Police search two homes in Chatham

Members of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect want to know why Quebec police swooped down on their settlement north of here Wednesday night, searching two homes.
Read more: http://www.torontosun.com/2014/01/29/cops-swoop-down-on-jewish-sect-near-chatham

Clintons pay respects to Edgar Bronfman

A memorial service for a businessman and Jewish leader at Lincoln Center draws former President Bill Clinton and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They came to pay final respects to Edgar Bronfman, who died in December.
Read more: http://www.ny1.com/content/politics/political_news/202675/clintons-remember-jewish-rights-activist-edgar-bronfman-at-lincoln-center-memorial

Recognizing the Jewish State

U.S. President Barack Obama referred to Israel as a “Jewish State” during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinian Authority to do the same.
Read more: http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/01/29/obama-refers-to-jewish-state-of-israel-hours-after-netanyahu-calls-for-pa-to-do-same/

Hillary Clinton to be honoree at AJC dinner

The American Jewish Congress plans to honor Hillary Rodham Clinton in March at a gala dinner in Manhattan — an event that will put her in front of a key group of potential supporters in a future presidential campaign.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/hillary-clinton-american-jewish-congress-102670.html#ixzz2rfeQQH5A

No sale

You can buy and sell just about anything on Craigslist, as long as you’re not looking to score a Jewish baby name to the tune of $20,000.
Read more: http://voices.suntimes.com/arts-entertainment/the-daily-sizzle/what-cant-you-sell-on-craigslist-a-jewish-baby-name-for-20000/

A new Jewish caucus

A group of lawmakers has formed the California Legislative Jewish Caucus to weigh in on issues of priority to members, including immigration, civil rights and Israel, according to its chairman, state Sen. Marty Block (D-San Diego).
...Among the issues the group will address: In the last two years, some University of California student organizations and governments have approved resolutions urging the U.C. Board of Regents to divest from companies linked to the Israeli military.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-lawmakers-form-new-california-legislative-jewish-caucus-20140122,0,7883863.story#ixzz2rG42NFe2

Opposition to war memorial in Hungary

Hungarian Jewish groups on Tuesday called for the government to cancel plans to erect a large memorial to the country's March 1944 occupation by Germany.

Critics see the statue as part of efforts by the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to blur the responsibility of Hungarian officials and security forces in the deportations of Jews during the Holocaust.

Continue reading: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/jewish-groups-hungary-oppose-1944-memorial-21608337

Dress code on trial

The New York City human rights commission is putting three Jewish business owners on trial tomorrow for discrimination in the heavily Hasidic neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The Orthodox Jewish business owners' supposed crime? Posting a dress code in storefront windows:
Continue reading: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/nyc-human-rights-commission-targets-jews-anti-israel-witness_774901.html?utm_campaign=Washington+Examiner&utm_source=washingtonexaminer.com&utm_medium=referral

Jewish apps

Teaching young people – and millennials – about religion can be a chore, not to mention sometimes boring or confusing for the students. One tech firm in San Francisco may have an answer for those young followers of the Jewish faith: G-dcast.
Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2014/01/19/judaism-in-cartoons-and-iphone-apps/

The Jewish Cardinal

Made as a film for the French-German television network, Arté, “The Jewish Cardinal,” screening January 20 at the New York Jewish Film Festival, nevertheless has the scope and sobriety of a feature film.
Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/190978/jew-and-cardinal-both/#ixzz2qdokkMnH

Jewish book awards

Authors Yossi Klein Halevi, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Ari Shavit were among the winners of the 2013 National Jewish Book Awards.
Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/01/15/news-opinion/united-states/israelis-snag-top-prizes-at-national-jewish-book-awards#ixzz2qUsHbDtm

An apology

We reported last week that Rabbi Jack Moline, the National Jewish Democratic Council director, berated the American Jewish Committee and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for “strong-arm tactics” to get senators behind an Iran sanctions bill the Obama administration opposes.
...Moline emailed me yesterday to apologize — but only to the AJC:
Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/01/14/news-opinion/politics/moline-apologizes-to-american-jewish-committee-but-not-aipac#ixzz2qS4vVZ2f

Praying for rain in Morocco

At the request of the king, prayers for rain were held at synagogues throughout Morocco.
The prayers were recited on Saturday, one day after Muslims said similar prayers in mosques at the request of King Mohammed VI, the Moroccan daily Le Matin reported. The king made the request upon learning that Morocco may suffer a drought this year.
Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/01/14/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/moroccos-jewish-community-prays-for-rain-at-kings-request#ixzz2qOLrRqDk

Canceled tour

French comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, who has been accused of anti-Semitism in connection with his Nazi-style “quenelle” salute, has canceled his planned nationwide “The Wall” tour after several cities banned his show.
Read more: http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/01/12/french-comedian-who-popularized-nazi-style-salute-cancels-nationwide-tour/

Rising sales of “Mein Kampf”

Earlier this week, Vocativ published a piece examining an alarming trend: e-book versions of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” have been rising steadily to the top of the best-seller charts on iTunes and Amazon.
Continue reading: http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2014/01/09/why-is-hitlers-mein-kampf-rising-to-the-top-of-book-charts/

Marsha Kreuzman meets her American soldier savior

It’s been almost 70 years, but Marsha Kreuzman still remembers the moment she laid outside the steps of a Nazi crematorium wishing she could die.
Kreuzman had already lost her mother, father and brother to the Holocaust, and death seemed inevitable, she said.
But then an American soldier picked up her 68-pound body and whisked her to safety.
“I wanted to kiss his hand and thank him,” she said. “From the first day I was liberated, I wanted to thank them, but I didn’t know who to thank.”
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/04/holocaust-survivor-meets-liberator_n_4537285.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

Helping UEFA to fight anti-Semitism

The European Jewish Congress (EJC) offered on Tuesday to help European soccer’s governing body UEFA and the English FA to fight anti-Semitism in the sport following Nicolas Anelka’s “quenelle” salute.
Read more: http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/01/01/jewish-congress-offers-soccer-organisations-help-to-fight-anti-semitism/