If the Israelis and Palestinians cut a peace deal, Syria likely would ally itself with the West over Iran, and Lebanon would be truly independent, Bill Clinton said.
President Obama’s commitment to Middle East peace talks is “unwavering,” even after crushing midterm elections, a top aide said.
Last week was a big week for Jon Stewart. He held a mock-rally in Washington Mall and interviewed President Obama. Stewart could be one of the most influential – and at times one of the most controversial – Jewish personalities in the media. He is an “equal opportunity” satirist whose popular fake news show and bestselling books use humor in a thoughtful and provocative manner. “Earth: A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race” (Grand Central Publications), Stewart’s newest book, is no exception. In taking on as subject matter all of human history, Stewart of course finds room for a little self-deprecation and a few scathingly funny jabs at our community. Reader warning: the content could be semi-offensive. Tell us what you think at connect@jinsider.com. Here are some excerpted highlights:
Germany\’s Reform rabbinical seminary ordained three new rabbis, including the first woman to become a rabbi in Germany since before the Holocaust. Thursday\’s ceremonies at Berlin\’s Pestalozzistrasse Synagogue marked the third ordination of graduates of the Abraham Geiger College in Potsdam since the institution opened in 1999. Standing on the ornate bima and wearing a yarmulka, German President Christian Wulff congratulated the new rabbis. Wulff told the packed synagogue that he was pleased \”to witness this moving ceremony\” and to \”celebrate 200 years of liberal Judaism,\” as well as the regrowth of Jewish life of all denominations in Germany. Christian and Muslim clerics were among the guests at the ceremony.
Two Jewish student groups are sponsoring Israeli Occupation Awareness Week at Brandeis University. Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voices for Peace are co-hosting four days of speakers and films focusing on what they say is the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. The events at the school in Waltham, Mass., a nonsectarian university founded by the American Jewish community, will take place from Nov. 8 to Nov. 11.
A recent pro-Israel rally in Frankfurt should be the first of many, the head of Germany\’s Jewish community said. Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, who attended the Oct. 31 pro-Israel rally, told JTA she was \”grateful to the organizers for making it possible for Christians and Jews to stand together for Israel.\”
Canada is hosting the second gathering of the Interparliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism. The meeting will be held in Ottawa from Nov. 7-9. Hannah Rosenthal, the top U.S. official monitoring and combating anti-Semitism, will participate.
The Anti-Defamation League called on an Israeli rabbi to reverse a ruling it linked to threats to a Jewish landlord who rented to Arabs. \”All citizens of the State of Israel, according to the law, have equal rights including renting apartments,\” the ADL said in a statement. \”Citizens should not be discriminated against for their ethnic background.\” It called on Rabbi Yosef Eliahu, the chief rabbi of Safed, to reverse a ruling calling on Jewish residents of Safed not to rent to Arabs.
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