Britannia Radio

Daily Briefing

Tuesday, February 8, 2011 Donate Now | Share This Email

FEATURED STORY Concern rising along the Israel-Egypt border Israelis who live near the Israel-Egypt border wonder what the unrest next door will do to their lives and livelihoods in Israel.Read more » EDITORS' PICKS Harman's resignation The sudden resignation of Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), a pro-Israel hard-liner, from the Congress signals the precarious position of the Democratic Party's center, JTA's Ron Kampeas writes. Conservative strategy In the latest attempt to reverse the fortunes of what was once America's largest synagogue denomination, the congregational association of the Conservative movement has released a draft strategic plan, JTA's Ben Harris reports. 25 years of freedom Natan Sharansky's freedom is not only a celebration of his great courage; it is also a celebration of his wife Avital's formidable moral and spiritual strength, Rabbi Avi Weiss writes in a JTA Op-Ed. Tribe's gaps growing While Judaism in Israel is moving further to the margins and concentrating mainly on whom to push out of the fold, in American Judaism a dynamic of acceptance, embrace and widening circles is developing, Rabbi Naamah Kelman and Dr. Elan Ezrachi write in Haaretz. A gift for your doorpost Small white boxes containing a Lucite mezuzah and parchment scroll were delivered to 1,000 Jewish households -- more than half the Jewish families in two Florida counties -- the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports. Accustomed to death, almost Working in nursing homes taught Dr. Marc Agronin about old age, but it did not prepare him for the last days of his grandfather, who also was his mentor and inspiration, he writes in Salon. The Eulogizer: Charles E. Silberman, Holocaust survivors who left legacies JTA's Appreciation column remember book author Charles E. Silberman and Holocaust survivors who left legacies. JEWISH IDEAS DAILY Sponsored Content Qatar's Game One of the world's wealthiest countries, Qatar is bustling with art, sports, and cutting-edge media. But it has a darker side. Read more » BREAKING NEWS Criminal charges were filed against 11 Muslim students who disrupted a speech at the University of California, Irvine, by Israel's U.S. ambassador. An explosion in an Egyptian natural gas line in the Sinai Peninsula, which cut off supplies to Israel, was the result of terrorism, according to an Egyptian investigation. Israel has long preferred current Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman as the successor to President Hosni Mubarak, according to leaked U.S. diplomatic cables. Former President George W. Bush canceled a planned appearance at a Keren Hayesod fundraiser in Geneva because of planned protests. Dan Quayle urged President Obama to release imprisoned spy-for-Israel Jonathan Pollard. The Muslim Brotherhood's English website rejected claims that the Egyptian protests are aimed at creating an Islamic state. A Swedish neo-Nazi leader who organized the theft of the "Arbeit Macht Frei” sign from Auschwitz was transferred to Sweden to serve his three-year prison sentence. Vandals broke apart a large menorah in front of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life at the University of Kansas. Four mortar shells fired from Gaza hit southern Israel, damaging a car and an irrigation hose. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee hired a new spokesman. Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman visited the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires two months after his government recognized a unilateral Palestinian state. Jewish themes abound among National Book Critics Circle award finalists. Philanthropist Alan Slifka, founder of the Abraham Fund, has died.