Syrian fighting decimates tourism industry

Published on December 3, 2012

Damascus is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. International flights into and out of the capital continued despite throughout 20-months of fighting between troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and the rebels seeking to depose him. But as of Friday, the flights have stopped.

Israel shows off its homeland security technologies to international visitors

Published on May 14, 2012

Israel’s security technologies were on display as the country hosted two separate international contingents.

Israel and the world- weekly news from Israel

By Noga Gur-Arieh
Published on April 2, 2012

International Agunah Day Conference draws locals to support ‘chained’ women

Published on March 8, 2012

Esther Macner, a former prosecutor and trial attorney from New York, has spent years advocating on behalf of agunot — women whose husbands have failed to give them a get, a Jewish divorce document. Now she’s on fire about getting the West Coast Jewish community to address the problem of get-refusal. Without a get, women and men are not permitted to remarry according to Orthodox Jewish law.

McCain advisors:
No to Syria talks, little interest in Middle East peace process

By Ron Kampeas
Published on September 22, 2008

Two McCain advisers told participants in a weekend retreat that his administration would discourage Israeli-Syrian peace talks and refrain from actively engaging in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Think you know ‘The Jazz Singer’? You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!

By Pat Sierchio
Published on September 20, 2007

The Warners predicted, correctly, that "The Jazz Singer" would be "without a doubt, the biggest stride since the birth of the industry." But the film's importance may not rest solely on the fact that it was the first sound film. It was also the first film to boldly address the assimilation of immigrant Jews into American culture.

Women’s Lib Rises in Wake of Disaster

By Peter Ephross
Published on December 29, 2005

A Developing Reputation
Special Report - A Jewish Appeal to Remember and Rebuild
This Time They're Ready for the Wave

Nation & World Briefs

Published on December 1, 2005

National and world briefs, news.
Israeli and Palestinian ambulance services signed an agreement they hope will ease Israel's accession to the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement.

Nation & World Briefs

Published on November 24, 2005

National, International, World briefs, news. The Reform movement passed a resolution criticizing the handling of the Iraq war and seeking a partial troop withdrawal.

‘Water’ Hits High Tide

By Tom Tugend
Published on June 30, 2005

"Walk on Water" has become the highest-grossing Israeli film in the United States, with box office receipts topping $2.1 million.

Anti-War, Anti-Israel?

By James D. Besser
Published on June 3, 2004

With things going badly in Iraq, the anti-war movement in this country is trying to expand its political base with a series of high-profile marches scheduled for this weekend.

And once again, planners of some of the events are using rising discontent over the war to boost other items on their agenda, starting with vehement criticism of Israel.

A primary sponsor of the new burst of protest: International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), the anti-war group criticized last year for barring speakers who supported Israel and for a vehemently anti-Israel approach to the Mideast conflict.

Sharon Battles for Pullout Plan

By Leslie Susser
Published on May 27, 2004

On the international front, the Israeli prime minister has weathered scathing criticism of Israel's latest military operation in the Gaza Strip, which left more than 40 Palestinians dead and dozens of homes demolished in the Rafah refugee camp.

At home, a rebellion is gathering steam in Sharon's Likud Party by opponents of the planned withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank.

Big Brother Lurks in Higher Education Bill

By J. Shawn Landres
Published on March 25, 2004

Leaving aside the question of whether it is the government's role to ensure ideological balance in academic settings, the bill unquestionably is a well-intentioned response to a serious problem.

Egypt Displays Split Personality on Israel

By Leslie Susser
Published on January 1, 2004

Israeli leaders were heartened in late December, when Egypt's foreign minister announced that he would come to Jerusalem for talks on promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace.

At the same time, however, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was moving in Cairo to galvanize international pressure on Israel to dismantle the nuclear weapons it is presumed to possess.Â

These seemingly contradictory thrusts in Egyptian policy highlight the deep ambivalence that has characterized Egypt's attitude to Israel since the two countries made peace in 1979.

IDF at Odds With Militant Activists

By Matthew Gutman
Published on April 17, 2003

The bad blood between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and a group of international pro-Palestinian activists continues to grow as more members of the group are injured in Israeli anti-terror operations.

Future Uncertain for Five Iranian Jews

By Michael J. Jordan
Published on February 27, 2003

The release from prison of five Iranian Jews last week was due not to a change of heart by the regime in Tehran, but to a political calculation that Iran's international image needs burnishing, observers say. And clouding the relief of the Jews' relatives and advocates is concern that the men could be rearrested at any time or subjected to other forms of harassment, at the whim of the authorities.

At the same time, U.S.-based advocates for the Jews are reminding the community that another 11 Iranian Jewish men remain unaccounted for after disappearing while allegedly trying to cross Iran's border illegally in the early 1990s.

Up Front

By Journal Staff
Published on January 2, 2003

The Jewish Community Center (JCC) is on the lookout for teen athletes who want to compete in the 2003 JCC Maccabi Games, a week-long international Jewish youth summer games competition, to be held Aug. 8 through Aug. 15.

This year, 70 local athletes will be able to participate in games to be held in Houston and St. Louis, said Matt Lebovits, a Maccabi coordinator. This year's sports include boys basketball and soccer (for those 14 and under), boys and girls soccer (for those 16 and under), girls volleyball (16 and under), baseball, tennis, dance and swimming.

Anti-Semitism on Upswing in Greece

By Jean Cohen
Published on December 5, 2002

Expressions of anti-Semitism through Holocaust imagery were so harsh in the Greek media and political circles at the time that Hronika, the official magazine of the Central Board of Greek Jewish Communities, spoke of a climate of "hysteria and anti-Semitism" that was masquerading as mere criticism of the State of Israel.

Silence in Any Language

By Tom Tugend
Published on April 11, 2002

The Holocaust, as seen through the eyes of five international filmmakers, will air on successive evenings on Cinemax, from April 15-19, at 7 p.m.

Collectively titled "Broken Silence," the series, produced by James Moll (who won an Oscar for the documentary, "The Last Days"), consists of one-hour documentaries from Hungary, Argentina, Russia, Czech Republic and Poland, each in its native language with English subtitles.

The series is one more spinoff from the prodigious work of Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation in videotaping the testimonies of more than 50,000 survivors in 57 countries and 32 languages.

Honoring the Righteous

By Brianne Korn
Published on April 6, 2000

When the atrocities of the Holocaust came to public light, many unsung heroes remained in the shadows.
In a ceremony at the United Nations on Monday, some rescued Holocaust survivors met their unknown heroes, or those heroes' family members, for the first time since the war.

The international community honored government diplomats who risked their careers and lives to save thousands of Jews fleeing Nazi terror.

Community Briefs

Published on July 22, 1999

Even for an international film producer and inveterate traveler, Arthur Cohn has covered a lot of territory recently.
During the last week in October, the winner of a record five Oscars and producer of "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" and "Central Station" was feted in Shanghai at his very own "Arthur Cohn Day" by the Chinese government and film industry.

Circle of Friends

By Marlene Adler Marks
Published on July 23, 1998

I see that it's time for the media to replay the perennial horror story known as The Dying Jew. "The Vanishing Jew," by Alan Dershowitz, is a mea culpa over his son's intermarriage.