Britannia Radio

Gabrielle Giffords takes leave The resignation of Gabrielle Giffords on Wednesday from the House of Representatives momentarily brought together a fiercely divided chamber in celebration of her remarkable recovery and service to the country. Giffords, who was shot in the head a year ago, has made a near-miraculous recovery but stepped down to focus more fully on her ongoing recovery. Still, the Arizona congresswoman did not count out a return to politics once her health has returned. Alison Klayman is a hit at Sundance Alison Klayman's documentary about Chinese dissident Ai Wei Wei premiered at the Sundance festival this week and garnered a rare standing ovation. Klayman, a former JTA contributor based in Beijing, offers an intimate look at the man who became an international icon of resistance after Chinese authorities detained him for 81 days last year. The film, "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry," is Klayman's first feature documentary. Andrew Adler gets a reaction Andrew Adler, the owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, said that he wrote his Jan. 13 column suggesting Israel might consider assassinating President Obama to "get a reaction." Mission accomplished. Atlanta Jews rushed to disavow him, Jewish groups condemned him and the Secret Service reportedly opened an investigation. By Monday, Adler, who had issued an earlier apology, resigned. What did you think was going to happen? Jonathan Safran Foer is living the dream Jonathan Safran Foer is living the dream. Not only was the movie based on his book “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” nominated for an Oscar this week, but HBO announced that “All Talk,” a series the author wrote about a Jewish family in Washington, D.C., is slated to being filming in the fall, with Ben Stiller producing, directing and starring. The novelist's Jewish mother (who brought the Foer boys up in the nation’s capital) must be shepping. Jennifer Gorman leads at Knesset Rabbi Jennifer Gorman, a Canadian Conservative rabbi, scored a historic first this week when we she led an afternoon prayer service in the synagogue at the Knesset in Jerusalem, which is typically used for only Orthodox services. Gorman led a mixed-gender egalitarian service at a time when concern is growing about Orthodox suppression of women's rights in the Jewish state. Gorman was in Israel for a four-day leadership mission that met with Israeli political leaders and pushed for more religious pluralism @shaifranklin: If #Bahrain had a "real" democratic revolution, like #Egypt's, would it then be OK to deal harshly w dissent? #humanrights #sameoldsameold @DannyAyalon: Congratulations to Better Place who just began their first commercial electric car roll-out in Israel. @Hadassah_Levy: Is this a good time of year to plant flowers in Israel? @BurtonJM: i continue to be amazed by evolving conversation in Haredi Jewish community re gay concerns from what I had to deal with when I was young. @CarolineEr: I really love this week's parasha! So much great material in Parashat Bo! @shasarna: Tall skinny pregnant woman - screw you. You're making us Jewish midgets look bad for merely being mortal. Jonah Hill, Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg and other Jews amongOscar nominees, Joan Rivers andChelsea Handler bump heads. Is Drew Barrymore converting for her fiance? Steven Colbert'shilarious interview with Maurice Sendak. Ben Stiller's new Jewish HBO show. Birthday haiku - Paul Newman. Watch the video. Read more