Travel and Food

VATICAN CITY (WJC)–Pope Benedict XVI has moved his controversial war-time predecessor, Pius XII, a step closer to sainthood, declaring that Pius had displayed “heroic virtues” throughout his life and thus been a Christian worthy of imitation. Pius was one of 17 people approved by Benedict on Saturday in a list that also includes Pope John […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)–U.S. military officials should make further changes at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri to ensure that soldiers are not subjected to unwanted religious proselytism, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. In July of 2008, Americans United wrote to Department of Defense officials to raise concerns about the “Tabernacle Baptist

Josh Gerstein, “Israeli lawyer & peacenik guilty of leaking FBI secrets,” on Politico. com Ben Kamin, “Hanukkah connects the land to the Jews forever,” in examiner.com Ben Kamin, “Uncommon rabbi-scholar remembered twenty years later,” on Examiner.com Yoel Meltzer, “Why make aliyah?” on Y-Net News Barry Rubin, “What’s really going on in Palestinian politics: springtime for

NEW YORK (Press Release)–The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Friday expressed shock and disbelief at the unconscionable theft of the infamous “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign from the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz. According to museum officials, the iron sign was stolen early Friday morning after having been unscrewed and ripped from its moorings at the Holocaust

By Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO–Shimi Gerber (name changed) was a boy with lots of unfulfilled potential – which is putting it mildly. His parents sent him to an excellent yeshiva in New York, but he was more interested in anything  but learning. During parent-teacher conferences they always heard the same thing; “Shimi is a very

GREENBELT, Maryland (Press Release)–A former FBI contract linguist pleaded guilty today to unlawfully providing classified documents to the host of an Internet blog who then published information derived from those documents on the blog. Shamai Kedem Leibowitz, aka Samuel Shamai Leibowitz, 39, of Silver Spring, Md., pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenbelt, Md., to

TEHRAN (WJC) — Iran is producing new generations of uranium enrichment centrifuges and plans to use them by March 2011, the head of the country’s Atomic Energy Organization told the ‘Fars’ news agency on Friday. “We are producing a new generation of centrifuges named IR3 and IR4 … We plan to use them by 2011

AUSCHWITZ, Poland (WJC)–The iron sign bearing the infamous Nazi slogan “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work sets you free”) that spanned the main entrance to the former Auschwitz death camp was stolen in the early hours of Friday, Polish police said. The sign was removed by being unscrewed on one side and pulled off on the other,

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)–The Senate’s healthcare debate is moving toward landmark legislation that could protect Medicare for the future and eliminate problematic insurance practices while expanding coverage to millions. Consequently, B’nai B’rith International urges senators to consider long-term needs and include provisions from the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Act in the final

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, joined with Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison and Senators Byron L. Dorgan, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security, and Jim DeMint, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on

LONDON (WJC)–The UK’s Supreme Court has found a Jewish school guilty of racial discrimination for refusing places to students it does not consider to be Jewish according to the principles established by Britain’s chief rabbi. Nine justices ruled by a small majority that the renowned Jewish Free School (JFS) in London had breached race relations

BUDAPEST (WJC)–The Hungarian Supreme Court has upheld a ban against the controversial paramilitary Hungarian Guard that is linked to the extreme-right Jobbik party. “Through its activities, the group has overstepped the boundaries of freedom of expression,” the court said in its decision. “We acknowledge, but do not accept the verdict,” said Jobbik leader Gabor Vona,

By David Amos SAN DIEGO–Let’s talk about interpretation. What makes us like one performance and dislike another? Many factors come into play, but let me share a few ideas which you may not have considered before. Interpretation is the way a piece of music is played. There are many variations as to what is “right”