Boston bomb suspect spotted on video, no arrest made

Published on April 17, 2013

Investigators believe they have spotted a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing from security video, a U.S. law enforcement source said on Wednesday, but no arrest had yet been made.

Suicide bomber kills guard at U.S. embassy in Turkey

Published on February 1, 2013

A far-leftist suicide bomber killed a Turkish security guard at the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Friday, officials said, blowing open an entrance and sending debris flying through the air.

ADL, Jewish federations regret failure to ratify disabilities treaty

Published on December 5, 2012

Two national Jewish groups expressed regret at the U.S. Senate's failure to ratify a disability rights treaty.

U.S. Army to build large security complex near Tel Aviv

Published on November 30, 2012

The U.S. Army is preparing to supervise the construction of an underground military complex near Tel Aviv.

Egypt security forces, protesters clash outside U.S. Embassy

Published on September 12, 2012

Security forces fired teargas to disperse stone-throwing demonstrators near the U.S. embassy in Cairo late on Wednesday, some 24 hours after protesters scaled the walls and tore down the flag over a film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

BIRD Foundation awards $8 million for U.S.-Israel research

Published on July 6, 2011

A foundation that works to support industrial research and development to benefit the United States and Israel will invest more than $8 million in nine new projects.

U.S. delegation visits jailed contractor Alan Gross

Published on June 13, 2011

A delegation of Americans visiting Cuba met with jailed American contractor Alan Gross. The group met for two hours with Gross, 62, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for "crimes against the state" for distributing laptop computers and connecting Cuban Jews to the Internet, on June 10 in Havana. They delivered a letter to him from his Washington-area synagogue, according to Reuters.

Iran: Israel and U.S. are trying to provoke a regional war

Published on June 8, 2011

Iran blames Israel and the U.S. for trying to provoke a military conflict in the region, Israel Army radio reported on Wednesday. According to the report, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that the two countries are conspiring against Iran.

Most U.S. Jews see Israel as serious in peace bid, poll finds

Published on June 1, 2011

American Jews strongly believe in Israel's commitment to peace, and largely think the Palestinian leadership and people are opposed to it, according to a new poll.

U.S. Holocaust museum presenting roll call of victims

Published on May 2, 2011

Holocaust survivors and members of the public are reading the names of Holocaust victims at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The reading at the museum's Hall of Remembrance began Sunday and will last through May 8.

In unusual U.S. visit, Israeli Knesset members try listening

Published on April 8, 2011

Hardly a week goes by that the Israeli Knesset doesn’t receive a delegation of visiting American Jewish VIPs. They come from Jewish organizations, federations and communities, sometimes with U.S. politicians, business leaders or big donors in tow. There’s a lot less traffic in the other direction.

Sarah Palin must be so proud - Bristol is cashing in!

By Julia Bendis
Published on April 7, 2011

Jewish groups condemn House budget proposal

Published on April 6, 2011

Jewish groups and a key Jewish lawmaker condemned the U.S. House of Representative's budget proposal for 2012, saying it will hurt the Americans most in need. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs said in a statement released Wednesday that the Republican-backed budget proposal unveiled the previous day, which slashes nearly $6 trillion from federal spending over the next 10 years, "relies on cuts which will be harmful to many of those in America who are most in need."

EU policy chief joins U.S., U.N. in rapping Gilo housing approval

Published on April 6, 2011

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton joined the United States and the United Nations in condemning a Jerusalem committee's approval of new housing in Gilo. Ashton said Wednesday that she was "deeply disappointed" in the initial approval Monday by the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee of the construction of 942 housing units in Gilo, a residential district in mostly Arab eastern Jerusalem. Other committees already had approved the plan. The units would be built on privately owned land as well as land owned by the Jewish National Fund, Haaretz reported.

U.S.: Violence isn’t the answer to grievances of Syrian people

Published on April 1, 2011

The White House on Friday condemned Syria's violent crackdown on anti-government protesters and urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to promptly take concrete steps toward meaningful reform.

Gingrich: U.S. run by “anti-Jewish” elite

Published on March 28, 2011

The United States under President Obama is "dominated by a secular, anti-Christian and anti-Jewish elite," Newt Gingrich said. Gingrich, the onetime speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and a likely presidential candidate for 2012, spoke on March 25 at a meeting in Iowa of the American Family Association, Politico reported.

U.S. praises PA security progress

Published on March 22, 2011

The Obama administration lauded the progress of Palestinian security services. "The program has witnessed increased coordination of activities amongst international donors, and is achieving notable progress on security, justice, corrections, and other new fronts," the U.S. State Department said in a statement issued Sunday.

Radio host threatens to oust Minn. lawmaker over invocation objections

Published on March 22, 2011

A conservative radio host suggested that he would work to unseat a Minnesota state senator who opposed a pastor's invocation in the statehouse for being nonsectarian.

Israel, U.S. woo Latin America after neglect leads to tilt away

Published on March 21, 2011

It’s time for the West to woo Latin America -- some will say it's about time. The United States and Israel appear to be heading toward increasing their focus on the area following years of neglect that has resulted in closer ties between Latin America and Iran -- and gains for the Palestinians. The shift comes amid Iran’s deepening influence in the region, as well as the successes of a Palestinian diplomatic offensive that has seen eight Latin American nations agree to recognize a Palestinian “state” in recent months.

U.S. warns Libya over possible military action [VIDEO]

Published on March 18, 2011

United States President Barak Obama condemned embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi Friday, warning that the U.S. will take military action if Gadhafi does not comply with the terms iterated in the UN Security Council resolution passed Thursday.

Meet Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo, Bahrain’s Jewish U.S. ambassador

Published on March 16, 2011

The appointment of Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo (46), the first female Ambassador from Bahrain and the first Jewish Ambassador of an Arab country in Washington, was praised by U.S. diplomats when it was revealed recently in one of the Wikileaks cables.

U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution

Published on February 18, 2011

The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have condemned Israeli settlements as illegal. The Security Council resolution, which was brought to a vote Friday afternoon, earned the support of the council's other 14 members.

Iranian officials blame Israel, U.S. for protests

Published on February 15, 2011

Iranian officials blamed Israel and the United States for protests that broke out in the Islamic Republic, leaving one dead and dozens injured. "The parliament condemns the Zionist, American, anti-revolutionary and anti-national action of the misled seditionists," Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Tuesday during an open session of parliament a day after the demonstrations in support of the peoples' revolution in Egypt that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

Barak talks Egypt with U.S. officials

Published on February 10, 2011

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak talked about the unrest in Egypt with U.S. officials. The Americans "stressed the United States' unshakeable commitment to Israel's security, including through our continued support for Israel's military, and the unprecedented security cooperation between our two governments," according to a statement Wednesday from Tom Donilon, the U.S. national security adviser, describing Barak's meeting with Donilon, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Carter sued over book on Palestine

Published on February 3, 2011

Five readers have filed a class-action lawsuit against former President Jimmy Carter for his book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” His publisher, Simon & Schuster, also was named in the lawsuit over the book published in 2006.

U.S. won’t interfere in Egyptian transition, White House official says

Published on February 3, 2011

A senior White House official told Jewish leaders that the United States does not deal with the Muslim Brotherhood but would not interfere in the Egyptian transition process. Dan Shapiro, the senior National Security Council official dealing with Israel and its neighbors, briefed Jewish leaders on Wednesday evening as forces loyal to President Hosni Mubarak unleashed violence against protesters seeking to unseat his 30-year autocracy.

Israeli organized crime suspects extradited to U.S.

Published on January 12, 2011

Two Israeli brothers suspected of involvement in organized crime were extradited to the United States. Meir and Yitzhak Abergil boarded a U.S. government plane Wednesday afternoon accompanied by American federal marshals. The United States requested their extradition more than two years ago on charges of money laundering, extortion and drug trafficking. They also are accused of killing a drug dealer. Three other Israelis also were extradited Wednesday on the same charges. They were indicted in 2008 by a California court following a six-year police investigation in several countries.

Netanyahu: Only ‘credible’ military threat led by U.S. can stop nuclear Iran

Published on January 11, 2011

Only the convincing threat of military action headed by the United States will persuade Iran to drop plans to build an atomic bomb, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday. Speaking to foreign journalists, he said that although the latest round of international sanctions were hurting Iran, they would not be enough to force a u-turn on nuclear weapons.

Toward defending Israel, mainstream U.S. Jewish groups critique it

Published on January 11, 2011

Enmeshed in the battle against Israel’s delegitimization, mainstream American Jewish organizations are embracing a strategy of acknowledging what’s wrong about Israel as a way of getting across what’s right about the nation. The strategy is hardly fresh -- the New Israel Fund claims it has been doing this for years. But the recent outspokenness of advocates of the approach reflects concerns among U.S. Jewish establishment organizations that defending Israel in the public arena will not resonate without credibly addressing what some characterize as the deterioration of Israel’s civil society. The American Jewish Committee and the Union for Reform Judaism have delivered broadsides in recent days against recent Israeli government initiatives targeting nongovernmental groups in Israel that monitor human rights. Last week, the Knesset approved in a preliminary reading a bill that would investigate the funding sources of nongovernmental groups that monitor and criticize the Israeli army.

Napolitano visiting Israel to check security projects

Published on January 4, 2011

United States Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is in Israel to check on joint security projects between the two countries. Napolitano visited Israel Monday and Tuesday as part of a multi-country tour that has included stops in Ireland, Afghanistan and Qatar. She will head to Belgium to meet with European Union and World Customs Organization officials, according to the Department of Homeland Security. "The United States and Israel have a strong and enduring partnership, and the reason for my visit is to make sure that all the things that we're doing in partnership with Israel -- aviation security to cyber-security, to science and technology, research that we are undertaking together focused on security -- that all of those activities are being done in a productive and robust fashion," Napolitano said Monday during a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

In U.S., Israeli expats turn to growing number of Israeli rabbis

Published on January 3, 2011

Itzik Abu-Hatzera rarely attended synagogue in his native Haifa when he lived in Israel. But last December his family was among those of nearly 200 other Israelis in South Florida at a Chanukah party sponsored by the Chabad Israeli Center in Boca Raton. “In Israel you don’t need it, Jews are all around you,” says Abu-Hatzera, who moved here 10 years ago. Like Abu-Hatzera, the rabbi of the Chabad center, Naftali Hertzel, is Israeli. At the Chabad he runs with his wife, Henya, Hebrew is the lingua franca. That, rather than the specific religious components of the evening, was why Abu-Hatzera and his family came here rather than to one of many similar Chanukah events organized by American Jews in this heavily Jewish area.

U.S. Muslim group endorses Gazan visit to Holocaust museum

Published on December 21, 2010

A U.S. Muslim umbrella group strongly endorsed plans to bring Gaza Strip youths to the U.S. Holocaust museum in the wake of Hamas opposition. The Islamic Society of North America wrote to the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which solicited endorsements in the wake of reports that Hamas, the terrorist group that controls Gaza, had criticized the the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for including the museum on a forthcoming U.S. tour for top Gaza students. "We want to ensure that the UNRWA delegation of students visits the nation’s capital and its various museums and institutions, including the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum," Islamic Society national director Sayyid Syeed said in a letter Dec. 20 to Rabbi Marc Schneier, the president of the foundation. "We believe that this museum, in particular, has tremendous educational value and helps visitors appreciate the historical result of unbridled hate and human manipulation. We have taken delegations of Muslim leaders and imams to visit the museum, and each time, we have seen how transformative an experience it is."

PA, Israeli officials in D.C., but not in talks

Published on December 9, 2010

Palestinian and Israeli leaders will not meet for negotiations although they will be in Washington this weekend, the U.S. State Department said. "Right now, I’m not anticipating that we would have Israelis and the Palestinians in the same room at this time," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday. The United States this week abandoned efforts to persuade Israel into extending a moratorium on settlement building as a means of pulling the Palestinians back into direct talks. Crowley's remark suggested that the Obama administration for the time being was giving up on direct talks.

Gross marks year in Cuban jail

Published on December 3, 2010

Alan Gross, a contractor that the U.S. State Department says was assisting Cuban Jews, marked a year in a Cuban jail. Cuban authorities detained Gross on Dec, 3 2009 on his way out of the country. Gross' family and State Department officials says he was in the country on a U.S. Agency for International Development contract to help the country's Jewish community, numbering about 1,500, to communicate with other Jewish communities through the Internet.

U.S. builds Palestinian refugee community center

Published on May 20, 2010

A new community center built with a $1.4 million donation from the United States was opened in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus.

Diplomats: U.S. will not pressure Israel on nukes

Published on May 5, 2010

A statement from the major powers committing to a nuclear-free Middle East will not result in pressure on Israel, according to two diplomats familiar with the issue.

Obama, U.S. security chief reassert closeness of Israel ties

Published on April 22, 2010

President Obama and his national security adviser reasserted that the alliance with Israel is in the United States' interest.

Senior diplomat: Ambassador not a reward for Syria

Published on April 22, 2010

Washington should not limit communication with Damascus over an alleged arms transfer to Hezbollah, a senior U.S. diplomat said.

Emanuel: No U.S. peace plan for now

Published on April 20, 2010

The time is not ripe for a U.S.-promoted Middle East peace plan, President Obama's chief of staff said.

"A number of people have advocated that," Rahm Emanuel said Monday on the Charlie Rose show on Bloomberg Television.

U.S. official stumping Middle East on water issues

Published on April 16, 2010

A top U.S. official is traveling to Israel, Jordan and Egypt to promote cooperation in the use and sharing of water.

The visit this week by Maria Otero, the undersecretary for democracy and global affairs, "will underscore the need to elevate our diplomatic efforts surrounding water; harness the power of science and technology; leverage the full range of relationships; and build capacity at local, national and regional levels," a State Department statement said.

Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman delivers mixed review of Obama’s Israel policy

Published on April 8, 2010

“I know why you’re here, and I want to address it, but I think it’s a tempest in a teapot,” Brad Sherman, the Democratic Congressman from Sherman Oaks said Wednesday evening at a town hall at Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills. The meeting was called to focus on U.S.-Israel relations.

Mitchell postpones visit to Israel

Published on March 16, 2010

U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell has put a planned trip to Israel on hold.

ANALYSIS: Israel and NGOs Clash Over Gaza War Assessments

Published on August 26, 2009

The fighting in Gaza ended months ago, but the fight over the war rages on between Israel and NGOs.

Polo Mom Poolside at 18th Maccabiah

By Gina Lobaco
Published on July 16, 2009

Israelis catch U.S. election fever

By Dina Kraft
Published on October 28, 2008

Israelis -- including the American citizens among them, as many as half of whom hail from swing states -- have been closely following the election campaign across the ocean with a mix of interest, concern, bemusement and validation

Twinning builds friendships between U.S. and Israeli youth

By Sharon Schatz Rosenthal
Published on August 27, 2008

The goal is to maintain a strong bond between Jews in the United States and Israel. Currently, 18 Los Angeles schools participate in the program. Participating students, or "delegates," range from fifth to 11th grade, depending on the school.

Will new ‘Cold War’ play out in Middle East?

By Leslie Susser
Published on August 27, 2008

With talk of a new Cold War in the offing following Russia's recent military successes in Georgia, Israel is worried Russia might reassess this policy and use the sale of new weaponry to Syria -- or the threat of it -- to strengthen Russia's hand vis-à-vis Israel's primary ally, the United States.

Sunday wrapup from Beijing: U.S. swimmer Torres wins two silvers; Israelis lag

Published on August 17, 2008

U.S. swimmer Torres wins two silvers

Briefs: Syria and Israel talking again, Israeli colleges want Palestinian students

Published on July 30, 2008

New Presbyterian statement irks Jewish groups, sparks divestment fears

By Ben Harris
Published on June 19, 2008

Just days before they are due to consider a range of motions on the Middle East at their biennial convention, the Presbyterian Church USA has released a document on combating anti-Jewish ideas. But Jewish organizational leaders say the statement is "infused with the very bias" it purports to condemn.

2008: The contest for the Jews

By Raphael J. Sonenshein
Published on June 12, 2008

In a society that has become less and less informed about politics and government, Jews remain a deeply attentive political community. Intensely concerned about Israel and the protection of the Jewish community, but alert to so much more, Jews offer a candidate a tough audience on policy

Olmert in D.C.: Iran talk, not goodbyes

By Ron Kampeas
Published on June 8, 2008

Expressions of love, walks down memory lane, even the rain lashing Washington's monuments: The latest meeting between Ehud Olmert and George Bush played out like the end of a movie romance -- only the Israeli prime minister says he's not going anywhere because there is work to be done, especially when it comes to facing down Iran.

U.S., Iran are obstacles in new Israel-Syria talks

By Leslie Susser
Published on May 28, 2008

More Information on Getting That Visa

Published on September 7, 2006

The U.S. government estimates that about 40 percent of people who are in this country illegally arrived on a legal visa but lost their legal status either by overstaying or otherwise violating the terms of their visa. These are sometimes referred to as "nonimmigrant overstayers."

Chipping Away at Israel Support Endangers U.S.

By Joe R. Hicks
Published on August 17, 2006

Is this simply Israel's war to win or lose?

Roberts Draws Little Jewish Opposition

By Matthew E. Berger
Published on July 28, 2005

So far, the nomination of Judge John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court has ruffled few feathers in the American Jewish community.

Briefs

Published on October 28, 2004

Briefs; Sharon Marks Rabin Assassination Anniversary; Oregon Men Charged in Synagogue Desecration; Group Wants To Expand Anti-Semitism Fight;
U.S. Official: Syria Relations Looking Up?; Reform to Synagogues; Turn Away Cash; O.U. to Meet in Israel; Convictions in Israel Hall Collapse.

U.S. Jews Laud Withdrawal Vote

Published on October 28, 2004

American Jewish organizations rushed Tuesday afternoon to express support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan.

Has the State Got a Proposition for You!

By Idan Ivri
Published on October 14, 2004

The wind grows colder, the days shorter and a 165-page, gray book of propositions arrives in everybody's mailbox. Welcome to the election season -- for Californians.

World Briefs

By JTA Staff
Published on August 19, 2004

World Briefs.