fbpx

GET HOME DELIVERY! CLICK HERE »

ADVERTISE
pick up locations
HOME DELIVERY
donate

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

June 12, 2012

Scientist is first Israeli to win World Food Prize

Leave a Comment / Food, Mobile, News /

An Israeli scientist was awarded the prestigious World Food Prize, becoming the first Israeli to receive the award.

Dr. Daniel Hillel, who specializes in a new mode of bringing water to crops in arid and dry land known as micro-irrigation, was awarded the prize at the U.S. State Department on Tuesday.

The $250,000 award is given to an individual who has enhanced human development with innovative solutions to food quality. The recognition is an initiative privately sponsored by businessman and philanthropist Juan Roan of Des Moines, Iowa.

During the ceremony, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Hillel “a master of applying new thinking to old problems.”

“Food security is also fundamental to human security. Food scarcity can lead to social unrest,” Clinton said in her remarks, according to Haaretz. “When we strengthen food security and enhance cooperation we lay stronger base to promote human development. … It is up to up to us to save the next billion.”

In addition, Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, praised Hillel for his work for “maximizing efficient water usage in agriculture.”

“Dr. Hillel’s work and motivation has been to bridge such divisions and to promote peace and understanding in the Middle East by advancing a breakthrough achievement addressing a problem that so many countries share in common: water scarcity,” Quinn said in his remarks, according to Haaretz.

Scientist is first Israeli to win World Food Prize Read More »

Heschel in Jerusalem

Leave a Comment / Is Featured?, Mobile, News, Rosners Domain-mobile, United States, Worldwide /

Abraham Joshua Heschel is a central figure in jewish thought for many particularly non Orthodox American Jews, His political action including his participation in the anti vietnam war movement and civil rights movement based on his religious views is held out as an example for many. In Israel however he is virtually unknown…as he was during his lifetime with many of his most important writings never translated in Hebrew

As with many things in the realm of Jewish life this is somethng that is changing quarters, A young teacher named Dror Bondi—a former demonstrator against Rabin and hard core right winger of the settler movement has taken Heschel as his intellecual   . Heschel in Jerusalem Read More »

Israeli minister calls to recognize Armenian genocide

Leave a Comment / Israel, Mobile, News /

An Israeli cabinet minister said on Tuesday that the Jewish state ought to change its policy and recognize the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as an act of genocide.

Gilad Erdan, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, answered a motion in parliament by opposition lawmakers marking the massacre’s anniversary.

“I think it is definitely fitting that the Israeli government formally recognize the Holocaust perpetrated against the Armenian people,” Erdan, Israel’s environmental affairs minister said.

Israel has long avoided acknowledging the mass killings of Armenians as genocide, in deference to already strained ties with Turkey which rejects that view.

Relations with Turkey have been tense since the 2010 killings of nine Turkish activists in a commando raid on a Gaza-bound ship. Turkey withdrew its ambassador to Israel after that incident and suspended military cooperation.

Erdan said the Israeli government had not formally changed its policy on the Armenian’s past tragedy, adding: “we should definitely support holding an open and in depth discussion that analyses the data and facts.”

Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says about 1.5 million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey during World War One in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the Ottoman government.

Successive Turkish governments and most Turks feel the charge of genocide is an insult. Ankara argues that there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the area.

Israeli lawmakers voted that the issue would face further debate in the education committee. Any parliamentary decision on the issue would not be binding on the government.

Yigal Palmor, a spokesman at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said Israel’s formal position on the Armenian tragedy remained that the issue “must be decided by historians and not be subject to political deliberation.”

The Armenian issue has stirred emotions in Israel where many feel that the Jewish people who suffered six million dead in the Nazi Holocaust during World War Two have a moral obligation to identify more closely with the Armenians’ ordeals.

“Those who demand recognition of the murder are not engaged in lobbying but are simply seeking historic justice,” Israeli Parliament speaker Reuven Rivlin, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, said.

Nino Abesadze, a lawmaker with the centrist Kadima party, counseled against linking the issue to relations with Turkey.

“We must not link our sentiments about the Armenian tragedy to considerations about other dangers in the region. Events such as genocide are above politics,” Abesadze said.

Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan

Israeli minister calls to recognize Armenian genocide Read More »

Iran plans nuclear-powered submarine, report says

Leave a Comment / Mobile, News, Worldwide /

Iran said on Tuesday it planned to build its first nuclear-powered submarine, a news agency reported, an announcement that came days before talks with world powers and may add to Western concerns over its atomic activities.

“Preliminary steps in making an atomic submarine have started and we hope to see the use of … nuclear submarines in the navy in the future,” deputy navy commander Abbas Zamini was quoted as saying by Iran’s Fars News Agency.

Many nuclear-powered submarines use as fuel uranium enriched to levels that could also be suitable for atomic bombs, said Mark Hibbs, a nuclear proliferation expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a diplomatic think-tank.

He suggested Tehran could use the submarine project to justify refining uranium to higher levels.

However analysts say Iran at times exaggerates its nuclear and military advances to try to strengthen its bargaining position with world powers who want curbs on Tehran’s atomic program to ensure it is for peaceful ends only.

Iran denies Western accusations that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, saying it simply wants to generate electricity.

Zamini said all countries had the right to use peaceful nuclear technology, including for the propulsion system of their vessels, Fars reported.

NEW TALKS

Tehran is now refining uranium to a fissile concentration of up to 20 percent. This is below the 90 percent concentration needed for nuclear arms and any attempt to process to higher levels would alarm the West and Israel.

Tehran is due to hold a new round of nuclear talks with the United States, China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain in Moscow on June 18-19.

European Union officials said on Monday that Tehran had agreed to discuss a proposal to curb its output of uranium enrichment.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the dispute.

Hibbs said only a few countries in the world – the United States, Russia, France and Britain – had nuclear-powered submarines. “If Iran moves forward on this project it would be for political reasons. Iran could easily defend itself with conventional submarine technology,” he said.

At talks in Baghdad in May, world powers proposed that Tehran stop production of 20 percent uranium enrichment, close the Fordow underground facility where such work is done and ship any stockpile out of the country.

In return, they offered to supply it with fuel for a medical research reactor in Tehran, which requires 20 percent uranium, and to ease sanctions on the sale of parts for commercial aircraft to Iran.

No agreement was reached in Baghdad but the seven countries agreed to continue discussions in Moscow.

Reporting by Zahra Hosseinian; additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Pravin Char

Iran plans nuclear-powered submarine, report says Read More »

Clinton: Russia shipping attack choppers to Syria

Leave a Comment / Is Featured?, Lead Story, Mobile, News, Worldwide /

The United States charged Russia with delivering attack helicopters to Syria.

“We have confronted the Russians about stopping their continued arms shipments to Syria,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday at an appearance with Israeli President Shimon Peres. “We are concerned about the latest information we have that there are attack helicopters on the way from Russia to Syria.”

Clinton suggested that Russia was showing bad faith in the international effort to oust the Bashar Assad regime in the 15th month of its crackdown on opponents by claiming that its arms transfers were not used in the crackdown.

“That is patently untrue,” she said. Syria has used helicopter gunships in attacks on civilians, according to reports.

israel is furious at the arms transfers; its leaders are concerned that the Assad regime may attempt to draw Israel into a conflict as a distraction.

“What happens in Syria matters greatly to the U.S. but matters drastically to Israel,” Clinton said.

She said the United States would give an effort led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to achieve a peaceful transition until mid-July to see results, adding that she had made clear to Annan that Iran could not be involved.

Peres, in remarks at a lunch hosted by the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center, said the Arab League should take the lead in assuming responsibility for the Syrian transition.

Clinton gave the Russians higher marks for their role among the major powers seeking greater nuclear transparency in Iran.

Moscow is due to host the next round of talks with Iran on June 18-19, and Clinton suggested that the Russians share the Western perception that the Iranians are stalling.

“The Russians have made it clear they want the Iranians to advance the discussion in Moscow, not just to come, listen and leave,” she said.

Clinton: Russia shipping attack choppers to Syria Read More »

10 groups awarded for fostering inclusion of disabled in Jewish community

Leave a Comment / Culture, Mobile, News /

The Ruderman Family Foundation announced its ten inaugural Ruderman Prize in Disability winners, for fostering full inclusion of people with disabilities in the Jewish community.

The foundation, which initiated the prize this year, received more than 150 applications representing seven countries. The winning organizations receive $20,000.

“Awarding the prizes is the genesis of a legacy that we believe will support and promote new opportunities for people with disabilities in the Jewish community,” Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, said Tuesday in a statement.

“These ten award winners offer a vision of a world with full inclusion, where people with disabilities have the same opportunities for employment, education, religion, and enjoyment of their communities as those without disabilities. These grants will nourish and nurture that vision.”

Recipients include organizations that pair professional dancers with the disabled in Israel; work for the inclusion of the disabled into Mexico’s Jewish community; integrate the developmentally disabled into the Israeli Defense Forces; and create a more welcome environment in synagogues for the disabled.

The winners are the Vertigo Dance Company; SHALVA: The Association for the Mentally and Physically Challenged Children in Israel; Norwood Ravenswood; MetroWest ABLE; Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center of San Diego; Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston; Kadima; Jewish Family Center Adain Lo; Reishit School; and ASKIM Israel: National Association for the Habilitation of Children and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities.

10 groups awarded for fostering inclusion of disabled in Jewish community Read More »

Hungarian police investigating desecration of Holocaust monument

Leave a Comment / Mobile, News, Worldwide /

A Holocaust memorial monument in the southwest of Hungary was desecrated.

The perpetrators broke off several parts of the bronze monument, which stands 3 1/2 feet high and is the shape of a large menorah. Hungarian police said they were investigating the incident.

The Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary said the monument was desecrated sometime over last weekend. It stood in the courtyard of the buildings of the Jewish community of Nagykanizsa. The local Jewish community erected the monument, which is near the Croatia border, in 2004.

All seven menorah branches were sawed off and the main shaft was broken. Only part of the three-pronged base remains.

Some 120 Hungarians protested on June 7 in Budapest against anti-Semitism in Hungary. The demonstration was in reaction to an attack against a former chief rabbi. On June 3, a cemetery was desecrated near the capital.

In a letter to the country’s Jewish leaders, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed his “indignation” at the cemetery attack and ordered the Interior Ministry to track down the perpetrators as soon as possible.

Hungarian police investigating desecration of Holocaust monument Read More »

Israeli army officer suspended for firing on Palestinian demonstrators

Leave a Comment / Israel, Mobile, News /

An Israeli army officer was suspended for firing on Palestinians throwing stones at a demonstration.

The incident, which occurred June 1 near the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah, was caught on film, and showed that the officer used live fire even though it did not appear that his life was in danger.

None of the demonstrators was hit by his bullets. The residents of Nabi Saleh demonstrate weekly against what they say is the theft of their land for the nearby settlement of Halamish. Demonstrators have been injured in previous incidents.

The Israeli army is still investigating the incident.

Israeli army officer suspended for firing on Palestinian demonstrators Read More »

Anti-Semitic Polish priest invited to speak at European parliament

Leave a Comment / Mobile, News, Worldwide /

Conservative Polish lawmaker Miroslaw Piotrowski’s invitation to a controversial priest to speak in Brussels has led to a split among the European Conservatives and Reformists group, or ECR.

Tadeusz Rydzyk’s anti-Semitic views voiced on his Radio Maryja and TV Trwam stations have led to condemnation over the years from Jewish groups, the Vatican and Polish Solidarity co-founder Lech Walesa.

The recent invitation was a response to the revocation of Rydzyk’s TV channel license, leading Polish members of ECR to organize a rally against state media censorship. Rydzyk also was invited to speak in parliament last year during a conference on climate change and environmental issues. Poland is under heavy scrutiny due to the Euro 2012 soccer championships and fear of potential racism among fans.

According to The Guardian, some British Tory lawmakers are indignant that one with extreme anti-Semitic opinions has been invited to speak. London’s Tory lawmaker Marina Yannakoudakis wrote to fellow Polish lawmakers in protest.

“I support free speech, but believe that we must draw the line at those like Father Rydzyk who promote anti-Semitic or xenophobic teaching,” The Guardian quoted Yannakoudakis as saying in her letter. “As such, I ask you to never invite Father Rydzyk to the European parliament again.”

The Guardian report also indicated that despite strong denial of the invitation having no connection to the ECR by the chairman of the European Conservatives, Martin Callanan, the group played a significant role in publicizing the event. ECR logos were seen in promotional material and emails, and an ECR press officer promoted the priest’s speech.

Anti-Semitic Polish priest invited to speak at European parliament Read More »

Company probed for certifying Hungarian politician’s racial purity

Leave a Comment / Mobile, News, Worldwide /

Hungary’s Medical Research Council requested an investigation of a company that tested a politician of the extremist right-wing Jobbik party for Jewish or Roma heritage, according to science journal Nature.

The unnamed lawmaker requested the Nagy Gen Diagnostic and Research Company give him a certificate indicating his Hungarian racial “purity.”

In May, when the certificate appeared online on a right-wing website, the Hungarian media widely publicized the story, though without the name of its subject, which was blacked out.

Nagy has experienced some repercussions, with one of its financial partners, Jewish three-time Olympic water-polo gold medalist Tibor Benedek, ending his involvement with the company.

Jozsef Mandl, secretary of the Medical Research Council, was quoted as saying that the certificate is “professionally wrong, ethically unacceptable—and illegal” following a June 7 discussion that concluded that it broke the stipulation in the 2008 Law on Genetics because testing is purely for health reasons. The Hungarian Society of Human Genetics also protested the tests.

Istvan Rasko, director of the Institute of Genetics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, said the test could not possibly have determined ethnic origins the way it was carried out.

“This test is complete nonsense and the affair is very harmful to the profession of clinical genetics,” Rasko said.

Company probed for certifying Hungarian politician’s racial purity Read More »