The US says bigotry against Jews and Muslims is on the rise. [BBC] Syrians trot our IDF Jeep "captured" from rebels. [Times of Israel] A UNESCO visit to Jerusalem is canceled by Israel. [Times of Israel] A New York exhibit highlights US Jews that helped refugees from Nazis. [WSJ] A UK program targets the "Jewish cancer gene" with DNA analysis. [Haaretz] Was the Toulouse terrorist a lone wolf? [Jewish Press] A look at Helen Keller's letter to Nazi Germany. [Tablet] …More

Israeli scientist Dr. Osnat Penn—a postdoctoral researcher in computational biology at Tel Aviv University whose work examines the genetic origins of autism—has been awarded a 2013 UNESCO-L’Oréal International Fellowship for promising young female scientists, Israel Hayom reported. Penn, 32, and 14 other researchers worldwide were awarded the prestigious fellowships out of hundreds of candidates. The fellowships are given to female scientists “whose promising research projects have …More

With the help of American comedian Sarah Silverman, an Israel-based developer of solar projects is using online crowd funding to bring solar energy to the Galapagos. Energiya Global has announced the launch of an Internet campaign to install 1,200 solar panels on the site of a former garbage dump in the Galápagos UNESCO World Heritage Site, located about 550 miles west of the Ecuadorean mainland. The campaign is hosted on the ROI Community page of Indiegogo.com. Silverman, whose brother-in-law, Yosef …More

Germany’s unexpected abstention from the recent UN vote on an upgraded Palestinian status came as a shock to Israel. A report in Germany daily Der Spiegel Monday explored the reasons behind the decision, ranging from Israel’s politicking to prominent Israelis’ support of Palestine’s motion. As of mid-November, Chancellor Angela Merkel still believed that direct negotiations were the only rout to peace between Israel and Palestine, and that unilateral measures should be blocked. This was …More

The Israeli High Court has ordered that work be halted on a separation fence that would divide a historic farm community near Jerusalem. The Arab village of Battir, located inside the green line near the old Jerusalem train station, is famed for its environmentally friendly and centuries-old cultivation methods. On Monday, Justice Uzi Vogelman ordered a 14-day injunction prohibiting work to begin on the separation fence after residents of Battir, supported by leading environmental groups and the Israel Nature and …More

Simon Wiesenthal Center representatives currently in Russia reached out to Jspace to announce UNESCO has named the Church of the Nativity a World Heritage site. The decision came in a 13 to six vote, with two abstentions. Though the decision was made through secret ballot, the SWC said it was a vote by French Ambassador Daniel Rondeau that was the determining factor. No other western nation sided with the bid. SWC International Relations Director Shimon Samuels reported that the Palestinian delegate in Russia …More

As the UNESCO World Heritage Committee readies itself to vote on one of the religious world’s most treasured sites, the Simon Wiesenthal Center shot back at France’s decision to side with the Palestinian plight. In Russia on Friday, the WHC will determine the soundness of the Palestinian Authority’s campaign to deem the Church of the Nativity a World Heritage site. While most associated with the bid see no problem with such a designation, the controversy centers on the means by which the …More

Top Obama administration officials faced tough questions from lawmakers on funding for the Palestinian Authority and its efforts to seek statehood recognition. During a hearing Tuesday of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) probed the US Agency for International Development 's administrator, Rajiv Shah, on the administration’s funding for the PA and requested a written justification for the Obama administration’s $147 million request for the Palestinians. "Among …More

Since his visit to the United States, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has devoted himself to preparing public opinion for war with Iran. [Haaretz] Asaf Romirowsky argues that pro-Palestinian groups are appropriating the language of David and Goliath to argue against being silenced. [Ynet] Israel has developed its own bunker-busing bombs. [DEBKA File] French-Jewish businessman David-Guy Lesueur was arrested for desertion after attempting to enlist in the IDF. [Ynet] Israel, Iran, Jordan and Turkey are …More

While UNESCO has declined to recall and reprint the most recent five-year report on worldwide scientific achievements, which largely omits Israel, it has recently bowed to pressure to update the online version. [The Times of Israel] A recent report shows that Israeli venture capital funs raised $796 million in 2011 after raising nothing the year before. [Globes] Dan Margalit worries that nobody in the settlement Migron is publically speaking out in favor of maintaining harmony with the Israeli …More

The Obama administration formally announced its intention to ask Congress to waive a ban on funding UNESCO over its recognition of Palestinian statehood. "The Department of State intends to work with Congress to seek legislation that would provide authority to waive restrictions on paying the U.S. assessed contributions to UNESCO," says a footnote in the budget that the White House submitted to Congress this month. The footnote was quoted in a press release issued Wednesday by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), …More

Five thousand demonstrators swarmed the Hofburg Palace Friday to protest a ball attended by Europe’s prominent far-right figures because it occurred on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The group picketed the annual Wiener Korporationsring ball in Vienna, chanting "Nazis out!" and holding posters depicting Holocaust victims that read, "Don't dance on my grave." Mostly right-wing student fraternities organize the WKR ball, part of the famous Austrian ball season. The controversial event was attended …More