Britannia Radio

Daily Briefing

Monday, April 18, 2011 Donate Now | Share This Email

FEATURED STORY Arrest of two Palestinians for Itamar killings can't console Fogels' kin Relatives of five members of the Fogel family murdered in a West Bank Jewish settlement say they are proud of the state for capturing two Palestinian teenagers in the terrorist attack but "the pain remains sharp." Read more » EDITORS' PICKS How to thwart U.N. recognition of 'Palestine' JTA's Ron Kampeas writes that Israel and its supporters disagree about how to derail the path toward U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood in September. In Prague, a balancing act For Karel Goldmann, it's often a tough balance between being an advocate for Muslim-Jewish ties and synagogue leader, even in his progressive congregation in the Czech capital, JTA's Symi Rom-Rymer writes. Passover, the Jewish Thanksgiving Passover is the Jewish Thanksgiving, Rabbi Stewart Weiss writes in The Jerusalem Post, since the entire thrust of the holiday, and the Haggadah, is Hakarat HaTov, or appreciation and recognition, for God, country, family and fellow Jew. The great quinoa debate A debate has emerged among rabbinical experts about the grain-like quinoa's bona fides as a kosher alternative to leavened-grain products like bread, The New York Times reports. Why is this Haggadah different? The Washington Haggadah, an illuminated medieval manuscript and, since 1916, a principal treasure in the Library of Congress, is spending Passover in New York City on a snug reading stand in a display case at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Washington Post reports. Indie minyan, Canada style Young Toronto Jews take a page from the independent minyan book and make it their own, the National Post reports. As Jewish as a Hillel sandwich Author Austin Ratner talks about his inspirations for his first book, "The Jump Artist." BREAKING NEWS Israel has imposed a general closure on Palestinians in the West Bank during Passover. Jailed American contractor Alan Gross has filed an appeal of his 15-year prison in Cuba. The Israeli teen injured in a Gaza rocket attack on a school bus has died a day after a weeklong cease-fire between Israel and Gaza terror groups was disrupted. Police are searching for a suspect in a fire in a prominent Hollywood synagogue that has been classified as arson. Some 14 Orthodox rabbis and public figures from Ra'anana signed a letter condemning an attack on a Reform synagogue in the central Israel city. Queers Against Israeli Apartheid said it will not participate in the Toronto Pride Parade. A British soccer league has launched a campaign to urge fans to stop using anti-Jewish chants. Eleven Muslim students arrested for disrupting a speech by Israeli U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California, Irvine pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges. Fashion designer John Galliano was fired from his own designer label over accusations of anti-Semitism and racism. President Obama should free convicted spy Jonathan Pollard if he wants Jews to re-elect him to the White House, Israel's chief rabbi said. President Obama in his Passover message "prayed for peace" for Israel while calling for the alleviation of injustice against those "not yet free" in the Middle East. Helen Thomas, Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer are scheduled to speak at a pro-Palestinian conference aiming to counter AIPAC's annual gathering. A federal judge said he would not force the District of Columbia elections board to change the date of an election on the last day of Passover. A senior Australian politician has told local council members to either drop their boycott of Israel or risk being fired. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress for funding the Iron Dome short-range anti-missile system. Italian Jewish leaders have called on Italy's education minister to take action against a Milan high school teacher accused of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. An Argentinian rabbi is running for mayor of Buenos Aires.