Britannia Radio

Daily Briefing

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

FEATURED STORY Toulouse attack leaves French Jewish community shaken The deadliest anti-Semitic attack in France in three decades left some French Jews in a state of disbelief. Read more » EDITORS' PICKS Panning Peter Peter Beinart's call in yesterday's New York Times to boycott Israeli settlements was widely condemned. JTA's Daniel Treiman recaps. An immodest proposal (Jewish Press) An appeal to mothers of Orthodox girls struggling to find mates: Fix yourselves up a little. A nose job and some hair-straightening might help, too. War games (New York Times) The U.S. military held a simulation of an Israeli attack on Iran. The result: a wider regional war that could draw in American forces. Transsexual in the yeshiva: A memoir (Forward) Joy Ladin, the formerly male English professor at Yeshiva University, has a new book out that describes her transition to a woman. Documenting Orthodox sex abuse (Washington Post) A new film follows the efforts of journalist Phil Jacobs, now editor of the Washington Jewish Week, as he investigates claims of sexual abuse in Baltimore's Orthodox community. 10 Jewish women you should know (Huffington Post) Betty Friedan and Barbra Streisand are among the 10 included in Rabbi Laura Geller's list of Jewish women who changed history. The bogus intelligence debate (Wall Street Journal) Bret Stephens writes that the issue isn't whether Iran has decided to pursue a nuclear weapon or not. It's about whether Iran should be permitted to get within a half-step of acquiring one. BREAKING NEWS Thousands demonstrated silently in Paris to pay tribute to the four victims of the shooting attack at a Jewish school in southwestern France, while police said the gunman may have filmed the attack. Tony Blinken, Vice President Joe Biden's national security adviser, will address this year's J Street conference. A Seattle commission that represents the gay community canceled a meeting with gay Israeli leaders over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. President Obama in his message for the Persian New Year appealed directly to the Iranian people's aspirations for freedom. Israel's Knesset approved a new law that would ban the use of underweight models in advertising. Israel's civilian nuclear reactor will be phased out in the coming years, Reuters reported, citing Israeli officials. The four victims of the attack at a Jewish school in France will be buried in Israel. Israeli leaders condemned remarks by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton that some interpreted as comparing the victims of an attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, to deaths in Gaza, but Ashton said her words were "grossly distorted." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, who is recovering from a stroke. The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would add Israel to the list of countries eligible for non-immigrant investor visas in the United States. President Obama told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that direct discussions with Israel were an "important contribution to the cause of peace." Two Israeli journalists apologized to the Claims Conference over a film they made about the organization as part of the settlement of a libel lawsuit. The United Nations canceled an appearance by a Hamas leader at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. The Conservative movement's synagogue umbrella group approved new bylaws aimed at improving its governance.