On the occasion of Yom HaShoah, I can think of no more appropriate act of remembrance of the Holocaust than to reconsider the circumstances surrounding the trial of Adolf Eichmann, and I can think of no one better able to explain those circumstances to us than Deborah E. Lipstadt, a leading figure in Holocaust studies and author of “The Eichmann Trial” (Schocken, $23.95).
Prestidigitation as a Jewish vocation? Could there be such a thing as Yiddeshe legerdemain? Pulling an answer out of its hat, the Skirball Cultural Center is set to open two shows: a traveling exhibition that originated at the Jewish Museum in New York, “Houdini: Art and Magic,” and a new show organized by the Skirball, “Masters of Illusion: Jewish Magicians of the Golden Age.”
Syrian security forces have shot dead at least 400 civilians in their campaign to crush month-long pro-democracy protests, the Syrian human rights organization Sawasiah said on Tuesday.
President Obama urged Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to improve relations with Israel in the face of regional turmoil. \”The President expressed his hope to Prime Minister Erdogan that Turkey and Israel will find opportunities to improve their relations in the interest of regional stability,\” said an April 25 White House statement describing Obama\’s call with Erdogan.
Israeli President Shimon Peres handed President Obama a letter from Jonathan Pollard pleading for his release.
Iran has discovered a second computer virus designed to damage government computer systems. The discovery of the virus, called Stars, was announced Monday by a senior Iranian official, Gholam-Reza Jalali, head of an Iranian cyberdefense agency, according to reports.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in January, will attend the space shuttle launch captained by her husband. Giffords (D-Ariz.) was given the go-ahead by her doctors to attend the launch, her husband Mark Kelly said in a CBS interview broadcast Monday.
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers is in Israel this week. The delegation, including Reps. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), John Barrow (D-Ga.), Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), Ben Chandler (D-Ky.), and Larry Kissell (D-N.C.) had meetings planned with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Tzipi Livni.
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