Archive for The Diaspora

| March 6, 2014
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With Venezuela collapsing into chaos, Jewish numbers are dwindling

 

The Venezuelan Jewish community has shrunk by more than half. Now at about 7,000, down from 25,000 in the 1990s, many of those who left were community leaders.

By Uriel Heilma
 

(JTA) — They left after Venezuelan secret police raided a Jewish club in 2007, and after the local synagogue was ransacked by unidentified thugs two years later.

A man uses a slingshot against national guard troops following one of the largest anti-government demonstrations yet on March 2, 2014 in Caracas, Venezuela. (John Moore/Getty Images)

A man uses a slingshot against national guard troops following one of the largest anti-government demonstrations yet on March 2, 2014 in Caracas, Venezuela. – Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

They left after President Hugo Chavez expelled Israel’s ambassador to Caracas, and when he called on Venezuela’s Jews to condemn Israel for its actions in Gaza in 2009. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: ,
| March 4, 2014
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University of California, Davis, is now offering: ‘Boycotting Israel’ classes

 

Pro-Palestinian organizations at UC Davis University, now teach boycott tactics, and the new ‘course’ is gaining popularity .

As part of a Jewish Agency mission, dozens of young Israelis are fighting back against the ‘overtly’ anti-Semitic initiatives on campuses.

By Yori Yalon & Israel Hayom Staff

 

In what could be another attempt to make the delegitimization of Israel more mainstream, a pro-Palestinian group at the University of California, Davis, is now offering a new ‘academic course’ on the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UC Davis – Photo: David Marias

Students for Justice in Palestine said the course would cover the meaning of anti-Israel boycotts and tactics for conducting them. Continue Reading »

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| March 3, 2014
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In Kiev, a Jewish IDF veteran leads a ‘street-fighting’ unit

The ‘Blue Helmets’ comprising of 40 men & women who are not all Jewish & that include 5 ex-Israeli soldiers, says Delta the leader, an Orthodox Jew in his late 30s who wears a kippah under his helmet.

 

JTA – He calls his troops “the Blue Helmets of Maidan,” but brown is the color of the headgear worn by Delta — the nom de guerre of the commander of a Jewish-led militia force that participated in the Ukrainian revolution.

Delta, the nom de guerre of the Jewish commander of a Ukrainian street-fighting unit, is pictured in Kiev earlier this month. (Courtesy of 'Delta')

Delta, the nom de guerre of the Jewish commander of a Ukrainian street-fighting unit, is pictured in Kiev earlier this month.

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Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , ,
| March 2, 2014
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WATCH: Ben Shapiro at UCLA: “BDS is just another form of anti-semitism”

Students at University of California Las Angeles (UCLA) voted down this week a BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) proposal against Israel.

WATCH:

 

Ben Shapiro on Piers Morgan - Screebshot CNN

Ben Shapiro on Piers Morgan – Screenshot from CNN

Orthodox Jewish Conservative talk-show host Ben Shapiro addressed the crowd ahead of the vote in a pointed two-minute speech.

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Category: The Diaspora, Video's worth Viewing | Tags:
| February 27, 2014
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Israeli NGOs take their expertise to Africa

Israeli humanitarian NGOs bringing their expertise to meet the needs of camps in Kenya, has turned into a fruitful endeavor in Africa.

 

NAIROBI, Kenya (JTA) — When they first arrived in northern Kenya in 2011 at the height of a massive drought, the Israeli refugee aid organization IsraAid planned to offer food and other core necessities to the 100,000 residents of the Kakuma refugee camp.

Regina Muthoni, left, and Kenneth Gitau of the Nairobi dance group Kreative Generations, learned to farm with the help of the nonprofit Israel for Africa. (Ben Sales)

Regina Muthoni, left, and Kenneth Gitau of the Nairobi dance group Kreative Generations, learned to farm with the help of the nonprofit Israel for Africa.- Photo: Ben Sales

When the drought subsided a year later, IsraAid’s directors saw that this sort of assistance was becoming less crucial. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| February 27, 2014
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MK Rina Frenkel tells PM: ‘Bring Ukraine’s Jews to Israel’

 

Rina Frenkel, the Yesh Atid MK who once lived in Kiev, lobbied to Netanyahu for “a formulated, budgeted gov’t plan to bring the Jews of Ukraine to Israel on aliya.”

By LAHAV HARKOV

 

 

 

The government must prepare an emergency plan to bring Ukrainian Jews to Israel, MK Rina Frenkel (Yesh Atid) wrote to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Thursday.

Yesh Atid MK Rina Frenkel.

Yesh Atid MK Rina Frenkel

Following recent anti-Semitic incidents in Ukraine, including the firebombing of a synagogue Monday, Frenkel, said she felt a responsibility to get involved, since she made Aliya from Kiev in 1990.

In her letter to Netanyahu, Frenkel warned that the events in Ukraine may turn into a civil war and that, at the same time, anti-Semitism is on the rise. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , ,
| February 27, 2014
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The 1st marathon runner was Jewish…not Greek

In honor of Friday’s Tel Aviv Marathon, we note that a run described in the bible predates the Greek myth on which modern marathons are based.

Plus: A note from Jewish Runner Hall of Fame.

By

 

Tomorrow, Friday morning, thousands of runners will be taking to the streets. Yes, it’s the Tel Aviv Marathon, and the perfect time to debunk some myths about Jews and sports, specifically – running.

Pheidippides (Wikimedia)

Pheidippides delivering the message of victory after the Battle of Marathon, Luc-Olivier Merson, 1869.- Photo: Wikimedia

The first modern marathon was at the first latter-day Olympics, held in Athens in 1896.

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Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , , , ,
| February 25, 2014
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In 87 cities worldwide, Israel Apartheid Week is at a university near you

 

With focus on Britain, events held at Oxford, Cambridge and other prestigious campuses meant to delegitimize the State of Israel and denying Zionism.

By

 

 

The 10th annual Israel Apartheid Week is being marked this and next week in 87 cities around the world, with Britain having the largest number of them.

Message at the University of the Witwatersrand.

A pro-Palestinian message on the graffiti wall at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.- Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

The initiative is part of the international boycott, divestment and sanctions movement’s campaign against Israel, focusing on its continued control of the occupied territories.

Most of the related events take place on university campuses and are organized by Palestinian student groups or their allies.

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Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , ,
| February 24, 2014
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Italy’s newly elected PM supports Israel, sees Iran as serious threat

Just sworn in, Matteo Renzi regards the Iranian regime as the Middle East’s ‘main problem’, suggesting the left should learn to understand Israel’s concerns and support them.

By

 

Matteo Renzi is Italy’s youngest-ever premier, and he could also be one of the most pro-Israeli.

Newly appointed Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi delivers a speech at Florence's City Hall

Newly appointed Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi could prove to be a valuable friend for Israel in light of the present anti-Israeli mood in Europe. – Photo: AFP

The 39-year-old ambitious leader of the center-left, who was sworn in on Saturday as Italy’s fourth prime minister in four years, may bring Rome, already one of Israel’s key allies in Europe, even closer to the Jewish state.

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Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , , , , ,
| February 22, 2014
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Australian Book: Israeli Secret Agent ‘Prisoner X’ passed intel to an Iranian

In a new book by an old friend from a Zionist youth group in Australia, arrested & jailed Mossad agent Ben Zygier told an Iranian contact too much.

By YOSSI MELMAN
 

 

The former Mossad agent, Australian born Ben Zygier, who committed suicide in an Israeli prison cell more than three years ago passed classified information about Israeli espionage activities to an Iranian businessman. The information Zygier shared included details on operations that he was involved in.

Ben Zygier

These claims were made in the book Prisoner X by journalist Rafael Epstein that was recently published in Australia.

Epstein was Zygier’s counselor at the Australian Zionist youth groups Netzer and Hashomer Hatzair and together they participated in a workshop for diaspora youth leaders in Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , ,
| February 21, 2014
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Germany to assist Israelis in countries without Israel embassy

Arrangement offered by Merkel is ‘a special message’ from Berlin, says Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, Israel’s ambassador to Germany.

By Reuters

 

Germany is to offer Israeli citizens consular assistance in states such as Indonesia or Malaysia where Israel has no official diplomatic representation, under a new deal to be signed by Angela Merkel when she visits Jerusalem next week.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, near Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, January 22, 2014.- Photo: AP

Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, said the offer was “a special message” from Germany and underscored the importance of relations between the two countries.

Chancellor Merkel travels to Jerusalem on Monday with her cabinet for consultations between the two governments.

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Category: Israel News, The Diaspora | 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 20, 2014
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UAE Islamic organization issues fatwa against travel to Mars

After hearing of Mars One announcement of future missions to Mars, UAE state-run Muslim authority issues fatwa saying traveling to Mars akin to suicide.

Ynet

 

A Muslim organization in the United Arab Emirates has issued a fatwa barring followers of Islam from living on Mars, according to a Wednesday report in the British newspaper the Daily Mail.

NASA’s newest Mars rover, Curiosity, before pulling off a flawless landing on the Martian soil. - Image NASA JPL-Calteched

NASA’s newest Mars rover, Curiosity, before pulling off a flawless landing on the Martian soil. – Image: NASA JPL-Caltech

The fatwa was issued after Mars One, a Netherlands-based non-profit which aims to colonize the red planet, announced that it will build a colony for four people on Earth’s nearest neighbor by 2025. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | 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 19, 2014
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103 stolen Torah scrolls found in Russia by Hungarian Rabbi

 

Rabbi Slomo Koves reported that he has uncovered, in a library in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, 103 stolen Torah scrolls from Hungarian Jews during World War II.

Rabbi Koves told a press conference in a Budapest synagogue that he has initiated talks with Russia about the return of the scrolls.

By Reuters & Israel Hayom Staff

 

A Hungarian rabbi said on Tuesday he had uncovered 103 Torah scrolls stolen from Hungarian Jews during World War II and stashed in a Russian library, adding he planned to restore and return them to the Jewish community.

Rabbi Baruch Oberlander shows media how a Torah is used in a synagogue during a news conference in Budapest on Tuesday – Photo: Reuters

Slomo Koves, chief rabbi of the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation, said he had found the scrolls while following up a previous recovery of Hungarian war loot in the Lenin Scientific Library in Nizhny Novgorod, 420 kilometers (260 miles) east of Moscow.

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