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Daily Briefing

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Breaking News The Obama administration reportedly has abandoned efforts to get Israel to freeze its West Bank settlements to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The Fire and Rescue Services organization is the weak link in Israel's emergency readiness, a report said. The U.S. House of Representatives mourned the loss of life in Israel's worst-ever forest fire and pledged to support assistance. Hate crimes charges were filed against two teens in an assault on at least one Chasidic man in Brooklyn. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted a ruling by dozens of Israel's municipal chief rabbis that forbids renting homes to gentiles, and more specifically to Arabs. A Catholic civil rights organization is accusing Boca Raton, Fla., of discrimination for buying and displaying menorahs in public buildings without including a nativity scene. Randy Altschuler conceded the congressional election in a suburban New York district to incumbent Rep. Tim Bishop. A Princeton student referendum on whether to ask the university's dining services to provide an alternative brand of hummus to Sabra was defeated. Large swastikas were found painted on more than 100 gravestones in a Jewish cemetery in the capital of Latvia. A bipartisan slate of senators urged President Obama to increase pressure on Iran in nuclear talks. The office of Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski defended a trade agreement it signed with Israel. American self-styled Nazi hunter Mark Gould has filed a lawsuit against ex-SS officer Bernhard Frank for his role in the murder of Jews during World War II. Democratic state senators in Florida elected national Jewish leader Nan Rich as their minority leader. Share This Email

Today's Daily Briefing Sponsored by: You! For only $180, you can use this prominent spot to announce an honor or celebrate a milestone. To make your announcement, click here. Featured Story Fire leaves Ein Hod residents devastated -- and angry Residents of some of the communities ravaged by the deadliest fire in Israel's history take stock of the damage while officials make plans to bring green back to the blackened landscape. Read more » Editors' Picks Relief efforts from America The American Jewish community opened fundraising mailboxes while the worst fire in Israeli history was blazing, but will the money continue to flow now that the inferno is out, JTA's Jacob Berkman asks. 'Schnorring' for fire trucks In the wake of Israel's historic Carmel Forest fire, The New York Jewish Week explores whether Jewish money from the United States should pay for Israel's lack of preparedness. Iran's rockin' marble While the Islamic Republic may be bent on Israel's destruction, it also is contributing to the Jewish state's construction -- Iranian marble is featuring prominently in some of the most prominent buildings in Israel, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Eulogizer: Father of neutron bomb, restaurateur to the famous and Holocaust survivor who spoke Remembering Samuel T. Cohen, Elaine Kaufman and Erwin Deutsch. Standing against boycotts For some strategies on attacking the latest campaign to boycott things Israel and Jewish, try building bridges and getting involved, a Jewish Council for Public Affairs official writes in a JTA Op-Ed. No time to point fingers Jewish tradition teaches that we are supposed to respond to tragedy by asking ourselves why things happen, but not to judge or blame -- as is happening with the great fire in Israel -- a New York rabbi writes in a JTA Op-Ed. Looking beyond hummus Princeton University campus groups each claim victory and ponder their next moves following a student referendum on the brand of hummus offered in university dining halls, the Daily Princetonian student newspaper reports. Orthodox slumlord How can an Orthodox Jewish person justify being a slumlord? The Village Voice asks Jewish leaders to address the question after several religious Jews turned up on its list of New York City's worst landlords. JEWISH IDEAS DAILY Sponsored Content Whatever Happened to Moses Mendelssohn? The great German-Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1781) was and remains a perplexing, rather sad, enigma. Read more » PR NEWS TICKER Paid Notices News from Israel's Carmel Region: JNF CEO Reports on Findings Share your news with JTA's readers and media partners. Click for details.