The AJC World Leaders Plenary featured speakers who offered earnest and penetrating commentary on Jewish issues. Greek Foreign Minister Dmitris Avramopoulos talked about the marked resemblance of Greek and Jewish history: the two peoples’ contributions to the humanities, arts, sciences and commerce. Avramopoulos contended that this common history and shared values, which has spanned over 3000 years, continues to bring the Jewish and Greek people together in a special way. The Jewish and Greek people, he …More

Jspace is proud to be a sponsor of the annual American Jewish Committee (AJC) Global Forum, which will take place in Washington, D.C. this Sunday, June 2, through Tuesday, June 4. The conference will feature hundreds of prominent leaders, politicians and activists from around the world who will engage in a multitude of lectures and discussions. Topics on the agenda include the Arab Spring and the concurrent rise of political Islam, immigration reform and Latino-Jewish relations, and the role of religion in the …More

Lithuania’s foreign minister garnered headlines last week when he broke with tradition and visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Linas Linkevicius made the stop during a diplomatic trip to the Jewish state. Customarily, foreign politicians do not stop in East Jerusalem, as the international community does not recognize Israel’s annexation of the area following 1967’s Six Day War. “This is highly unusual and violates our usual code of practice,” a diplomat from a European Union …More

US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Israel again, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. At the meeting, Kerry lauded the Jewish state’s commitment to re-starting the peace process with Palestine. “There have been some very serious meetings, a lot of very serious discussions,” Kerry said. “I know this region well enough to know that there is skepticism. In some corridors, there’s cynicism. And there are reasons for it. There have …More

The Jewish Museum in Camden, London will host an exhibit about Amy Winehouse’s Jewish roots, and include many of her personal belongings. [Standard] The British lawyer who was overheard making anti-Semitic remarks at her firm was fined $12,000 for her actions. [Algemeiner] A documentary film, “The Optimists,” depicts how Bulgarians protested against shipping Jewish citizens to concentration camps in 1943, saving most if the country’s 48,000 Jews. [Washington Post] A Jewish café …More

Tzipi Livni joined a score of leaders at Mauthausen Sunday, commemorating the 68th anniversary of the death camp’s liberation. "We who weren't there cannot and may not forget. The numbers engraved on the arms in Auschwitz are engraved on each of our souls," the Israeli justice minister said. "I came today as justice minister of the Jewish state to say together with you ‘never again.’” Livni added: "It is not for us that we do not want the world to forget, it is for the future of …More

The Arab League might be open to supporting a two-state solution not confined to 1967 borders, the prime minister of Qatar said Monday. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani made the admission after a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Arab League leaders in Washington. Al-Thani said in a press conference the Arab nations would be open to a land swap as a pathway to creating a Palestinian state, a departure from the Arab League’s 2002 peace plan, which called strictly for ’67 border lines …More

The Albany school district in New York has issued an apology, after an English teacher gave a writing assignment from the Nazi perspective. [Times Union] Modern Orthodox legal expert, Rabbi Michael Broyde, admits to using a fake identity and infiltrating a rival rabbinical organization. [Forward] Oprah is being protested by The Canadian Foreskin Awareness Project for endorsing a face cream that contains foreskin. [Heeb] Turkish police uncovered an al Qaeda plot to bomb the United States Embassy and …More

Just hours before a powerful earthquake hit near Iran’s nuclear city Busheshr, Press TV reported Israel’s Dimona power plant posed a great risk to the environment of the region. The state owned English language media corporation, headquartered in Tehran, has in the past called Dimona “the Middle East’s time bomb” and warned that Israel’s reactor “spreads cancer and sterility in the Middle East.” In an April 9 report, Press TV quoted Professor Uzi Even, formerly of …More

Israel’s 33rd government was sworn in today, heralding in a more central governing bloc and introducing new titles to politicians both freshman and veteran. Election golden boys Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett are two newcomers set to hold heavy influence. As heads of the two largest parties after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s, there was plenty of speculation over what ministerial positions the pair would receive. After days of negotiations, it was agreed Lapid will serve as finance minister …More

Jewish Home holds coalition talks in the hope of revoking Netanyahu’s agreement with Tzipi Livni. [Times of Israel] Madeline Albright discusses discovering her own family’s Jewish heritage and Holocaust experience, in new book “Prague Winter.” [Marin Independent Journal] Taglit-Birthright founders Michael and Judy Steinhardt will auction off 400 pieces of rare Judaica collection. [JPost] Standing Together helps IDF soldiers have special Purim celebrations. [Jewish Press] Recently …More

York County Prison has begun to question inmates who pretend to have Jewish affiliation to obtain better tasting food. [York Daily Record] An anti-Semitic cardinal is currently being considered to succeed Pope Benedict XVI. [Jewish Press] A Jewish organization in Hungary has initiated a ban on naming public streets after allies of Hitler. [Israel National News] Senator Chuck Schumer supports Chuck Hagel’s plans for pro-Israel lobby in Washington. [Capital NY] The IDF investigates ways to boost the number …More