Wednesday, 23 September 2009


Featured Stories

Obama on peace talks: Stop talking about talking, and start talking

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, shakes hands with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in front of President Obama during a trilateral meeting at Obama's hotel in New York on Sept. 22, 2009.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, shakes hands with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in front of President Obama during a trilateral meeting at Obama's hotel in New York on Sept. 22, 2009. (Avi Ohayon / GPO / Flash 90 / JTA)
Instead of announcing renewed peace talks, President Obama at a meeting in New York with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders was reduced to delivering a polite kick to both leaders' backsides. Read more »

Obama at the U.N. General Assembly

President Obama discusses Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian issue this morning at the United Nations. Read more »

Weighing in on the summit

Various pundits weigh in on the Netanyahu-Abbas-Obama meeting in New York. Read more »

Bibi on the air

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to hit for the full cycle, but his interviews Tuesday night on Fox, CNN and ABC came close. His message on Iran was clear, but on the Palestinian issue -- not so much. Read more »

Editors' Picks

Speaking (and tweeting) for the Jews

A raging Twitter battle over Iran sanctions raises questions about who speaks for the Jews. JTA's Ami Eden weighs in.

Thomas Friedman: Give sanctions, threat of war a chance

In his latest column, Thomas Friedman argues that tough sanctions and the looming threat of an Israeli military strike are the only hope for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Alice Walker's Yom Kippur sermon

The featured speaker at Michael Lerner's Yom Kippur service is Alice Walker, who offers up a defense of terrorism against Israelis in the latest issue of Lerner's magazine, Tikkun.

Debating Hillel

Can Hillel succeed in serving the diverse needs of Jewish students? Swarthmore student Sam Green says there are serious questions, while Northwestern senior Marissa Johnson counters that Hillel does a great job of helping students create a Jewish life.

Twitteleh your mamele

No one cares about what you're doing all day long. But your mother does. Check out this YouTube parody.

Breaking News

President Obama at the United Nations called for the launch of comprehensive Israeli-Arab peace negotiations.
U.S. counterterrorism officials have warned stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels of potential attacks.
Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi insinuated that Israel was behind the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
California is suing a prominent Jewish philanthropist for being one of the primary conduits to Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
Human rights groups urged the U.N. General Assembly to appoint a special envoy to investigate human rights violations in Iran.
Securing the release of Gilad Shalit would greatly facilitate the resumption of peace negotiations, Tony Blair said.
Jewish Agency for Israel lay leaders and community representatives met with the Red Cross to deliver letters written to Gilad Shalit.
The Kiev municipality's decision to build a hotel on the site of the Babi Yar massacre memorial has alarmed Ukraine's Jewish community.
An Israeli lawmaker confronted residents of a West Bank outpost.
The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin has condemned an Irish comedian for delivering an anti-Semitic tirade at an arts festival.
A Bulgarian diplomat defeated a controversial Egyptian minister in a close election to head a U.N. agency.
Italian Jewish leaders will drop their boycott of the Catholic Church's annual celebration of Judaism.
Two unidentified vandals threw red paint on the walls and windows of a synagogue in a central Ukrainian city.
Bedouins in Israel's south protested against Jewish National Fund workers doing infrastructure work.