Britannia Radio

Breaking News Israeli police arrested two teenagers in connection with the stabbing of an Arab man in Jerusalem. Barack Obama sent condolences to the Chabad-Lubavitch community on the slayings of its emissaries in Mumbai. Arab-Israeli lawmakers will set sail in an attempt to break their own government's blockade of the Gaza Strip. One of the cases against Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been closed due to a lack of evidence. The Conservative movement's ethical kashrut initiative received a $100,000 grant. A rabbi, a priest and an imam prayed together for rain on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Louisiana's Coushatta tribe declared "friendship" with Israel. A prominent Ukrainian Jewish leader was appointed a deputy mayor of Kiev. Russia called on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza and allow aid to reach the isolated strip. Three Jewish movements are among the participants in the One Sabbath Campaign. Polls opened for Israel's Labor Party primaries for the second time this week.

Featured Stories Showdown in Hebron as settlers evicted Israeli police and settlers battle during the evacuation of a disputed Hebron house on Dec. 4, 2008. (Brian Hendler) Israeli police forcibly removed settlers from a house in Hebron, touching off violent confrontations between settlers and police, and between settlers and Palestinians. Read more » Controversy highlights challenges for liberal Orthodox school New York City seminary's response to the controversial action of one of its graduates highlights the challenge facing progressives in the Modern Orthodox community. Read more »

U.S. Jewish groups training for Mumbai-style attack

More than 30 Jewish organizations gathered in New York for an exercise that simulated coordinated attacks on institutions in multiple locations throughout the United States. Read more »

Editors' Picks

Eviction in Hebron The settlers are fooling themselves if they think their campaign to hold onto the West Bank will be determined by force. Rather, the fate of the West Bank will be determined by politics and public opinion, writes JTA Managing Editor Uriel Heilman.

The chosen people Harvard professor Jon Levenson reflects on the Jewish doctrine of being God's chosen people in Commentary magazine. "Few religious doctrines have attracted more virulent criticism than the idea of the chosen people," he writes. "And yet, like the Jews themselves, the idea of the chosen people will not die."

Eric Holder and the Marc Rich pardon Much is being made of the connection between Eric Holder, Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. attorney general, and Marc Rich, the international financier pardoned in the waning days of the Clinton administration. The Washington Post offers two arguments against Holder, based on the Rich pardon.

Israel rebuffed by Europe In the latest show of the tenuous relations between Israel and Europe, the European Union postponed a decision about whether to upgrade its ties with the Jewish state.