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News updates from the World Jewish Congress website – 12 February 2016

Venice’s Jews celebrate their history on 500th anniversary of world’s first ghetto – Haaretz 12 Feb 2016 Dwindling community hopes to get a boost from yearlong calendar of events that includes U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a production of Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice.’  READ MORE »

Todd Gitlin: How a US senator’s fight against labeling Israeli settlement products is actually a gift to the BDS movement – Tablet 12 Feb 2016 Senator Tom Cotton has offered a bill to permit products made on the West Bank and Gaza to be labeled “Made in Israel.”  READ MORE »

Scanning borders, Israel surveys new reality of tunnels and terror – New York Times 12 Feb 2016 Israel’s military commanders are rethinking their concept of border security as they watch the reality of what is happening on the other side changing in front of their eyes.  READ MORE »

Letter from Copenhagen: Denmark is not ‘cosy’ any more. But nor is Israel – Jewish Chronicle 12 Feb 2016 Denmark’s police force has now been with us for a full year of Jewish festivals and events. The police presence was a very public show of force, demonstrating that Denmark’s Jewish community was protected  READ MORE »

Mayim Bialik does mammeloshen in Yiddish valentine – Times of Israel 12 Feb 2016 Actress plays no-nonsense neurosurgeon ‘pre-screening’ her schmendrick suitors in less-than-romantic ‘YidLife Crisis’ episode.  READ MORE »

German groups unite to defend human dignity 12 Feb 2016 Civil society leaders, including from the Jewish community in Germany, have launched an appeal whose aim is to promote «openness, solidarity, democracy and the rule of law in Germany and Europe.»  READ MORE »

Spanish cartoon shows Israeli soldiers molesting Jesus, urinating on Palestinians – Jerusalem Post 12 Feb 2016 A Barcelona-based satirical magazine portrayed hook-nosed Israeli soldiers urinating on Palestinians and physically abusing Jesus.  READ MORE »

New citizenship law has Jews worldwide flocking to tiny Portugal city – JTA 12 Feb 2016 Five years ago, Porto’s Jewish community was so strapped for cash it couldn’t afford to fix the deep cracks in its synagogue’s moldy ceiling or to hire a full-time rabbi. But last month the community showcased its stunning turnaround.   READ MORE »

Roseanne Barr takes on Twitter to combat anti-Semitism – via Twitter – JP Updates 12 Feb 2016 Despite criticism of the anti-Semitism on Twitter, Barr has been an avid user of the site herself. A fervent Zionist, Barr uses the site to promote her pro-Israel views.  READ MORE »

Jonathan Zimmermann: A Jewish candidate won a US presidential primary for the first time, and America yawned – Los Angeles Times 12 Feb 2016 Perhaps we can’t see what a big deal Sanders’ candidacy truly is because we’ve forgotten how much prejudice Jews encountered for most of our political history.  READ MORE »

Did Jews once believe in vampires? – Haaretz 12 Feb 2016 Secure in their monotheism, Jews may scoff, but some of the earliest texts on vampires were written in Hebrew by their coreligionists.   READ MORE »

Reform Jews to shun Israeli tourism minister following insult – JTA 11 Feb 2016 During a cabinet meeting last month on a proposed expansion to the non-Orthodox section of the Western Wall, Levin called Reform Judaism a “dying world” that has succumbed to assimilation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Levin’s statement.  READ MORE »

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