Britannia Radio

Daily Briefing

Monday, September 19, 2011

FEATURED STORY This week: At and around the United Nations JTA has a schedule of events and protests this week as the Palestinians prepare to submit their bid for statehood to the United Nations and the world body hosts the Durban III meeting. Read more » BREAKING NEWS Former Agriprocessors executive Sholom Rubashkin was denied a new trial by a federal appeals court. Egypt has banned the export of palm fronds to Israel and Jewish communities abroad, leading to fears of a lulav shortage for the Sukkot holiday. The American Jewish Committee slammed a right-wing pro-Israel group for its ad campaign questioning President Obama's Israel commitment. Turkey's foreign minister said his country threatened to veto an Israeli initiative in NATO in an effort to hurt Israel in international forums. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in New York saying he expects his people will be in a "very difficult situation" following his United Nations statehood bid. President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. A German fund established to compensate victims of forced labor under the Nazis has sponsored a project that produced anti-Semitic propaganda. The London Philharmonic Orchestra suspended four musicians for calling for the cancellation of a concert by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall. A British law that allows for the prosecution of foreign officials for alleged war crimes was amended and signed by Queen Elizabeth II. Protesters living in a tent camp in a tony area of Tel Aviv have three days to leave before they are evicted. Four Israeli diplomats and security personnel will return to Israel's embassy in Cairo after being evacuated amid violent protests. Poland, which is currently heading the European Union, will not participate in the Durban III anti-racism conference. A Jewish Facebook site called FaceGlat has been hacked by pro-Palestinian activists from Jordan. More than 1,000 Israelis modeled nude for a photo installation by Spencer Tunick at the Dead Sea. Two Jewish lawmakers in Australia are feuding over the country's Palestine vote in the United Nations. B'nai Brith Canada has called for "sensitivity training" for the faculty of Toronto's York University in the wake of a complaint by a Jewish student over the remarks of a Jewish professor. Voting causes stress, inducing measurable hormonal changes, researchers in Israel found.