(BLOG) Zuckerberg Among Nine New Jewish Individuals & Families To Take The Giving Pledge

"Wednesday, 17 more billionaires announced that they had taken the Giving Pledge, a statement that they intend to give away at least half of their wealth before they die.

The pledge, an initiative started by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet, has drawn mixed reviews, with some hailing it as revolutionary and others panning it, as most of the first group of signatories, which was announced this summer, included mostly those who had after already making philanthropic commitments that far exceed 50 percent of their wealth.

This second group, which brings the total number of pledge takers to 57, includes at least one big name that is a philanthropic neophyte, facebook founder, Zuckerberg."

(NEWS) Kristallnacht Memorial Stolen

"Thieves made off with a 750 kilogram Kristallnacht monument from the Jewish cemetery in Cologne.

The theft occurred Sunday night, Ha'aretz reported on Friday, and the local Jewish community is offering a 4,000 Euro reward for information leading to its retrieval.

The monument, representing religious objects rescued during the night of Nazi-spurred violence and looting in 1938, stood about nine feet high.

The theft took place days after commemorations of Kristallnacht, or the night of broken glass -- named for the Jewish shops that were destroyed during the attacks." (source)

(NEWS) Fight Erupts Between Jewish Voice For Peace & StandWithUs

"A dispute between right-wing and left-wing Israel activists in Berkeley, Calif., resulted in a physical altercation involving pepper spray, police and paramedics.

On Sunday, activists associated with San Francisco Voice for Israel/StandWithUs disrupted a meeting of Jewish Voice for Peace at the South Berkeley Senior Center, heckling speakers.

One heckler, Robin Dubner of Oakland, used pepper spray against two Jewish Voice for Peace members. The Jewish Voice for Peace members said the spraying was unprovoked, but Dubner said she sprayed because she was physically attacked."

(NEWS) Jewish Groups Condemn Effort To Ban Circumcision In The US

"San Francisco-area Jewish organizations condemned a proposed ballot measure to outlaw Jewish ritual circumcision in the city.

The Anti-Defamation League, the local Jewish Community Relations Council, the Board of Rabbis of Northern California and the American Jewish Committee together issued a statement expressing 'great concern' about the proposed measure, which would make the practice of brit milah, or ritual circumcision, on anyone under age 18 a misdemeanor carrying a $1,000 fine.

'For thousands of years, Jews around the world have engaged in this important religious ritual, which is of fundamental importance in the Jewish tradition,' the statement said. 'The organized Jewish community is deeply troubled by this initiative, which would interfere with the rights of parents to make religious decisions for their own families.'"





Related Article:

• San Francisco May Propose To Ban Circumcision Next Year

(NEWS) Ugandan Rabbi Runs For Parliament

"Native-born Ugandan Rabbi Gershom Sizomu is running for the country's national Parliament.

If elected in the February 2011 vote, Sizomu would be the first Jew elected to national office in Uganda and also the first rabbi to be seated in a nationally elected government outside of Israel, according to Be'chol Lashon, an American-based organization committed to strengthening the Jewish people worldwide.

Sizomu, the chief rabbi of Uganda, has been endorsed by the Forum for Democratic Change party and is waiting for his candidacy papers to be approved by the National Electoral Commission."

(NEWS) Gerda Weissman Klein, Holocaust Survivor, Receives Freedom Medal

"A Holocaust survivor who teaches children the value of citizenship is among those who will be honored by President Obama with a Medal of Freedom.

Gerda Weissman Klein, who survived the notorious death march at the end of the war designed by Nazis to keep Jews from being rescued, recently founded Citizenship Counts, 'an organization that teaches students to cherish the value of their American citizenship,' the White House said in a statement Wednesday. 'Klein has spoken to audiences of all ages and faith around the world about the value of freedom and has dedicated her life to promoting tolerance and understanding among all people,' the statement said."

(NEWS) NY Rabbis Pull Out Of Muslim-Jewish Twinning Project

"Two rabbis in western New York have pulled out of a Muslim-Jewish outreach effort, charging that the national sponsor is involved in Islamic fundamentalism.

The 'twinning' project, which has been held each November since 2008, is a project of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding in cooperation with the Islamic Society of North America.

The ISNA was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorist financing case."

(NEWS) German Parliament Demands Gilad Shalit’s Release

"German Jewish leaders and pro-Israel groups applauded a German parliamentary motion demanding that Hamas release captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

The motion, passed Nov. 11, calls for negotiations and 'trust-building' measures leading to Shalit's release, including allowing a Red Cross to visit the soldier who was captured in a cross-border Gaza raid in March 2006. The text was presented Oct. 27 by the Christian Democratic Party and Christian Social Union, the Social Democratic Party, the Free Democratic Party and the Greens.

The Left Party did not sign on to the motion. Three of its legislators had been on the Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli naval commandos on May 31. Nine Turkish nationals were killed in the operation."

(NEWS) VP Joe Biden Vows Support Of Israel To Country’s Largest Jewish Charity

"Vice President Joe Biden pledged to Israel his unwavering support and that of the President Obama in front of several thousand attendees of the annual conference of North America's largest Jewish charitable network.

Biden, speaking at the opening plenary of the Jewish Federations of North America, which brings in between $2 billion and $3 billion per year through its 157 federations, told the roughly 4,000 attendees at the Marriott New Orleans that despite tensions that may seem to exist between the Obama administration and Israel, the tension does not imply a weakening of ties between the two countries.

'This administration represents an unbroken chain in American leaders who have understood this this critical relationship,' Biden said, pounding his fist on his podium for effect. 'It is one that we will not yield one single inch. President Obama feels exactly the same way I do. The ties between our countries are literally unbreakable.'"

(NEWS) Jewish Inmates’ Rights Were Violated On Kosher Meals, Judge Rules

"The Indiana Department of Corrections violated federal law when it substituted vegan meals for kosher for its inmates, a federal judge ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson made the ruling last week in Indianapolis in response to a class-action suit filed last year against the department by Matson Willis, an Orthodox Jewish inmate at the Miami Correctional Facility."

(NEWS) Pro-Israel Rally Held In Frankfurt

"A recent pro-Israel rally in Frankfurt should be the first of many, the head of Germany's Jewish community said.

Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, who attended the Oct. 31 pro-Israel rally, told JTA she was 'grateful to the organizers for making it possible for Christians and Jews to stand together for Israel.'

The event in Frankfurt drew some 1,000 people representing Jewish and interfaith groups under the banner, 'Israel is not alone: As a friend of Israel, you are not alone!' The main organizers were Christians on Israel's Side, the I like Israel association, the German-Israel Society of Frankfurt and Honestly Concerned, a media watchdog organization."

(BIZ) Bibi, Bloomberg Among Jews On Forbes’ Most Powerful List

"Several prominent Jewish men appear on Forbes' latest list of the world's most powerful people, including the Israeli prime minister.

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, was ranked at No. 8; Sergey Brin and Larry Page, co-founders of Google, ranked No. 22; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came in at No. 23 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came in at 24.

'As leader of an undeclared nuclear power, Netanyahu remains the biggest menace to Iran's nuclear ambitions,' Forbes said of Netanyahu. 'The people on this list were chosen because, in various ways, they bend the world to their will. They are heads of state, major religious figures, entrepreneurs and outlaws.'"

(NEWS) Pope: I’ll Fight Anti-Semitism

"Pope Benedict XVI told a delegation from the Anti-Defamation League that he would continue to fight anti-Semitism.

At a meeting Wednesday the pope thanked the ADL delegation, saying, according to an ADL statement issued after the meeting, 'It is very important what you do.'

When asked if he would continue to condemn anti-Semitism, the Pope replied: 'I will, you know I will,' according to the statement."

(NEWS) Canadian Chain Pulls Allegedly Anti-Semitic Magazine

"Canada's leading drugstore chain has pulled a controversial magazine from its racks, but insists the decision has nothing to do with complaints that its latest issue contained anti-Semitic images.

Shoppers Drug Mart said Tuesday that it will no longer sell Adbusters, an anti-consumerist/activist magazine based in Vancouver.

Lisa Gibson, a spokeswoman for the Shoppers, told the Globe and Mail newspaper Tuesday that the decision was unrelated to a campaign by the Canadian Jewish Congress against the magazine, which in its last issue ran a photo essay equating Israel's military actions in Gaza with the Holocaust."

(NEWS) Arson Attempted On German Synagogue

"German officials condemned an attempted arson on a new synagogue in the city of Mainz.

A Molotov cocktail was thrown at the synagogue on Saturday evening. No one was injured and there was no damage.

The firebomb went out after landing on a tree. Witnesses who saw the short-lived flames informed police immediately, but there was no need to douse any flames, according to reports.

Police and prosecutors have set up a hot-line for tips."

(NEWS) Australian Lawmaker Cites Holocaust Victims And A Survivor

"Australia’s first Jewish lawmaker for the federal Liberal Party paid homage in his maiden speech to family members who perished in the Holocaust and one who survived.

Speaking Monday in the House of Representatives in Canberra, Joshua Frydenberg, 39, and a graduate of Bialik College in Melbourne, said that 'My great-grandparents, and many relatives on both sides, perished in the Holocaust, but one who survived is with us today. My great-aunt Mary Frydenberg spent two years at Auschwitz. She was transferred back to Germany by the Nazis and then sent on a death march, but she escaped with the assistance of a humane German guard.'"

(NEWS) Slaughterhouse Stops Kosher Slaughter Over McDonald’s Protest

"A slaughterhouse that supplies kosher meat to London-area stores has stopped kosher slaughter following a protest by McDonald's.

Slaney Foods in County Wexford, Ireland, decided to stop religious slaughter, the Jewish Chronicle reported. Slaney has supplied meat to McDonald's for eight years.

McDonald's has been under fire in recent days since media reports that halal meat, which is ritually slaughtered for Muslims, is used by some of the fast-food chain's restaurants. After denying that such meat was used because it is against company policy, McDonald's was forced to admit that some of its meat indeed was ritually slaughtered at Slaney."

(NEWS) Israel Can’t Use Bible To Justify Claims, Mideast Synod Says

"A meeting of Mideast bishops declared that Israel cannot use the Bible to justify territorial claims to land in Israel.

The final statement of the two-week Synod of Bishops of the Middle East in Rome that ended Saturday blamed Israel for the conflict between the Jewish state and the Palestinians.

It rejected the use of the biblical position of the Promised Land to justify Jewish settlement of the West Bank.

'Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable,' the bishops said."





Related Article:

• A Christian Response to Synod Declaration on the Chosen People

(NEWS) New Jewish Community Center Opens In Romania

"A new Jewish community center opened in Romania.

The JCC that opened Oct. 10 in Timisoara is the fourth to open in Romania to serve the country's nearly 10,000 Jews. The others are located in Bucharest, Oradea and Iasi.

The opening included a celebration for about 300 guests and an after party for local Jewish youth

The Timisoara JCC is a joint project of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and The Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania. The center will serve between 600 and 800 Jewish residents of Timisoara, as well as more from several surrounding communities." (source)

(NEWS) Australian Unions Join West Bank Goods Boycott

"Australian unions have joined the international campaign to boycott Israeli goods from the West Bank.

The Electrical Trades Union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, the Queensland branch of the Rail Tram and Bus Union and the Finance Sector Union all recently passed a resolution supporting the international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel."