Archive for Jewish News

| June 11, 2012
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Hate Vandals Deface Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum

Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum officials were shocked Monday morning to discover anti-Zionist hate slogans and graffiti praising Hitler.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

“Hitler, thanks for the Holocaust” and “If Hitler didn’t exist the Zionists would have had to invent him” were among the graffiti scrawled on the walls of the plaza. Another hate message stated, “Jews wake up – the Zionist regime is dangerous,” and the vandalism was signed by “The global Zionist mafia.”

Yad VaShem director Avner Shalev said, “I am shocked and horrified by this blatant act of burning hatred against the country and against Zionism. It has crossed the red line and is very worrisome.” Continue Reading »

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| June 9, 2012
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NYPD Fires Orthodox Officer Over Beard

An orthodox police recruit has been fired from the NYPD academy for refusing to trim his beard to the regulation 1 millimeter length.

By Gabe Kahn

 

Rabbi Fishel Litzman, 38, was fired by the New York Police due to his refusal to shave his beard. Rabbi Litzman was soon to graduate the police academy.

According to the report, Litzman was an outstanding student at the police academy and at the time of his recruitment, but then announced he would not adhere to rules to trim his beard because of his faith.

“I always wanted to be a policeman,” Litzman told the Daily News of New York.
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| June 8, 2012
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Why are some people prejudiced against Jews? A bottle of wine awaits the best answer

Since no Jewish organization is ever going to hold an essay-writing competition on this subject, we are going to have to do it here.

The last time I sat for a written test was 16 years ago, so I took my time answering the question put to British high-school students in a national exam last month: “Explain, briefly, why some people are prejudiced against Jews.” This question, which appeared in a religious studies examination taken by about 1,000 students, many of them at Jewish schools, has since been the subject of a mini-storm.

 

Britain's Education Secretary Michael Gove arrives at Downing Street.

Britain's Education Secretary Michael Gove arrives at Downing Street for a cabinet meeting in central London - Photo by Reuters

 

Jewish leaders attacked it as “insensitive” and Britain’s education secretary, Michael Gove, said to the Jewish Chronicle, which broke the story, that “to suggest that anti-Semitism can ever be explained, rather than condemned, is insensitive and, frankly, bizarre.” Continue Reading »

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| June 8, 2012
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Religious Zionist rabbis to be allowed to perform weddings

Prior to the signing of the agreement with Tzohar several days ago, the Chief Rabbinate limited the authority of rabbis to perform weddings.

A formal agreement has been signed between the Tzohar organization of moderate religious Zionist rabbis and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger to greatly increase the number of rabbis who can perform weddings. In the process, it substantially enhances the status of Modern Orthodox rabbis.

The agreement includes a provision allowing some Orthodox rabbis who have no official position on religious councils as well as the heads of hesder yeshivas (where students combine religious study with military service ) and rabbis from other Orthodox educational institutions to perform weddings anywhere in Israel. Continue Reading »

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| June 7, 2012
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Jerusalem Jews Concerned by Christian Symbols in Old City

Residents of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem troubled by the presence of Christian symbols as part of the Festival of Light.

 

The Jerusalem Festival of Light is taking place this week in the heart of the OId City of Jerusalem. The festival features innovative technology, lighting, art, music and shows.

The festival was initiated by the Jerusalem Development Authority and Ariel Municipal Company and features artists from Israel and abroad who use light in order to create statues, installations, performances and artwork.

Local Jewish residents, however, have expressed concerns over the increased presence of Christian symbols in the Jewish Quarter as part of the festival. Continue Reading »

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| June 6, 2012
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Dutch ban on kosher slaughter sidestepped by agreement

Slaughter according to Jewish, Islamic law has been a source of some debate after the Animal Rights Party proposed banning the practice.

Dutch Agriculture Minister Hans Bleker signed an agreement with Jewish and Muslim religious leaders and slaughterhouses which will prevent a ban on ritual slaughter.

Under the agreement signed Tuesday, animals can continue to be ritually slaughtered as long as they lose consciousness within 40 seconds of their throats being cut. After 40 seconds they must be stunned, which is prohibited under both Jewish and Islamic law.

A cow. Its Dutch brethren will continue being ritually slaughtered.

A cow. Its Dutch brethren will continue being ritually slaughtered. - Photo by Yuval Tebol

The agreement comes following Animal Rights Party leader Marianne Thieme withdrawal last December of a bill that would have required stunning of all animals before slaughtering, after a majority of senators expressed their objection to the ban on kosher slaughter, or shechitah. Continue Reading »

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| June 6, 2012
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Arab Father: I Don’t Want This Baby; He’s Jewish

An Arab who fathered a baby with a Jewish woman rejected keeping him and said, “This boy is Jewish. I don’t want him.”

 

An Arab who fathered a baby with a Jewish woman rejected keeping him six months later, and he brought the boy to the mother, who had fled, and said, “This boy is Jewish. I don’t want him.”

The bizarre story was revealed by the anti-missionary Yad L’Achim organization, which also works to rescue Jewish women from Arab homes where they often are captive.

Circumcision for Jewish baby saved from Arabs

Circumcision for Jewish baby saved from Arabs - Photo: Yad L'Achim

The baby boy, now a circumcised Jew and in the hands of his mother, was born during the Sukkot holiday last year, when an anonymous nurse alerted Yad L’Achim that a young Jewish woman seems to be suffering anguish over the birth of her boy, fathered by an Arab. Continue Reading »

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| June 6, 2012
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OObama to U.S. Orthodox Jews: My administration is more attentive to Israel than to Palestinians

Obama told a White House meeting with leaders of Orthodox community that the window of opportunity for peace with the Palestinians might have already closed, but expressed hope that progress is possible.

U.S. President Barack Obama told a delegation of the U.S. Orthodox Jewish community at the White House on Tuesday that his administration is decidedly more attentive to Israel than it is to the Palestinians.

Obama was speaking at a meeting between White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew and leaders of the Orthodox Jewish community, including Dr. Simcha Katz, Rabbi Steven Burg and Nathan Diament of the Orthodox Union. Continue Reading »

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| June 5, 2012
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IAF Chief Says ‘Nein’ to Volkswagen

Air Force Commander Eshel, son of Holocaust survivor, refused to upgrade his car to a German model

 

Recently appointed Israel Air Force Commander Major General Amir Eshel told the military that he does not want to upgrade his car to a Volkswagen Passat, although his advance to the rank of major general entitles him to do so.

Amir Eshel

Amir Eshel - IDF Photo

The reason for his refusal is the fact that the vehicle is manufactured in Germany. His refusal was immediate, and he said the decision came “from the head, but also from the gut.”

Eshel’s mother is a Holocaust survivor. Continue Reading »

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| June 5, 2012
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Palestinians: US refugee amendment may delay peace deal

According to legislation, State Department must now differentiate between Palestinian refugees and descendants of refugees; former Abbas advisor: It can have a very bad reaction on the ground.

WASHINGTON – Palestinian advocates are warning that a new US Senate amendment dictating a reporting requirement on the issue of Palestinian refugees could set back efforts to reach a peace deal.

Dheisheh Refugee Camp near Bethlehem (file) - Photo: REUTERS

Dheisheh Refugee Camp near Bethlehem (file) - Photo: REUTERS

The amendment to a bill, recently approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, mandates that the secretary of state must report how many of the Palestinians serviced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency fled or left homes in Israelduring the War of Independence and how many are only their descendants.“It’s

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| June 5, 2012
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IDF to establish three new ultra-Orthodox battalions ahead of new enlistment law

Military drawing up plans for mass recruitment of ultra-Orthodox men after successor to Tal Law goes into effect.

 

The Israel Defense Forces is preparing to absorb large numbers of ultra-Orthodox conscripts in anticipation of a new law setting out the terms of Haredi enlistment. The army has withdrawn its years-long opposition to the creation of new separate units, and is proposing the establishment of three new Nahal Haredi battalions that can be integrated into combat forces.

Ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces.

Ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces.

The army’s plan for taking on large numbers of yeshiva students after the successor to the Tal Law goes into effect was presented on Sunday, in broad outline, to a committee evaluating alternatives to that law, which the High Court of Justice declared unconstitutional. Continue Reading »

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| June 4, 2012
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New Mosque in the Heart of Large US Jewish Neighborhood

Muslims buy a posh house in the heart of a large upscale Jewish neighborhood in Baltimore, whose main artery is known as “Synagogue Row.”

 

A Muslim movement has bought a posh house in the heart of a large upscale Jewish neighborhood in Baltimore, whose main artery is known as “Synagogue Row.” The Muslim sect is considered to be pacifist and at the opposite end of Islam extremism.

Located on the edge of Pikesville – synonymous with “Jewish” – the Colonial-style house known as “Slade Mansion” was sold for $900,000 to the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, according to the Baltimore Sun. Continue Reading »

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| June 4, 2012
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Shopping mall guards turn away haredi man

Security guards at the Ramat Aviv shopping mall explain that they were acting on specific instructions. The mall management says that store owners and customers have complained about Chabad activity in the mall. The haredi community doesn’t intend to let this pass

 

Last week, security guards at the swanky Ramat Aviv shopping mall refused to allow an Ultra-Orthodox man in, claiming that they were acting according to instructions from the mall’s management. A few mall workers who knew the man tried to intervene, but to no avail.

When asked to explain the incident, the management said that it had received numerous complaints from both store owners and shoppers saying they felt harassed by Chabad representatives active in the mall. Continue Reading »

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| June 4, 2012
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Zionist youth movement says being forced out of Israeli town on ‘ideological’ grounds

Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed movement claims it’s being forced out of Galilee town on ‘ideological’ grounds.

The Kfar Tavor municipality in the Lower Galilee has ordered the town’s only youth movement to cease all activities, following advice from the directors of the local community center. For 20 years the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed movement was Kfar Tavor’s only youth group. However, officials of the community center, which is responsible for the town’s informal education programs, said it was “dissatisfied” with the group’s performance.

 

Members of the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed youth group.

Members of the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed youth group. - Photo by Yaron Kaminsky

 

The youth group, whose name means “working and studying youth,” claims the decision was made because community center officials were rebuffed in their efforts to influence the movement’s programming. Continue Reading »

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| June 4, 2012
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Auschwitz to ban football items during Euro 2012

Museum says visitors to Nazi death camp during the EU Championship will not be allowed to enter with accessories likes scarves, trumpets, banners and flags

Death Showers -Photo: Phillip Pasmanick

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum says visitors, who will tour the Nazi death camp during the European Championship will not be allowed to enter with stadium accessories likes scarves, trumpets, banners and flags.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Photo: Shutterstock

Auschwitz-Birkenau - Photo: Shutterstock

Auschwitz is located in Poland that is co-hosting the tournament with Ukraine. The Euro 2012 runs from June 8 to July 1.

The state-run memorial museum has posted visiting guidelines for the duration of the tournament on its website Thursday. Continue Reading »

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