Special interest Special Interest News Judaism
Bulgarians scolded for falsifying historical facts about its role in deportation of Jews
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- Published on Thursday, 16 May 2013 02:48
- Written by Marija Atanasovska
An attempt by the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington DC to earn American honors for the supposed saving of the Jewish Community in WWII was met by refusal and protest by the Museum of Holocaust in Washington DC, agencies reported.
Israel detains 10 women for wearing men’s prayer shawls
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- Published on Wednesday, 13 February 2013 13:02
- Written by BC & Agencies
Israeli police detained 10 women at one of Judaism's most sacred sites Monday for wearing prayer shawls, which Orthodox tradition sees as solely for men, a spokesman said.
Jews denounce German court ruling on circumcision, seek ways to proceed
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- Published on Tuesday, 10 July 2012 03:42
- Written by BC-Stuff
Israeli politicians and European Jewish leaders on Monday condemned a recent German court decision equating circumcision with causing bodily harm. Germany's top diplomat to Israel said the ruling does not apply at the national level, and officials at the Justice Ministry are reviewing the development.
An Israeli parliamentary committee Monday denounced a recent German regional court decision making circumcision a crime while the ruling also provoked the Conference of European Rabbis to call for an emergency meeting in Berlin to discuss the issue.
Both groups agree that ritual circumcision of Jewish boys when they are eight days old is a fundamental part of being Jewish.
Montenegro gives land for building of first modern synagogue
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- Published on Monday, 14 January 2013 15:56
- Written by BC & Agencies
The government of Montenegro reportedly has given land to its small Jewish community to build the country's first synagogue in centuries.
The last of the paperwork came through on Dec. 31, according to Jasa Alfandari, president of the Jewish Community of Montenegro.
Tzedakah: More than Charity
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- Published on Friday, 29 June 2012 03:25
- Written by Lisa Katz
Reaching out to those in need is central to Jewish being. Jews are commanded to give at least ten percent of their net income to charity. Tzedakah boxes for collecting coins for those in need can be found in central places in Jewish homes. It is common to see Jewish youth, in Israel and in the Diaspora, going door-to-door to collect money for worthy causes.
Obligated to Give
Tzedakah literally means righteousness in Hebrew. In the bible, tzedakah is used to refer to justice, kindness, ethical behavior and the like. In post-biblical Hebrew, tzedakah refers to charity, giving to those in need.
Jewish group sues Amazon Germany over revisionist books
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- Published on Friday, 19 October 2012 03:20
- Written by BC & Agencies
The American Jewish Committee said on Friday it is suing the German unit of online retailer Amazon for selling books which it says question the Holocaust and "trivialize" the Nazis.
According to AJC research, around 50 works by authors including "Der Auschwitz-Mythos - Legende oder Wirklichkeit ("The Auschwitz Myth - Legend or Reality") by Wilhelm Staglich were on sale on Amazon.de this month.
Some of these books, the AJC says, are classified by the German authorities as being unsuitable for under-18s.
"It is unacceptable that books are for sale on Amazon.de that normally are only available under the counter in far-right extremist shops," the AJC said in a statement.
Contamination found in Kotel prayer books
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- Published on Thursday, 10 May 2012 22:49
- Written by Itay Gal
A recent examination of communal prayer books in the Western Wall shows large numbers of fecal bacteria, a contamination that far exceeds the normal rate.
The contamination was found in books both from the women’s section and the men’s section. Still, the Western Wall’s rabbi argues that the blame is solely on the women that tend to hold the books close to their faces and shed tears.
The test comprised of samples taken from prayer books from both sides of the partition. The samples revealed extremely large numbers of fecal bacteria colonies including E. coli and other coliform bacteria.
One sample had 460,000 colonies (1000 being the normal rate) and another had 540,000 colonies of bacteria, in addition to high concentration of mold.
One Home: Protecting the Earth Through Interfaith Education and Activism
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- Published on Saturday, 25 August 2012 06:39
- Written by Yonatan Neril
The Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison tells the following story: A young girl with a bird in her hands went to a wise person. The child asked the wise person, "Is the bird in my hands alive or dead?" If the answer was "dead," she would open her hands. If the answer was "alive," she would close her hand and kill the bird. The wise person, sensing her intention, responded, "I cannot say whether the bird is alive or dead, but I can say that the fate of the bird is in your hands."
Today we have in our hands not one bird, and not just all birds, but all living beings on our planet, including 7 billion human beings.
The life of a heart: Muslims and Jews saving lives together
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- Published on Friday, 24 February 2012 13:31
- Written by Mehnaz M. Afridi
As I listen to sound bites of news, a swarm of words sting me: Iran, Israel, nuclear, Palestine-Israel at a standstill, Muslims kill Jews, and Jews kill Muslims. As a Muslim woman who teaches classes about the Holocaust at a Catholic college, I am constantly frustrated by the media coverage of the Middle East which overwhelmingly serves to highlight and entrench national and religious tensions, prejudice and conflict.
Menachem Cohen, Israeli Scholar, Completes Mission To 'Fix' Hebrew Bible
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- Published on Thursday, 09 August 2012 20:38
- Written by BC-Stuff
For the past 30 years, Israeli Judaic scholar Menachem Cohen has been on a mission of biblical proportions: Correcting all known textual errors in Jewish scripture to produce a truly definitive edition of the Old Testament.
His edits, focusing primarily on grammatical blemishes and an intricate set of biblical symbols, mark the first major overhaul of the Hebrew Bible in nearly 500 years.
Poring over thousands of medieval manuscripts, the 84-year-old Cohen identified 1,500 inaccuracies in the Hebrew language texts that have been corrected in his completed 21-volume set. The final chapter is set to be published next year.
Four attacks on New Jersey synagogues
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- Published on Friday, 13 January 2012 00:40
As a sign of heightened atmosphere of the religious intolerance. hate-crimes against minority religious groups are on the rise in the U.S.A. After the similar attacks were carried in New York against Muslims little over a week ago, now Jews in neighboring New Jersey are the target of the arson attacks.
The American FBI and local law enforcement sought clues on Thursday in four attacks on Jewish targets in New Jersey in recent weeks, including Molotov cocktails thrown into a rabbi's home.
