Israeli President Shimon Peres was draped with the Presidential Medal of Freedom last night during an official ceremony at the White House. President Barack Obama bestowed the award on the Jewish leader for his commitment to peace and steadfast work to serve “his nation -- and strengthen the bonds between our two nations -- for some 65 years, the entire life of the State of Israel.” Peres’ three adult children, Tzvia, Yoni and Chemi, were present at the ceremony along with their respective …More

President Barack Obama handed out the 2011 Medals of Freedom at the White House yesterday, honoring several notable figures in the Jewish community. Israeli President Shimon Peres was among the 13 recipients, as was the late Jan Karski, a Polish World War II resistance fighter. Jewish-musician Bob Dylan was also honored, along with former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, who's new book explores her hidden Jewish roots. “For years, Jan Karski’s students at Georgetown University knew he was a …More

Madeleine Albright’s new book was released this week. In the memoir, the former-secretary of state shares the secret Jewish heritage her family kept from her, and revealing how she lost 25 relatives in the Holocaust. In writing the book, “Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948,” Albright researched her family’s past, uncovering details of her Judaism through papers and documents she had never seen before. Albright’s parents where Jewish exiles from …More

Madeleine Albright, Bob Dylan, Shimon Peres and Jan Karski will be among 13 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The list was released Thursday. President Obama had previously announced that he was set to confer the medal on Peres, the Israeli president, and Karski, the late Polish resistance fighter who was among the first to document the Nazi genocide. Among Albright's contributions, the White House said in announcing the medal recipients, she "helped lead the Alliance’s campaign against …More