word Palestine.

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Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| February 21, 2014
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Dutch firm says boycotting Israel wasn’t factor in port tender exit


TheMarker may have erroneously reported that at least 2 foreign companies dropped out of a tender for port construction, due to anti-Israel boycotts.

By TheMarker

 

 

A report in TheMarker on Monday stating that at least two foreign companies dropped out of the Israeli government tender to develop private seaports due to anti-Israel boycotts has been disputed by two of the companies involved.

Ashdod port.

Ashdod port. – Photo by Ilya Melnikov

Spokesmen for Royal Boskalis Westminster, a Dutch company that did not submit a bid as expected, and the Israel Ports Company, the state-owned company conducting the tender, both denied in separate statements that Bosalis had dropped out of the tender at all.

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Category: Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
| February 20, 2014
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After Spanish law for exiled Jewish return, Muslims demand equal status

Spanish Muslims say: New law should include all those expelled, otherwise Spain’s decision is ‘selective, if not racist.’

By

 

Spanish Muslims are urging their government to grant citizenship to descendants of Muslims who were expelled from Spain, following a bill granting that right to Jews whose ancestors were forced to leave during the Inquisition.

Spanish passport

The demand was made this week in a statement by the Association for Historical Legacy of Al-Andalus, the Spanish news agency EFE reported on February 17.

“The Spanish state should grant the same rights to all those who were expelled, otherwise their decision is selective, if not racist,” Bayi Loubaris, the association’s president, told EFE.

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Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| February 18, 2014
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2,300 yr-old town discovered outside Jerusalem

 

During the construction of a gas pipe line 6 months ago, a Second Temple era rural town was found and has been under excavation ever since.

By Aryeh Savir, Tazpit

 

Remains of a village that is 2,300 years old have been uncovered near the “Burma Road”, on the main route to Jerusalem.

The excavated village (Photo: Skyview, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

The excavated village – Photo: Skyview, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

The remnants of the rural town, which was lived in for approximately two centuries during the Second Temple era were first discovered in June 2013, when Israel Natural Gas Lines (INGL) began construction on a gas line running from the coast to the outskirts of Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Jewish News | Tags: ,
| February 18, 2014
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Arabs Attacked Jewish Holy Site Over 200 Times in 2013

Rachel’s Tomb, a favorite site for Palestinian Arab mobs seeking incitement, regularly hurls fire-bombs and throws rocks at the Jewish worshipers.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Think the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is winding down? Think again. In 2013 alone, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, the traditional tomb of the biblical matriarch Rachel, was attacked no fewer than 200 times by Palestinian mobs.

File:TOMB-GATE.JPG

Rachel’s Tomb front gate – Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Rachel’s Tomb, located just inside Bethlehem, is a highly frequented place of prayer for religious Jews. While the holy site is situated in Palestinian-controlled territory, the “Oslo Accords” afford Israel security control over Rachel’s Tomb in order to ensure the right of Jews to worship there. Continue Reading »

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| February 17, 2014
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Revealed: Mossad’s Rabbi’s Identity is Top Secret

With so many religious recruits joining the Mossad in recent years, Israel’s covert organization has added an official rabbi to counsel agents.

By David Lev

 

So many religious recruits have joined the Mossad in recent years that the organization has hired an official rabbi to advise agents and employees on a wide range of issues, a report said Monday.

Mossad’s Emblem – Israel news photo

Among the questions the rabbi deals with are those relating to religious practices, keeping kosher, Sabbath observance, and other matters that may require compromise or adjustment regarding Jewish Law on the part of an agent during a mission. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: ,
| February 16, 2014
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American supermarket chain Winn-Dixie expands kosher section

What makes the Boca Winn-Dixie unique is the unusual volume & variety of its offerings, including specialty items from Israel and New York.

BOCA RATON, Fla. (JTA) – Stroll past the kosher section of most large supermarkets in America and you could be forgiven for thinking that Jewish diets consist mainly of jarred gefilte fish, unsalted matzahs and Tam-Tam crackers.

The kosher section at Winn-Dixie's Boca Raton store is larger than that of many kosher-only supermarkets. (Uriel Heilman)

The kosher section at Winn-Dixie’s Boca Raton store is larger than that of many kosher-only supermarkets. (Uriel Heilman)

Not so at the Winn-Dixie supermarket in this affluent South Florida suburb.

There’s a kosher bakery with fresh pizza and dairy and pareve desserts; a meat and deli counter with hot foods like chicken wings, potato kugel and meatballs; a refrigerated case with cold salads; pre-packaged Winn-Dixie-branded matzah balls, chicken soup and carrot “tzimmise,” and even a kosher sushi chef who makes rolls to order.

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Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags:
| February 15, 2014
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Portugal follows Spain in granting citizenship to descendants of exiled Sephardic Jews

Just 3 years after initially being granted refuge in Portugal after fleeing the Spanish expulsion of 1492, the exiled Jews again faced expulsion.

By SAM SOKOL

 

 

Portugal intends to follow Spain’s lead in granting citizenship to to the descendants of Sephardic Jews exiled in the fifteenth century, the country’s tourism minister said this week.

A man holds a Torah scroll during the festive procession returning it to Trancoso.

A man holds a Torah scroll during the festive procession returning it to Trancoso. Photo: Courtesy Michael Freund

Minister Adolfo Mesquita Nunes told Channel One’s “View of the World” program, broadcast on Saturday night, that the the rding of a draft bill, similar to that announced by Spain just over a week ago, will soon be ready. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| February 14, 2014
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Denmark Joins Poland, Holland & Switzerland in Kosher Slaughter Ban

Next week Denmark is to join the growing list of EU countries in banning kosher slaughter. 

By David Lev

 

Denmark on Thursday joined the growing list of European countries to ban kosher slaughter. The ban is to take effect next week, after Denmark’s Agriculture Minister signed the order Thursday.

The ban is largely symbolic, because there are currently no kosher slaughterhouses in Denmark. Nearly all meat for the country’s small Jewish community is imported. Despite this, the country’s 6,000 Jews inundated government offices with protests over the ban.

Speaking to reporters, Minister Dan Jørgensen said that “animal rights come before religious rights. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
| February 12, 2014
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Again! Authorities discover more Nazi appropriated art in Gurlitt’s 2nd home

 

60 additional works of art were found by police in Cornelius Gurlitt’s 2nd home, this one in Austria.

Suspicion: As in first find, most were taken from Jewish families by the Nazis during World War II.

By Eli Leon

 

After discovering over 1,400 artworks worth $1.35 billion that disappeared during World War II in a Munich apartment — German authorities did not think they would find anymore masterpieces in the possession of Cornelius Gurlitt — the son of an art dealer who worked with the Nazis during the war.

Gurlitt apartment in Salzburg – Photo: GettyImages

But life is full of surprises and it was reported Tuesday that the 81-year-old Gurlitt was holding 60 additional works — including paintings by the acclaimed Picasso, Renoir and Monet — in a second home in Salzburg, Austria. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| February 12, 2014
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MKs Walk Out On EU President’s Anti-Israel Knesset Speech

EU Parliament chief Martin Schulz’s speech caused a walk-out as he repeated PA claims on water discrimination and the Gaza ‘blockade.’

By Maayana Miskin

 

A speech in Knesset Wednesday given by the head of the European Union Parliament caused outrage, and ultimately sparked a walk-out.

Several MKs expressed upset as EU parliament president Martin Schulz, who spoke in German, repeated as fact Palestinian Authority claims of Israeli discrimination regarding allocation of water in Judea and Samaria, and of a “blockade” on Gaza.

Schulz condemned Israeli “settlements” east of the 1949 armistice line as “an obstacle to peace,” and claimed, “The blockade of Gaza creates despair and extremism.” Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: ,
| February 10, 2014
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WATCH: Iranian TV Simulation of Missile Attack on Israel & US

 

 

The video aired on Iranian TV depicts Iranian drone attack on Israel & United States aircraft career.

By Ynet

Tel Aviv’s Kikar Hamedina square, Azrieli towers, and the Panorama Towers in Haifa: These are just several targets for Iranian AUVs, at least according to a video shown on television in Teharan over the weekend.

 screenshot

The Iranian “smile offensive” during negotiations with the West on Tehran’s nuclear program did not bring the broadcasting of the inciting clips on local television channels to a stop.

As part of a documentary titled “The Nightmare of Vultures” that was aired on an Iranian television channel over the weekend, the development of the Revolutionary Guard’s drone industry was presented. Continue Reading »

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