Britannia Radio

	Daily Briefing

Friday, July 17, 2009

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Breaking News Ehud Olmert called on the Obama administration to focus more on the Palestinian rejection of his peace offer than on settlement building. A former senior U.S. diplomat met with two senior officials of Hamas. A Boston-area Jewish philanthropist reopened his charitable foundation, which had closed because of the Bernard Madoff scam. Israel accused Lebanon's army of assisting in the cover up of Hezbollah military activity in the south A convoy of 200 U.S. activists carrying medical supplies was allowed to cross into the Gaza Strip via Egypt. The swine flu outbreak in Argentina has forced the cancellation of the anniversary tribute to the victims of the AMIA Jewish center attack in Buenos Aires. The Senate approved legislation that would expand federal involvement in investigating hate crimes. President Obama invoked the black-Jewish alliance in a speech to the NAACP.pre-eminent African-American civil rights group. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is due to vote on a Iran divestment motion. A Kassam rocket fired from Gaza landed in southern Israel for the first time in a month. Police arrested a man in a bomb threat to a Jewish community center in Tulsa, Okla. Arson is suspected in a large forest fire blazing in the mountains near Jerusalem. Featured Stories Israel begins verification for 3,000 more Ethiopians Israeli Ethiopians demonstrate opposite the prime minister's office on Nov. 9, 2008 demanding that relatives in Ethiopia be allowed to immigrate. ( Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90 / JTA) A year since the last planeload of Falash Mura immigrants landed in Israel, advocates are hoping a new effort to review the aliyah eligibility of 3,000 Ethiopians will reopen the gates to mass Ethiopian immigration. Read more » J Street conference demonstrates increased coordination on left Left-wing advocates of a two-state solution and a greater U.S. role in the peace process are joining forces in support of what they hope will be a groundbreaking conference this October in Washington. Read more » Op-Ed: The Rafsanjani connection in AMIA bombing As the 15th anniversary of the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires approaches, one might well ask why Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani remains a central figure in Iranian politics and not in a prison cell in Argentina awaiting trial, says the head of the American Jewish Committee's Latino and Latin American Institute. Read more » Editors' Picks Olmert's vision for a lasting peace Stop focusing on settlements, the former Israeli leader urges the Obama administration as he wonders why the Palestinians rejected his proposals. Arabs must talk to Israel The crown prince of Bahrain says the Arab world needs to communicate better with Israel, especially its media, to make progress toward peace. Signs of hope in the West Bank For the first time in nearly a decade, according to a report in The New York Times, a sense of personal security and economic potential is spreading across the West Bank as the Palestinian Authority security forces enter their second year of consolidating order. Rapping Obama may have its consequences The leaders of some traditional Jewish organizations that are trying to bring young Jews into the fold may be turning them off with their criticism of President Obama's Middle East peace initiatives, a J Street leader says.