-
Attack reignites debate over Muslim role in France
Today
Last week’s violent robbery of a priest in Avignon, reportedly by Muslim youths of North African descent, has re-started the debate about the rise of Islam in France. The incident prompted Archbishop Monsignor Cattenoz to warn that Muslims were taking over France. France has Europe’s largest Muslim community but there is anxiety about the increasing influence of conservative Islam in recent years.
-
Radical urges Islamists to retake Spain
Today
British Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned of dire consequences for Syria and the international community if a political solution isn’t found to the conflict. Speaking to the British Parliament, Hague warned that a large-scale humanitarian disaster was looming and that Syria has become a hotbed for radicalised Islamist groups.
-
Islam grows as UK Christianity declines
Today
An explosion in the Muslim population and an aging Christian demographic could mean Islam will be the dominant religion in the UK in 10 years. A new analysis of Britain’s 2011 census by the Office for National Statistics shows a remarkable decline in Christian affiliation among the British-born population and concurrently a dramatic 75% increase in Islam.
-
Beersheba bank shooting a great tragedy
Today
A gunman has shot dead four people in an Israeli bank in the city of Beersheba before shooting himself dead. The gunman has reportedly been identified as a former paramilitary border policeman in debt to the bank.
Last gate shut: Turkey closes the last border crossing with Syria controlled by Bashar al-Assad's regime, in response to deadly twin bombings that hit a Turkish border town mid-May
Hezbollah blacklisted: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle recommends Berlin list Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization in light of the group's probable links to a deadly anti-Israeli bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria
Suspect gunned down: an FBI agent kills a Florida man of ethnic Chechen background with suspected links to the Boston Marathon bombings
Accusations of support: British Foreign Secretary William Hague charges Iran and Hezbollah are 'propping up' Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and giving him increasing support
Nuclear concerns: Diplomats in Vienna tell the Associated Press Iran is moving ahead with its nuclear enrichment programme and now has 700 high-tech centrifuges operational, an of about 100 since mid-April
Hezbollah blacklisted: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle recommends Berlin list Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization in light of the group's probable links to a deadly anti-Israeli bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria
Suspect gunned down: an FBI agent kills a Florida man of ethnic Chechen background with suspected links to the Boston Marathon bombings
Accusations of support: British Foreign Secretary William Hague charges Iran and Hezbollah are 'propping up' Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and giving him increasing support
Nuclear concerns: Diplomats in Vienna tell the Associated Press Iran is moving ahead with its nuclear enrichment programme and now has 700 high-tech centrifuges operational, an of about 100 since mid-April
Hollywood actor Tom Hanks win Elie Weisel award
Hollywood A-lister Tom Hanks has been recognised for his charitable efforts by the Elie Wiesel Foundation, who presented the actor with a humanitarian award at a ceremony held at the New York Public Library.
Twice Oscar winner Hanks spoke of the important role government can play in promoting and funding the arts given its capacity to be a force for social good.
Hollywood star Tom Hanks:
"I believe any form of government, particularly ours in the United States of America, has been over and over again this engine for social change in a magnificent way when it gets around to doing the right thing. And right now, I think we're putting an awful lot of emphasis on the idea that maybe philanthropy can take care of everything, which is not the case. Fact is a lot of this stuff is part of the intellectual and enlightening infrastructure that keeps America going. Some of that certainly is all about people who have blessings and go ahead and share them and give back to the cause and give back to the system. But philanthropy isn't ever going to be the only answer.”
Elie Weisel is a Jewish-American Nobel Peace Prize winner, writer, professor and Holocaust survivor. The Foundation in his name was set up to combat intolerance and injustice and is rooted in the memory of the Holocaust.
Sort by:
date
rating
- No comments
- Comment
Breaking news
-
Rabbis and Imams visit Nazi death camp together
Muslim religious leaders from the Middle East, US, Africa and Europe have joined Jewish scholars and rabbis on a visit to a former Nazi concentration camp in Germany. The tour group, led by US rabbi and Holocaust refugee Jack Bemporad, visited Dachau camp as part of an educational tour of concentration camps in Germany and Poland.
US rabbi and Holocaust refugee Jack Bemporad:
"The very fact that you have Jews, Christians and Muslims together going through and trying to learn something about what was one of the most atrocious and horrifying experiences of the last century and how we can unite to work together to educate people, inform people so that it never happens again, I can't think of anything more important that can be done."
Marshall Breger, a professor of law and vice-president of the conservative Jewish Policy Center in the United States, spoke of how he was touched by the visit.
Marshall Breger, Jewish Policy Center:
"What moved me here was to see how, in what an authentic manner the Muslim Imams and religious leaders could relate to the authentic horror of what happened here, and to be in some communion with the Jewish community and the other victims of the Holocaust.
Visiting imam Dr Ahmet Muharrem, who is the secretary-general of the Journalists and Writers Foundation in Turkey, said he was surprised that the camp was run in such a clinical way.
Visiting imam Dr Ahmet Muharrem:
"I was thinking something happened in the past by the uncivilised people, uneducated, and arrogant people. But I saw that here was very civilised, very technological torture I saw here."
A dozen imams and religious educators from countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Bosnia, Morocco and Turkey are taking part in the tour which aims to educate religious leaders about the Holocaust and to promote tolerance and diversity.
Later in the week the group will also visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
-
Capital Market Conference
The Globes 2013 Capital Markets Conference is bringing together some of the financial leaders in Israel from both the private and public sector to discuss Israel's economic future.
It was Finance Minister, Yair Lapid, first public appearance since the announcement cutbacks in the upcoming budget which are going to hit hard the middle class of Israelis. Lapid, who ran to the Knesset on the ticket of the defender of the middle class, has come under harsh criticism for his financial plans.
Yair Lapid, Finance Minister:
“It is always the right thing to do the right thing. I am doing the right thing for the country and whenever I get an opportunity to choose between myself and the good of the country I am going to do whatever is good for the country, so, and you know what? If this will harm me politically, then this will harm me politically I can live with that. I don’t really know if they are criticizing me or they are criticizing the situation. We are stuck in a bit of hole now, fortunately this is one of those things, one of those bumps, that we can get out from in a short time so people are criticizing me now because nobody likes it when you raise taxes and they will be happy about living in a stable economy when we get out of it. So, I am not really worried about it, maybe I should be, but I am not really worried.”
Lapid spoke out recently about his vision of the peace process in a New York Times interview and we wanted to clarify what his exact views are.
Yair Lapid, Finance Minister:
“Everybody knows that I think that the two-state solution is the only solution on the table and we should do some progress about this. We should go back to the negotiation table with the Palestinians and make sure that the discourse is back to some the beginning, harmony would be an exaggerated word, but a beginning of a negotiation is a necessity. I hope that Secretary Kerry will come here and help the both sides to sit on the same table and we are looking forward to his visit.”
Global conglomerate, Dun and Bradstreet, has been providing business information for over 170-years and the Israeli branches CEO says, the country has to act and act fast before the situation gets out of control.
Haim Cohen, CEO, Dun & Bradstreet Israel:
“I think that we may face a very bad economic situation if we don’t look after the budget. We have to close the deficit in the budget. Being a risk manager, closing a deficit in the budget is number one target of anybody. Before you look at growth, before you look at prosperity, first of all make sure you have money to cover you debt. That your personal cover ratio, is positive. If you don’t do that, you may run into heavier risks and everything will go out of control.”
Low-Cost Supermarkets giant, Rami Levy, claims the government is making a huge fundamental mistake in all its dealings; it completely fails to see whom they are supposed to serve.
Rami Levy, CEO, Rami Levy Low-Cost Supermarkets:
“We see the bureaucracy here in Israel every day. The public sector does not take into consideration the citizens, they don’t think about their consumers. That’s why they allow themselves to behave with such a deficit. And where does this deficit come from ? They conduct themselves not like a profitable business. The behave in a manner that when they feel a little bit of constraints and wants to develop the economy they go and raise the taxes from the citizens and in the long run they ruin more than they build. My philosophy is that the customer is the most important factor this is who I serve, this is the foundation of all my businesses the customer, and I personally live off my customers so it is crucial to make him fell like he is getting the value for their money.”
It seems although the finance minister came under fire for his budgetary cuts and tax increases, at least the audience, here at the conference, of around 500 financical leaders were won over by Lapid's explanation of why he did what he had to do.
Ron Jacobsohn, JN1 , Tel-Aviv
-
Jewish convert belts out traditional Yiddish tunes
Music is Anthony Russell's life. For the better part of a decade, the 33-year-old aspired to be a professional opera singer. Then his life path changed. First, he discovered Judaism and then, traditional Yiddish music .
Anthony Russell, Yiddish Singer:
"I primarily sing in Yiddish. Because of that, I tend to go as Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell."
Russell is probably not what most people imagine when they think of a Yiddish singer. Raised Christian in an African-American household in Northern California, Russell says he always felt a strong connection to Jewish texts. Then, in 2009, he went on a blind date with a rabbi to a New York Mets baseball game. As their relationship progressed, Russell realized that he was becoming very interested in his partner's spirituality.
Anthony Russell, Yiddish Singer:
"He asked me, at a critical point, like would you ever consider converting to Judaism and it wasn't very hard for me because I was like yeah, actually, you know what, I would."
Soon he would have another life-changing experience: hearing the Yiddish music of Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews for the first time. While watching the Coen Brothers' movie 'A Serious Man', he heard a song by the legendary singer Sidor Belarsky. Russell, who had been pursuing a career in opera, was hooked.
Anthony Russell, Yiddish Singer:
"I decided to do some more research about Sidor Belarsky and his music and I found this amazing repertoire of music that was soulful and dramatic and full of interpretive possibilities for anyone who decided they really wanted to devote themselves to it, and that's what I decided I wanted to do."
Russell, who now lives in the San Francisco area, sees important connections between African-American and Jewish culture, particularly around the ideas of exile and redemption.
Anthony Russell, Yiddish Singer:
"If you consider the African-American experience historically, you know, it's no wonder that so many of our texts about the idea of freedom come from the torah, these are ideas that still have currency."
He says he's received positive reactions from his own family as well as the Jewish community he's now a part of.
Anthony Russell, Yiddish Singer:
"When I got back from the mikveh after formally converting, I texted my mother and said, well, it's done. Your son is a jew. She texted me back and said, well, I'm proud of you. I hope they treat my baby well. I have had very little reason to tell her otherwise."
Now Russell spends his days learning the Yiddish language and practicing his craft. His profile is rising on the Yiddish music scene. He's recently played gigs around the U.S. and Canada and he hopes to soon sing in Europe and Israel. And for anyone who sees him perform, it's a good bet that it will be an eye-opening experience.
Anthony Russell, Yiddish Singer:
"It is unusual to see a black guy get up and sing in Yiddish for about an hour, but my hope is that once that hour is over, people will feel differently about Yiddish and people will feel differently about the abilities about what African Americans can do expressively by the time that's over."
In addition to learning the Belarsky songbook, Russell is currently working on a project combining African-American spirituals with Yiddish folk songs .
Ira Spitzer, JN1 , USA