An ADL expert offers tips on security for Jewish organizations

By Ted Parker SAN DIEGO–This article suggests several measures Jewish institutions can take to improve their security.  For additional information go to the Security Awareness page of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) website at www.adl.org and read the paper entitled Protecting Your Jewish Institution: Security Strategies for Today’s Dangerous World. Security Planning Security planning begins with […]

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Travel and Food

European Court of Human Rights rules Jews and Roma should be enfranchised in Bosnia-Herzogovina

STRASBOURG, France (WJC)–The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that the constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina discriminates against the Jewish and Roma minorities in the Balkan country and must be changed. The court ruled on Tuesday in favor of the two plaintiffs, the president of the Jewish Community, Jakob Finci, and Roma leader Dervo

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Travel and Food

Moldovan church indirectly blames Jews for anti-Semitic incident

CHISINAU, Moldova (WJC)–The Russian Orthodox Church in the former Soviet republic of Moldova has indirectly blamed the Jewish community for the recent anti-Semitic march by Christian fundamentalists in the capital Chisinau in which a public menorah was dismantled. A church statement said: “We believe that this unpleasant incident could have been avoided if the menorah

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Travel and Food

Israel's chief rabbi expresses concern over possible sainthood for Pope Pius XII

JERUSALEM (WJC) — Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger has said that Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to proceed with the beatification of war-time Pope Pius XII made it difficult to continue with Catholic-Jewish interfaith dialogue. However, Metzger emphasized that the Israeli Chief Rabbinate would not cut off relations with the Vatican. On Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI

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Middle East

NCJW denounces Senate health care restrictions on abortion coverage

WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) — The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) on Tuesday denounced the provision in the Senate health reform bill that would deprive millions of women of access to abortion and impose onerous restrictions on millions more. NCJW President Nancy Ratzan released the following statement: “The ongoing war against women’s ability to exercise their

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USA

Lloyds TSB "Bank pays $217 million fine for helping Iran circumvent U.S. trade laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday announced a $217 million settlement with Lloyds TSB Bank, plc (Lloyds), concerning the bank’s intentional manipulation and deletion of information about U.S. sanctioned parties in wire transfer instructions routed through third-party banks located in the United

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USA

U.S. Treasury Department freezes assets of Iraqi insurgent group

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Tuesday designated the Iraq-based insurgent group Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi (JRTN) for threatening the peace and stabilization efforts in Iraq. JRTN has committed, directed, supported, or posed a significant risk of committing acts of violence against Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces and was

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USA

Reform movement expresses mixed reactions over Health Care bill

WASHINGTON, D.C., (Press Release)– In response to the Senate’s early morning procedural vote on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Mark Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement: We are pleased to see the Senate’s vote to move forward with crucial health insurance reform legislation that

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USA

Wyden calls for action to shut off flow of money from Saudi Arabia and other countries to Taliban

 WASHINGTON, D.C (Press Release)–As the United States prepares to ramp up troop levels in Afghanistan and bring that war to a close, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat, Oregon) called on Richard C. Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, to turn attention to the illicit funding streams that are propping up the Taliban’s ability to

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Travel and Food

Shonda file: Spinka Rebbe Naftali Tzi Weisz sentenced to two years in prison for tax evasion

LOS ANGELES (Press Release)– The Grand Rabbi of Spinka, a religious group within Orthodox Judaism, was sentenced Monday morning to two years in federal prison for orchestrating a tax evasion scheme that prosecutors called “an astonishingly complex and sinister enterprise.” Grand Rabbi Naftali Tzi Weisz, 61, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty last summer to a

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Middle East, USA

Jimmy Carter says an 'Al Het' if any of his words stigmatized Israel

ATLANTA (WJC)–Former US President Jimmy Carter has asked the Jewish community for forgiveness for any offense he may have caused when criticizing Israel. In a letter release by the news agency JTA, Carter sent season’s greeting and wished peace between Israel and its neighbors. He concluded: “We must recognize Israel’s achievements under difficult circumstances, even

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Middle East, USA