US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice discussed the Middle East peace process and other regional issues with Jewish community leaders. The hour-long meeting May 13 organized by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs also included representatives of the Jewish Federations of North America, UJA-Federation of New York, and the JCRC of New York. JCPA President/CEO Rabbi Steve Gutow presented Rice with a mezuzah in recognition of her support of Israel and advocacy of US values and interests at the United …More

A dozen Jewish organizations sent a letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry expressing their concern over the rise of anti-Semitism in Hungary. The May 14 letter commended Kerry for his offices’ recent human rights report that detailed the rise of the xenophobic and anti-Semitic Jobbik party and encouraged Kerry “to keep the issue of intolerance and discrimination squarely on the US-Hungarian bilateral agenda.” The Jobbik party has called for the creation of a list of Jewish public officials …More

The New York teacher who assigned her students to write a persuasive essay on why Jews are evil was placed on leave and will be disciplined. The teacher, who has not yet been named, was placed on leave Friday from her job at Albany High School and could face a reprimand or firing, according to the Albany Times Union. Albany Public Schools Superintendent Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard, speaking Friday at a news conference with members of the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Federations, said the teacher will be …More

Government and lay leaders at a three-day Washington conference discussed strategies for helping the Jewish community’s most vulnerable people. The Government Affairs Institute was hosted last week by the Jewish Federations of North America in collaboration with the Association of Jewish Family & Children’s Agencies. Members of the media, academia and the federal government lectured on government policies and met with government officials who work in the social services fields. The program …More

The Israel Action Network released a new manual aimed at fighting the delegitimization of Israel. The advocacy group created by the Jewish Federations of North America put out a document called IAN FACTS aimed at countering efforts to isolate the Jewish state. "IAN FACTS was compiled to respond to a growing demand from across North America and the globe to examine and share effective strategies for countering assaults on Israel’s legitimacy, including boycott, divestment and sanctions [BDS] attempts and …More

President Obama named as his new chief of staff a security official, Denis McDonough, who has strong ties to the Jewish organizational community. McDonough, until now the deputy to National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, handled much of the National Security Council's Israel-related traffic and has strong ties with Jewish groups. He addressed the Washington Institute for Near East Policy just weeks before the last presidential election. "Over the last four years, in speaking privately with me, and more publicly …More

It was the poor construction. There had been many earthquakes more powerful than the one that hit Haiti nearly three years ago, and there have been many more since. But few have been deadlier. When the tremor registering 7.0 on the Richter scale struck on Jan. 12, 2010, it flattened countless rows of ramshackle houses in the impoverished capital of Port-au-Prince, burying their inhabitants beneath a pile of smoking rubble. The death toll is still uncertain; estimates vary from 46,000 to the Haitian government's …More

In the trial of Brooklyn counselor Nechemya Weberman, a mother took the stand yesterday to testify about how United Talmudical Academy administrators pressured her into sending her daughter for counseling, and paying Weberman $12,800 in advance. [Gothamist] Leadership of New York Jewish congregation B'nai Jushurun has shocked members by sending out an e-mail in support of Palestine's upgraded UN status. [The New York Times] Dr. Erica Brown takes a page from the talmud in interpreting the behavior of parent Nick …More

Just north of Sderot, the recently arrived Ethiopian olim housed at the Ibim Immigrant Absorption Center are coping with life under fire from Gaza rockets. JAFI Chairman Natan Sharansky and a delegation of senior leaders from the Jewish Federations of North America visited the center today in a show of solidarity for the new immigrants. The homes at the absorption center each have protected spaces, and share communal shelters. Briefed at the airport by the Jewish Agency, the immigrants are receiving support from …More

The Jewish Federations of North America voted to commit $5 million to relief efforts in conflict-ravaged areas of Israel. The funds will help meet immediate needs of those impacted by the attacks as well as provide long term counseling for schoolchildren and other residents of Israel’s hard hit south. The new Terror Relief Fund was approved by the Executive Board as a way “to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Israel at this critical time,” and will be distributed in southern Israel …More

The Jewish Agency for Israel helped provide respite for thousands of southern children and teenagers on Sunday, taking the Israelis on a day trip out of immediate range as rockets continue to fall on the Jewish State. Coordinated with local authorities and the National Emergency Authority, the activities ranged from visiting a mall to taking in a museum. Children from the south enjoyed themselves in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, at sides including the Azrieli Mall, Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, amusement park KikTzuba, the …More

Rabbi Eric Yoffie worries that American progressive Jews won't support Israel's operation in Gaza. [Haaretz] StandWithUs, the Conference of President of Major American Jewish Organizations, JFNA, and the National Jewish Democratic Council expressed solidarity with Israel as the escalationf with Gaza continues. [Algemeiner] A Jewish journalist travels to Ukraine, where anti-Semitic party Svoboda has just won 10 percent of the popular vote, but experiences hope at Jewish conference in Kiev. [Jerusalem Post] A 41 …More