Britannia Radio

Daily Briefing

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

FEATURED STORY For Israel's Muslims, Ramadan's a time to celebrate Islam in the Jewish state Ramadan, the monthlong Islamic fasting period, is a time for Israeli Muslims to fast, juggle work schedules and ponder the place of their holidays in the Jewish state. Read more » EDITORS' PICKS Obama campaign's new Jewish point person To lead its efforts in the Jewish community, the Obama campaign has tapped Ira Forman, a political veteran who knows his way around Jewish politics, Adam Kredo reports for JTA and the Washington Jewish Week. Is Assad next? If you're waiting for the regime in Damascus to disappear, don't hold your breath. Syria is no Libya, and Bashar Assad is no Muammar Gadhafi, JTA's Uriel Heilman write What will happen to Syria's chemical weapons? On Foreign Policy Magazine's website, Leonard Spector expresses concern about Syria's chemical weapons arsenal amid the country's current unrest. The Jewish Museum's new leader The New York Times profiles the next director of New York's Jewish Museum, Claudia Gould, who grew up in an interfaith home and expresses an eagerness to explore what it means "to be a Jewish museum today." Jews in black colleges The New York Jewish Week reports on what campus life is like for the small numbers of Jewish students who are enrolled at historically black colleges. Hitler in China In Tablet, Isaac Stone Fish writes that Chinese views of Hitler aren't entirely negative. BREAKING NEWS Three of the terrorists in last week's attacks near Eilat were Egyptian members of an extremist Islamic group, an Egyptian newspaper reported. An Israeli airstrike killed a leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, while a Palestinian rocket from Gaza reportedly landed in Egypt, injuring a woman there. A bill that would prevent California municipalities from banning male circumcision was unanimously approved by the state Senate's judiciary committee. The U.S. Homeland Security Dept. will provide about $15 million in grants to Jewish communal organizations and institutions considered vulnerable to attack. Delta Airlines announced that it will not ask its customers to disclose their religious affiliation, despite partnering with Saudi Arabian Airlines. A New York State Supreme Court judge has closed the sexual assault case against Dominique Srauss-Kahn. Jewish leaders in Sydney are irate after a local council denied an application to build an eruv. Art Anderson, 76, a Boy Scouts hike leader and synagogue treasurer from Kokomo, Ind. was stabbed to death on Sunday in front of his Boy Scouts. A university student in Scotland was found guilty of racism after insulting a fellow student's Israeli flag, and he was expelled from St. Andrews University. The Sacramento Kings' Omri Casspi will not sign with his former Israeli basketball team during the NBA lockout after all. MSNBC chose Rev. Al Sharpton to be its permanent news host for the channel's 6 P.M. slot, for a program to be called "PoliticsNation." The Jewish Museum of New York has named Claudia Gould as its new director.