The
Haggadah for Passover makes a profound
statement based upon our experience in
Jewish History. ¨Not only one enemy has
risen against us; but in ever generation
they rise against us to destroy us. And the
Holy One, Blessed Be He, saves from their
hand.” Purim is a celebration of one of the
times that they rose against us, tried to
destroy us but the Holy One saved us from
their hands.
Great
news.
Many thousands of people in Israel want to
convert to Judaism. Most are from the former
Soviet Union and have Jewish ancestry or
spouses. Many others, of various national and
religious backgrounds, have come to Israel to
study Judaism and to become Jewish.
Thousands of people throughout
the diaspora want to become Jews. They are
attracted to the teachings of Torah; or they’ve
discovered Jewish roots; or they want to marry a
Jewish spouse.
The
homemade grenade, tossed late Feb. 26 into the
Orthodox Beit Shmuel synagogue, damaged windows
and a car; no injuries were reported.
It was the second such attack
this year on a Jewish site in Caracas. Eleven
people, including eight policemen, are under
arrest for vandalizing a Caracas synagogue last
month.
The
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today condemned
the violent attack on a Caracas synagogue
and called on President Hugo Chavez to
promptly and publicly denounce this heinous
anti-Jewish hate crime and to quickly bring
the perpetrators to justice.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL
National Director, issued the following
statement:
Ronald
Lauder Praises Argentinean Expulsion of
Holocaust Denier
The
president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC),
Ronald S. Lauder, has hailed as a positive
move the order by Argentina’s Government to
the Holocaust-denier Bishop Richard
Williamson to leave the country within ten
days or face expulsion. “This decision is
commendable, even more so because the
government of Argentina makes it crystal
clear that Holocaust deniers are not welcome
in the country. Sadly, other countries and
governments are much less inclined to crack
down on any attempts to denigrate the
victims of the Shoah.
JERUSALEM (JTA) --
Seven teachers in Jewish educational
institutions in Miami have been awarded
teacher excellence and creativity awards.
The 2008
awards, sponsored by the Targum Shlishi, a
Raquel and Aryeh Rubin Foundation, provide a
cash prize for each recipient to be applied
to a continuing education opportunity.
When
I first began the following article, I was
looking to write a history of the
Sefardic Jews of Cuba, “los turcos”.
I wanted to document the history,
experiences, and traditions of those Jews
that lived in the tropical paradise, Cuba.
But upon reviewing hundreds of documents,
books, photos and other research materials
and interviewing some of the aging members
of that generation living in South Florida
today, I stumbled upon another story. It is
the story of two groups of valiant young
Jews that left their homes in order to
actively participate in the destinies of the
Jewish people.
Mourning the Passing of "Baal Tzedaka"
Geladio "Gerry" Grinberg
Paramus,
N.J.--Movado Group founder and chairman:
Gedalio "Gerry" Grinberg, widely considered
a visionary in the watch industry, has died.
He was 77.
Over a distinguished 60-year career, during
which time he built a reputation as a
leader, entrepreneur and patron of the arts,
Grinberg became the first recipient of the
Jewelry Information Center's Lifetime
Achievement Award. Grinberg, who said in a
2008 interview that "watches measure time,
and I have always been fascinated by what a
person does with their time," gained notice
for his ability to recognize the potential
cache of luxury watches and market them
accordingly
New York - A judge has revoked bail for former New York City Police
Commissioner Bernard Kerik and ordered him to go straight to jail. Fox 5
News...
Read More »
Jerusalem - The Israeli and U.S. militaries were set to begin a major
joint air defense exercise Wednesday, highlighting military ties between
the...
Read More »
Jerusalem - Chabad activists were shocked over a new proposal by Knesset
Chairman Yariv Levin (Likud) that would prohibit minors from drinking or...
Read More »
Oct. 19, 2009. -Sioux Falls, SD - Two kosher meat
sellers who regularly bought from Agriprocessors Inc. testified today that they
were unaware that the eastern Iowa...
Read More »
New York - This is it. We’re finally here. We’re on the cusp of whole new
year. Tishrei is almost over. Sad, isn’t it? But there’s still one more chance
to get in those sweetest of spiritual feelings: Shmini Atzeres and...
Geneva, Switzerland - French agents have arrested a researcher from
Europe's top atomic lab on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda, fuelling fears
that...
Read More »
Brooklyn, NY - Residents in Windsor Terrace are up in arms after a pair
of thugs pelted a house with eggs and rocks while shouting anti-Semitic
slurs, witnesses said. The alleged bias incident, which took place on
Prospect Ave., is the second such crime to rattle the neighborhood in recent
weeks - and comes on the heels of other high-profile anti-Semitic...
Read More »
Washington - The U.S. administration is furious over Israeli incitement
against President Barack Obama, Democratic congressmen close to Obama told
an...
Read More »
New York - One of the seven hakafah dances around the synagogue this year
will dedicated in memory of slain Jewish Wall Street Journal journalist...
Read More »
Princeton, NJ - Jewish students who do not use electricity on the Sabbath
recently received metal dorm keys to use from sundown on Fridays to
sundown...
Read More »
Hammond, IN - Contrary to its logo, Luke Oil Co. is not kosher, according
to a lawsuit filed by a group of Orthodox Jews. The Union of Orthodox...
Read More »
ISRAEL
More Ethiopian to Israel
Israel will allow
additional Ethiopians to petition for
aliyah under the special circumstances
afforded the Falash Mura.
Without specifying a
number, Israel’s Cabinet decided Sunday
that the petitioners must meet three key
criteria: They must be listed on a 1999
census of the Falash Mura in Ethiopia;
have been living for at least a year in
the Ethiopian city of Gondar, where Jewish
aid groups have provided services; and
have relatives in Israel who can submit
formal petitions on their behalf.
At least 1,400
Ethiopians are expected to meet those
criteria, and possibly as many as 8,700.
The move follows months
of pressure on the Israeli government by
advocates of Ethiopian aliyah, including
American Jewish federation executives.
Several months ago, Israel’s Supreme Court
recommended that the government check the
eligibility for aliyah of an additional
1,400 or so Falash Mura but did not order
the government to do so.
The Falash Mura are
Ethiopians who claim links to Ethiopians
whose Jewish ancestors converted to
Christianity a century ago to escape
economic and social pressures, but who now
are returning to Judaism and petitioning
to immigrate to Israel.
On Sunday, the Cabinet
ordered the Interior Ministry, which
historically has been slow to verify the
eligibility of Ethiopian petitioners for
aliyah, to begin the verification process
by Jan. 1. Those found eligible will be
brought at a rate of up to 100 per month,
the Cabinet decision said.
A total of 16,095
Ethiopians have immigrated to Israel since
the Cabinet decided in February 2003 to
bring additional Ethiopian olim.
.....................
.
Full Story
LATIN AMERICA
Latin American Jews concerned about
Hezbollah activities
The president of the Confederation of
Israelite Associations of Venezuela (CAIV),
Abraham Levy Benshimol, has said it was
worrying that the militant Lebanese group
Hezbollah could be operating in his country.
In an interview with Argentina's Jewish News
Agency (AJN), Levy Benshimol said the Jewish
community was concerned by a story published
last week by the ‘Los Angeles Times’
newspaper, and reproduced by Israeli media,
according to which Hezbollah could have a base
of operations in Venezuela
The Simon
Wiesenthal Center has received leads that "Dr. Death"
Aribert Heim, the center's most wanted Nazi war criminal,
is alive and living in Patagonia, Chile. The center's
chief Nazi hunter is due to travel there this week.
The hunt for "Dr. Death" Aribert Heim,
the Nazi war criminal wanted for murdering hundreds of
prisoners in concentration camps during World War II,
has intensified after the Simon Wiesenthal's chief Nazi
hunter received fresh leads during a visit to South
America.
The
latest example of the growing hostility toward
Jews came on Jan. 30, when a Caracas synagogue
was vandalized by armed perpetrators who threw
Torah scrolls and prayer books on the floor, and
wrote on the walls “We don’t want Jews here” and
“Jews get out.”
As
Anna Gostamelsky shattered Israel's national
swimming record for the 100-meter freestyle on
Sunday evening in Beijing, once again
demonstrating her incredible endurance, I
couldn't help thinking about another battle she
has been fighting, this one for more than six
years, and to date unsuccessfully: her bid to be
recognized by the rabbinate as Jewish.
During
the Seder it is customary for the youngest
child to ask the Four Questions of the
Haggadah which really begins the process of
discussion and exposition of the story of
the Exodus from Egypt.
During
Pesach all types of leavened foods (chametz)
are prohibited. According to the Torah,
these can only come from foods that contain
the five biblically prohibited grains; (1)
wheat, (2) spelt, (3) oats, (4) barley and
(5)
rye.
Israel and
Native American Tribe Smoke Peace Pipe?
Smoking the Peace
Pipe in 21st century? Well, not properly,
but an ancient tribe in America extend his
hand to the Jewish people.
At first glance, there seems
to be little in common between Israel and
the 862 member Native American Coushatta
Tribe, from Louisiana. But the tribe clearly
thought otherwise.
BUENOS
AIRES, Argentina. March 8- Claudio Lifschitz
(43), a lawyer and former Justice Secretary,
was abducted and tortured was by masked men
yesterday near Villa Devoto. As recalled,
the lawyer alleged cover-up and
collaboration in the terrorist attack that
killed 85 people on July 18, 1994. Lifschitz
was savagely tortured.
The
violent anti-Semitic attack on a Caracas
synagogue on the Jewish Sabbath did not
happen in a vacuum. It was the latest
manifestation of anti-Semitism in Venezuela,
a country whose leaders, government
officials, media commentators and others
foster an atmosphere of intimidation against
the Jewish community, according to a new
report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
issued today.
BARCELONA,
Spain -- A man dressed in military attire
attacked the ancient Synagogue Mayor in
Barcelona and an employee there.
On the morning of Jan. 30,
the vandal used a baseball bat to smash
signs outside the building in the old Jewish
Quarter identifying the synagogue. The
employee, who approached the man, was beaten
with the bat, the European Press reported.
When
the news broke last week of a modern-day
lynching of an Ecuadorian immigrant at the hands
of a gang of seven high school students in
Patchogue, L.I., leaders of the Jewish community
stood in the forefront of groups condemning the
senseless hate crime and expressing solidarity
with the area’s Latino residents.
The American Jewish Committee organized a rally
against hate four days after the Nov. 8 murder,
and one of the village’s two synagogues, Temple
Beth El of Patchogue, hosted a public forum last
Friday.
Seven Generations: Past
and Present of Ethiopian Jews
By Andres Bayona
Avishai Mekonem
They
claim that they aredescendants of a
beautiful and wise African Queen who fell in
love with the wise King Solomon. Her name
was Makeda, Queen of Ethiopia. In the
Biblical Book of Chronicles she is referred
to as The Queen of Sheba, who went to visit
Israel after she had heard of Solomon’s
wisdom. Makeda, herself was known as the
wisest ruler in Africa and people came from
far and wide to consult her. Her courtship
with Solomon was a source of international
interest because of the grace, majesty and
romance that it brought with it and it gave
great pride to both nations.
