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

US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, honored last week with the Distinguished Public Service Award of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), praised her former Israeli counterpart, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev. “Gabby was a great friend and partner and colleague,” Rice told JNS.org. “I miss her. We had a wonderful working relationship.” Shalev served in the UN ambassador from 2008-10. The current Israeli ambassador to the UN—whose resolutions on the …More

A Bronx school is earning international attention for its newest addition—a professionally crafted Holocaust center. The Bronx High School of Science established the Holocaust Museum and Studies Center in its basement with the help of a now-deceased teacher who promoted Holocaust education among his students. Stuart Elenko worked at the Bronx school until his death in 2009, teaching a Holocaust Leadership Class. While teaching, he shared his extensive collection of Holocaust artifacts with his pupils. In …More

A top US official is traveling to Israel to discuss trade with a focus on conflict diamonds. Jose Fernandez, the assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, arrived in Israel on Monday for a two-day visit, the State Department said in a statement. "During this visit, Assistant Secretary Fernandez will meet with government officials and business community representatives to discuss US-Israel bilateral and regional economic issues and conflict diamonds, respectively," the statement …More

British Prime Minister David Cameron is getting behind a campaign by the Anne Frank Trust to expose teenagers to Anne’s message at an early age. The Thirteen in 13 program encourages teens aged 13 to write to the prime minister with brainstorming ideas on how to make the world a better place for the next generation. “I’m delighted to support the Thirteen in 13 campaign to encourage young people to write about what they want to see in the world in which they are growing up,” Cameron …More

US officials allegedly told Israel that the United States has improved weapons capable of destroying Iran's underground nuclear site in Fordow. The Wall Street Journal, quoting unnamed American officials, reported Thursday that the United States had assured Israel that advanced features added to its bunker buster bombs vastly improved its ability to destroy underground facilities. The Journal reported that the United States hopes the improved Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, will serve to convince Israel to …More

Sit back by the bonfire and pop open a brewski, it’s Lag B’Omer. Since we have been counting the Omer--a biblical measure of barley that was brought as an offering to the Temple--each evening from the second night of Passover, what better way to mark the coming holiday than by downing a barley beverage, cold and carbonated? What’s the occasion? Lag B'Omer marks the ending of a plague during the Bar Kochba revolt in the second century C.E. According to tradition, students and soldiers were …More

Ken and Daniel Hechtman, two Jewish brothers who own a kosher diner in Illinois, saved several people from a fiery car crash in Chicago. While driving back Sunday night from their diner in Skokie, a truck in front of them on the Edens Expressway in Northfield swerved into another car, causing an explosion. Daniel Hechtman, 54, ran to the vehicle and pulled a passenger from the truck. Ken Hechtman, 60, pulled a mother and her 10-year-old daughter from the car, which was under the truck. Both sustainted more …More

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Israel Consul General Ido Aharoni addressed a packed house at the newly redesigned Marquee nightclub in Manhattan on the occasion of Israel’s Independence Day. Both spoke of the indelible bond between the United States and Israel as a crowd of 1,100 rung in Yom Ha’atzmaut until 3:30 a.m. this morning at a party hosted by Jspace.com and Dor Chadash. With the tragedy of the marathon bombings so recent, Aharoni expressed condolences for the people of Boston. …More

A legislative effort led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to enable Israelis to enter the United States without visas may be stymied by the government--Israel’s government. The hitch is Israel’s inability or unwillingness to fully reciprocate, something required for visa-free travel to the United States. Israel, citing security concerns, insists on the right to refuse entry to some US citizens. AIPAC is pushing for an exemption for Israel from this rule. But congressional staffers say …More

As anti-Jewish sentiment began to rise in Germany in the 1930’s, world Jewry took notice. While those on the outside looking in weren’t able to make immediate efforts to curb the alarming rate of Jewish restrictions under Nazi influence, a high number of advocates still let their voices be heard. In March of 1933, the American Jewish Congress took note of riots against Jews in Germany, where shops were being looted and general prejudice seem to be becoming the order of the day. An emergency meeting …More

John Kerry met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, discussing a possible restart to peace talks with Palestine and reinforcing the US’s pledge to stop a nuclearized Iran. "President Obama could not be more clear: Iran cannot have and will not have a nuclear weapon," Kerry said following a three-hour sit down with Netanyahu. "And the United States of America has made clear that we stand not just with Israel but with the entire international community in making it clear that we are …More