The 2013 Jerusalem Marathon took place on Friday in Israel. Twenty thousand participants from 54 different countries ran in the international marathon. Of these, 1,730 were foreign athletes. The race took place despite protests by Palestinians who had called for an international boycott of the marathon over human rights issues, and the fact that the race went through East Jerusalem, which they claim will be their future capital. Abraham Kabeto Ketla of Ethiopia won the race with a time of 2:16:29.25, setting a …More

New York City protests aren’t particularly unusual, not even at the turn of the 20th century. One such protest, against child labor, has been immortalized thanks to a sepia-toned photo showing two young girls adding their voices to the demonstration—two young, Jewish girls. In the photograph, taken on May 1, 1909, a pair of Manhattan youths holds flags and don sashes, one written in English and one written in Hebrew. The message is the same in both languages: “Abolish child slavery.” The …More

The funeral of Arafat Jaradat, a 30-year-old Palestinian who died in Megiddo jail, sparked riots across the West Bank Monday. Israeli authorities allege the prisoner died of a heart attack, but Palestinians believe he was tortured to death while in custody. A 13-year-old boy from a refugee camp near Bethlehem was injured by gunfire from Israeli troops attempting to control the rioters, Palestinian sources told Israeli media. A 16-year-old also sustained a head injury. An Israeli soldier and Israeli teen were …More

At a rally in Washington DC last Sunday, 50,000 people from across the United States gathered in the National Mall to spread awareness about climate change. Among them were thousands of Jewish activists, representing a handful of Jewish organizations joining the growing public concern for global warning and climate instability. Royal Young decided to attend the rally after the recent devastation on Hurricane Sandy hit too close to home. “Sandy devastated New York. I feared for my elderly Jewish grandparents …More

The judicial division of the Israeli Soccer Association decided to punish Beitar for its fans racist behavior by closing the eastern section of Teddy Stadium to fans for 5 games. The decision came after team CEO Itzik Korenfine was “clear that the racist fans cannot be seeded out” as an official statement from Judge Emanuel Sela said. Sela added that he “would rather not take any chances” when it comes to the fanatic fans and members of the “La Familia” fan organization. Beitar …More

Some 300 people attended a protest rally against Argentine-Iranian cooperation in investigating the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center. Among the protestors on Feb. 14 in the Argentine capital were relatives of the survivors of the bombing of the AMIA center. Israeli and Argentinean justice authorities blame Iran for the attack. "We ask Argentine society’s forgiveness for wasting a great privilege that democracy gave us," Sergio Bergman, a lawmaker and Reform rabbi, said in a speech at the …More

Holocaust survivors for a third straight year protested outside a golf tournament in Florida sponsored by Allianz because of what they deem the insurance firm's restitution failures. The survivors gathered outside the Allianz Golf Championship in Boca Raton over the weekend demanding that Allianz pay some $2 billion that the survivors say is owed to Nazi victims in unpaid claims, the Sun Sentinel reported. "Not only haven't I seen any money, this is already 70 years," said David Schaecter, 83, a Holocaust …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

In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote to Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath, conveying to the Jewish leader an idea he had for a march. King was planning an unprecedented demonstration, bringing hundreds, maybe thousands, on a walk from Montgomery to Selma. Dr. King was fighting for voting rights for the black community, and he needed the rabbi’s help. “The segregationists and racists,” King once said, “make no fine distinction between the Negro and the Jew.” What resulted would go down …More

Arab and Jewish residents banded together on Sunday to protest plans for a new cement factory in central Israel’s Qalansawe Industrial Zone. School children and others from nearby communities waved signs reading “My House is Not a Dump Site!” to draw attention for the high levels of industrial pollution already plaguing the region and demand that plans to build new factories be stopped. According to community activists, illegal dumping and pollution from nearby factories have turned the area in …More

More than 1 million people have signed on to join a "virtual march" commemorating the Washington rally 25 years ago for the Soviet Jewry movement, according to a coalition marking the 1987 event. Freedom 25, a coalition of 20 organizations, was aiming to attract 1 million people online to remember Freedom Sunday, when some 250,000 demonstrators gathered on Dec. 6, 1987 to demand that Jews be allowed to leave the Soviet Union. The rally advanced the Soviet Jewry movement, eventually allowing millions of Russian …More

In protest of the Philippines voting in favor of Palestine’s upgraded UN status, hundreds of Filipinos marched for Israel in Manila on Friday. Organized by several pro-Israel Christian organizations, the peace rally saw 300 to 400 marchers take over 10 kilometers of a busy Manila business district with Hebrew songs, sofar blowing and the waving of Israeli flags. A convoy of over 50 cars, decorated in support of the Jewish state, followed the walkers. Banners reading “standing with Israel, now and …More