Leveraging diverse backgrounds, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum seeks to bring unity, cohesion to agency

Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahoum is one of the candidates to head the Jewish Agency, the largest Jewish nonprofit organization in the world. If elected, she would become the first woman to head the agency. Read more

‘Cholent Festival’ brings Jewish culture to Hungary via food, music, traditions

Thousands of people took part in the Sixth Hungarian ‘Cholent Festival’ (“Sólet” in Hungarian) at the Újbuda outdoor theatre in Budapest before the start of the High Holidays, organized by the Chabad Lubavitch organization Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities (EMIH). Read more

After years of rebuilding, Budapest’s Jewish community sees growth in size and shuls

On the week ahead of Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year 5782—the Autonomous Orthodox Jewish Community of Hungary (MAOIH) and the Chabad-Lubavitch Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities (EMIH) restored several Jewish communal institutions in Budapest to their original glory. Read more

Work goes on: Efforts to bring last of Ethiopian Jews to Israel

In continuation of the family reunification initiative “Operation Tzur Israel” (“Operation Rock of Israel”), nearly 300 new Ethiopian olim landed in Israel on March 11, joining the other 1,700 Ethiopians who arrived in Israel since last year. Read more

New report by human-rights group responds to anti-Israeli bias perpetuated at UNHRC

Geneva-based independent human-rights group UN Watch has published a detailed report in advance of the 46th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, which is scheduled to open this month on Feb. 22 in Geneva and run until March 23. Read more

UAE embraces trade with Israeli-owned businesses in Judea and Samaria

The Psagot Winery sits on the peaks of the Binyamin region mountains in Judea and Samaria, north of Jerusalem and just east of Ramallah. Read more

MK Michal Cotler-Wunsh: Prompting a paradigm shift between Israel and the Diaspora

Michal Cotler-Wunsh is an Israeli-Canadian member of Knesset currently serving within the Blue and White Party, though just announced that she will not run with Blue and White in the upcoming elections—Israel’s fourth round in two years—slated for March 23. Read more

Israeli government launches fund to promote normalization with Arab countries

A new fund recently started by Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs and public benefit company “Concert Together for Israel” encourages existing organization to submit proposals for new public diplomacy initiatives that emphasize normalization with Arab countries, combat hate speech against Israel and build the reputation of the Jewish state online. Read more

Knesset bill to require consultation with Diaspora on matters regarding world Jewry

Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Omer Yankelevitch is introducing a Knesset bill that would require government ministries to consult with world Jewry on matters directly related to the Jewish people, such as Jewish informal and formal education, engagement and antisemitism. Read more

‘Beacons of opportunity’: Israel-UAE to build broad partnerships, says high-tech investor

The recent Israel-UAE peace agreement will forever change the business and tech landscape in the region, says Jon Medved, CEO of Jerusalem-based venture capital platform OurCrowd. Read more

Australia-Israel relationship a ‘mateship’ based on trade, trust and mutual values

At the 43rd session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that recently concluded, Australia was the only country to vote against all five anti-Israel resolutions, including the notoriously biased Agenda Item 7. Read more

Global parliamentarians express support for Israeli sovereignty

With several European parliamentarians expressing opposition to Israel’s planned application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, lawmakers from Latin America, Europe and Africa signed a statement in support for sovereignty. Read more

Ahead of sovereignty start date, affected Israelis and Palestinians speak out

Ahead of Israel’s planned application of sovereignty, which was slated to start as early as July 1 but has been moved forward for the time being, Israelis and Palestinians from neighbouring cities over the Green Line spoke out about the decision and its potential effects. Read more

British experts, leaders respond to Israel’s sovereignty plan

Ahead of Israel’s planned application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria starting on July 1, British experts and Jewish leaders spoke out about their support for Israel’s claim and right of sovereignty in the land, and the Jewish state’s democratic decision to carry out its policies. Read more

First Israeli nonprofit bank raises $30 million for coronavirus assistance in Israel

Israel’s first nonprofit bank, the Ogen Group, announced on Monday that it has raised $30 million from donors and impact lenders from Israel and abroad to provide emergency survival loans and financial mentoring to small businesses, nonprofits, and unemployed and furloughed workers in Israel. Read more

Jerusalem opens neighbourhoods, commercial and spiritual centres to stimulate ‘local tourism’

In light of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announced plan for a phased reopening of the economy and easing of restrictions, Jerusalem has reported distinctive challenges, as well as opportunities, for the rehabilitation of its tourism industry, which, like major cities around the world, has been hard-hit by the coronavirus. Read more

Israeli universities, institutes lead the fight against coronavirus

Israeli universities and institutes—and their affiliated academics, researchers, doctors, scientists and students—are leading the fight against the coronavirus. Read more

In Paris, 250 European leaders, conference attendees to confront antisemitism in full force

Some 250 participants and European leaders gathered in Paris at the European Jewish Association’s (EJA) annual policy conference this week under the topic “Jews in Europe: United for a Better Future.” Read more

Manila American cemetery changes five Latin crosses to Stars of David

The headstones of five U.S. soldiers buried in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial were changed on Tuesday, righting a historical wrong. Read more

WIZO celebrates 100 years of caring for the disadvantaged in Israel

The Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) celebrated its centennial year last week in Israel. Read more

Chaim Soutine artwork exhibited for first time in Israel in 50 years

Now through March 21, Mishkan Museum of Art in Ein Harod, a kibbutz in northern Israel, is exhibiting the works of Chaim Soutine, one of the leading artists of the 20th century, for the first time in Israel in 50 years. Read more

Lord Polak: British taxpayer dollars funding Palestinian ‘pay-for-slay’ terror campaign

“Israel is being singled out ‘with nauseating frequency,’ to borrow a phrase, and we are joining in,” said Lord Baron Stuart Polak, president of Conservative Friends of Israel, in a House of Lords speech on Jan. 7. Read more

Israeli auction house to sell Chagall painting in Israel, a first in more than 20 years

Israel’s largest auction house, the Tiroche Auction House, will put “Jacob’s Ladder”—a painting by the world-renowned Jewish artist Marc Chagall—up for sale on Jan. 25. Read more

A new kind of ambassador: The rise of Israel’s Shalva Band and Netta Barzilai

As the Shalva Band and 2018 Eurovision Song Contest winner Netta Barzilai redefine what it means to be beautiful and successful, perhaps they are, at the same time, redefining what it means to be a “traditional” Israeli ambassador. Read more

Theme of Diaspora-attended conference in Jerusalem: Making Judaism work for all

Judaism, said organizers of a conference this week in Jerusalem pertaining to religious issues long discussed by Jews worldwide, “is often seen in Israel as an exclusive religious teaching that manages to exclude large parts of Israeli society and Diaspora Jewry.” Read more

Report on Palestinian teachers’ guides illuminates methods of anti-Jewish indoctrination

The recently published study “Israel, Jews and Peace in Palestinian Authority Teachers’ Guides” by Dr Arnon Groiss of the Centre for Near East Policy Research showed that Palestinian teachers’ guides promote an attitude towards the “other” based on delegitimization, demonization and war indoctrination instead of peace education. Read more

Israeli government makes wine a smart brand to export culture and identity abroad

As Israel’s government ministries endeavour to represent and communicate the singularity and attractiveness of Israeli culture and industry to audiences abroad, wine has topped the list as one way to effectively represent Israeli culture and history. Read more

What to do after ‘slaughter the Jews’ is spray-painted in Arabic on part of the Western Wall?

A young Arab girl and her older teenage sister spray-painted the words “slaughter the Jews” in Arabic on Friday on the Kotel HaKatan (“little wall” in Hebrew), a portion of the Western Wall on the Temple Mount about 650 feet south of the Western Wall Plaza and next to the Iron Gate entrance to the Old City. Read more

Is there hope to end anti-Israel bias at the UN Human Rights Council?

The United Nations Human Rights Council met on Monday to single out Israel under the anti-Israel “Agenda Item 7,” a UNHRC mandate that a discussion of Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians must be part of every council session. Read more

Hamas endorsement of UNRWA elections underscores the agency’s inherent flaws

Following the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) union elections in Gaza on April 24 and the publishing of the results mid-May, various terror groups, including the Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Hamas, have endorsed the new leadership of UNRWA’s union of teachers and administrators. Read more

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