Jewish News

Canada to Build National Holocaust Monument

The Canadian government announced plans to build a national Holocaust memorial in the nation’s capital.The monument “will be a testament to the importance of ensuring that the memory of the Holocaust is never lost,” Tim Uppal, minister of state for democratic reform, said in a statement Tuesday following remarks at the Canadian War Museum, across the street from the designated ...

Canada synagogues, school vandalized

Four Synagogues and a Jewish school in Montreal were defaced by anonymous vandals Sunday night, the Montreal Daily Gazette reported.According to the Canadian newspaper, the vandals smashed the windows of the Jewish institutions and caused thousands of dollars worth in damages. The institutions which were hit include: Beth Rambam, Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem and Beth Zion synagogues in Côte St. ...

Canada probes Google on wireless data collection

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said on Tuesday that she was concerned about the privacy implications stemming from the collection of data from wireless networks in Canada, the United States and other countries. “We have a number of questions about how this collection could have happened,” she said in a statement. “We’ve determined that an investigation is the best way ...

Can a New Chief Rabbi Change the Israeli Rabbinate?

To get married in Israel, Dima Motel had to bring his family photo album and two of his ancestors’ birth certificates to a rabbinical court.Then an investigator quizzed his mother in Yiddish. Israel’s Chief Rabbinate often asks Russian immigrants like Motel to prove that they’re Jewish, sometimes requiring documentary evidence that can be hard to obtain. Those who won’t submit ...

Call Me Jacob (Again): Hebrew Baby Names Still Tops in 2010

A few months ago, I wrote about the predominance of Hebraic names for babies born in the United States in 2009. The Social Security Administration has nowreleased new data for babies born in the U.S. in 2010, and it still looks very much like a Jewish nation, at least in our pediatric wards.The top 10 list for newborn boys begins ...

Call for Carla Bruni to sing for Shalit’s freedom

An Israeli singer has appealed to Carla Bruni to campaign for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who also holds French citizenship, by recording a tribute song.Amir Benayun, a popular musician in Israel, wrote a letter to Ms Bruni asking her to record the song he wrote about the soldier’s plight.Read More: @ thejc.comYou might also like:Shalit family to ...

California prevents circumcision ban

California’s governor has signed a bill that that will prevent local governments from banning male circumcision.Governor Jerry Brown’s office announced Sunday that the Democrat signed AB768, a bill written in response to a ballot measure proposed in San Francisco.Backers of a ban collected more than 7,700 signatures to put a measure on the November ballot in San Francisco to outlaw ...

Cabinet exempts Haredi yeshiva students from IDF

The cabinet secretly decided two weeks ago to cancel compulsory military service for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, despite the objections of the Israel Defense Forces. The decision, which followed pressure by the treasury and ultra-Orthodox coalition parties, was made during the intense debates on the Economic Arrangements Law in mid-July. Since the move was not part of the Economic Arrangements Law ...

Bush to Be in NYC to Mark 10th Anniversary of 9/11

The ceremony at the World Trade Center site marking the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks will be a solemn but stately event that will include former President George W. Bush and a chance for victims’ families to view the names of loved ones etched into the memorial, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.President Barack Obama and Bloomberg will be joined by ...

Bureaucracy Stalls Construction of Italy’s First Holocaust Museum

If all goes according to plan, a starkly modern, $30 million Holocaust museum will soon rise on the site of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s Rome residence.The site, also the location of ancient Jewish catacombs and now a city park, will be home to a museum first proposed in 2005 but held up repeatedly by financial and bureaucratic problems.“I hope construction ...

Bulgarian MPs ‘Regret’ Holocaust Deportations

Bulgaria’s parliament has, for the first time, expressed regret for the deportation of 11,000 Jews to their deaths during the Holocaust.The resolution, published on Friday by Bulgaria’s parliament, was issued ahead of the 70th anniversary of the start of deportations from areas controlled by Bulgaria, an ally of Nazi Germany during World War II.The text of the resolution reads: “Beyond ...

Bulgaria Commemorates Decision to Protect Jews During Holocaust

Members of a Jewish organization expressed their gratitude Sunday to Bulgarians who helped protect 48,000 Jewish citizens during the Holocaust.In March 1943, Bulgarian society, members of Parliament and the Balkan country’s Orthodox church opposed plans for the deportation of the country’s Jews to Nazi concentration camps.Sunday’s commemoration activities included unveiling a memorial plaque in Sofia, along with commemoration activities and ...