Two men who allegedly wanted to attack New York synagogues and other targets have pleaded not guilty to weapons and conspiracy charges. Algeria-born Ahmed Ferhani, 26, and Mohamed Mamdouh, 20, a naturalized American citizen from Morocco, both now living in New York, entered their pleas Wednesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head in January, was released from the hospital. Giffords\’ release Wednesday came days after the release of photos of the congresswoman taken in May.
A joint Israeli-Palestinian Australian rules football team has brought pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian legislators together for the first time in Melbourne. Tuesday night’s event at Parliament House in Melbourne was the first time the Parliamentary Friends of Israel and Parliamentary Friends of Palestine have hosted a joint function, the Australian Jewish News reported.
Orthodox Jewish women\’s basketball player Naama Shafir accompanied the Israel national team to Poland for the Eurobasket tournament. FIBA Europe — the Munich-based organization that governs basketball in Europe – had denied a request by the Israeli squad for Shafir to wear a T-shirt under her jersey for modesty reasons. All team players must wear the same uniform, according to FIBA rules.
Members of the Orthodox Union met with a dozen senators on Capitol Hill during the OU\’s annual leadership mission to Washington. Among the lawmakers the nearly 100 participants heard from at a Capitol Hill luncheon Wednesday were Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who introduced a resolution June 9 to reaffirm U.S. policy toward Israel.
An official of the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem told JTA that the institute is \”extremely close\” to an agreement with striking employees. Eitan Cooper, the vice president of development for the institute, told JTA by phone Thursday that the institute and the Schechter Institute Workers\’ Committee expect to reach an agreement soon to end a work stoppage that started in early May.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.