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Daily Briefing

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 Donate Now | Share This Email

FEATURED STORY Herb Kohl's politics were Wisconsin, above all Herb Kohl, one of Wisconsin's two Jewish senators for nearly two decades and a beloved figure in his home state, says he won't seek re-election in '12. Read more » EDITORS' PICKS A kosher cover-up The new Magen Tzedek certification seal for kosher food products is trying to change the definition of kashrut, writes an Agudath Israel of America official in a JTA Op-Ed. Complementing kashrut Far from replacing kashrut, Magen Tzedek will encourage those concerned with Jewish ethical principles to purchase kosher products, write the Magen Tzedek co-chairs in a JTA Op-Ed. Netanyahu needs to make a map "The only way for Netanyahu to be taken seriously again is if he risks some political capital and actually surprises people," writes New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Netanyahu prepares for battle Haaretz's Aluf Benn says that Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to prepare Israel for what the prime minister sees as an increasingly hostile regional situation. Nakba Day: Something new and something old Elliott Abrams, writing in The Weekly Standard, says the Nakba Day confrontations on Israel's borders were "mostly manufactured by Hezbollah and the Assad regime." Obama should pursue peace -- quietly President Obama should work behind the scenes to advance the peace process and avoid grand gestures, advises former State Department official Aaron David Miller, writing in The International Herald Tribune. A gay Jewish Republican presidential hopeful The Jerusalem Post catches up with veteran campaign operative and longshot presidential aspirant Fred Karger. Strauss-Kahn's Orthodox attorney Facing sexual assault charges, IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being represented by a famed New York attorney with a colorful client list. Danielle Berrin of the LA Jewish Journal has the background on Benjamin Brafman. The Eulogizer: Ronni Handelman, Jack Hanoka and parks builder Pierre Joske JTA's Appreciation column remembers Ronni Handelman, a Jewish community volunteer; Jack Hanoka, a scientist and inventor; and Pierre Joske, a builder of parks. This week in Torah MyJewishLearning.com rounds up some perspectives on Parashat B'hukotai. JEWISH IDEAS DAILY Sponsored Content Holocaust without End The Nazi genocide has been universalized into a set of vague abstractions about human brutality and turned into a weapon against the Jews themselves. Read more »

BREAKING NEWS

A bipartisan bill introduced by top lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives would considerably tighten sanctions on Iran.

Jewish author Philip Roth has won the Man Booker International Prize for the body of work in his more than 50-year career.

The start of former Israeli President Moshe Katsav's prison sentence on rape and sexual assault convictions will be delayed pending his appeal.

Danish film director Lars Von Trier described himself as a Nazi who is not against Jews during the Cannes Film Festival.

President Obama hosted a reception at the White House for Jewish American Heritage Month.

Italy plans to upgrade the level of the Palestinian representative in Rome to ambassador.

Belgium's Senate voted to accept draft legislation that would give amnesty to Nazi collaborators.

Students at DePaul University in Chicago are voting on what brand of hummus they want served on campus.

A retired history professor from the United States was arrested for allegedly smuggling stolen antiquities from Israel and selling them illegally.

Israel's government has set up a task force to secure the country's critical computer systems against possible cyber attacks.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer commemorated the Holocaust with an appeal to uphold the rule of law.