Britannia Radio

Daily Briefing

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

FEATURED STORY With protests, Israelis are seeking the revival of welfare state The protesters in Israel are demanding that today's thriving free-market Israel use its wealth to restore at least some elements of the long-defunct Israeli welfare state. Read more » EDITORS' PICKS After Joplin's storm, a flood of rabbis Since a tornado devastated the city of Joplin, Mo., in late May, rabbis have been visiting the city every Shabbat to help residents and offer solace to the tiny Jewish community, Miriam Grossman reports for JTA. In defense of tikkun olam Social justice is central to Judaism, writes Rabbi Eric Yoffie in a JTA Op-Ed, responding to an earlier JTA Op-Ed which argued that the focus on tikkun olam has come at the expense of Jewish study and religious practice. Netanyahu should go to Ramallah Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should go to Ramallah and extend a hand in building a Palestinian future, write Edgar M. Bronfman and Adam R. Bronfman in a JTA Op-Ed. Capital J: Skirting anti-Semitism, a Florida mezuzah and two David Axelrods At our Capital J blog, JTA's Ron Kampeas asks why Hillary Clinton skirted the issue of Muslim anti-Semitism at the Organization of the Islamic Conference, reports on what's become of former Florida governor Charlie Christ's mezuzah and examines the background of a former Kach activist who recently posed for a photo with a GOP congressman. The difference between Tel Aviv and Tahrir Square Writing in Haaretz, Moshe Arens says that there is no basis for comparisons between the recent wave of mass demonstrations in Israel and the popular protests that swept Egypt. Ending the 'hush' on abuse On The Huffington Post, the author of "Hush," a young-adult novel about sexual abuse in the haredi Orthodox world, reveals her identity and expresses hope that the murder of Leiby Kletzky will lead her community to better protect its children from abuse. Are there really a million Israeli emigrants? On the website of Foreign Policy magazine, Yogev Karasenty and Shmuel Rosner dispute the notion that there are a million Israelis living abroad. Catching up with Jon Favreau The Forward's Arty Semite blog chats with the director of "Cowboys and Aliens" about his work and his Jewish identity. The Eulogizer: Alex Steinweiss, and more on Lucian Freud JTA's Appreciation column remembers record-jacket creator and designer Alex Steinweiss, and looks at the discussion over the Jewish identity of artist Lucian Freud. What do you know about Jewish ethics? Judaism has a lot to say about ethics: How can we be responsible businesspeople? What constitutes as gossip? MyJewishLearning has a quiz that lets you test your knowledge of Jewish ethics. BREAKING NEWS The morning after Gabrielle Giffords' dramatic return to Congress since she was shot, a close colleague said supporters of the Arizona congresswoman are ready to mobilize should she run for re-election in 2012. Israel has been working with the United States to develop a new framework to restart peace negotiations with the Palestinians, according to reports. Israel's Air Force bombed two targets in Gaza after a Kassam rocket fired from Gaza struck southern Israel and injured a woman. J.P. Rosenbaum, a Jewish construction manager from New York, received the final rose from "The Bachelorette," Ashley Hebert. Israel's Supreme Court ordered the state to raze Migron, the largest illegal West Bank outpost, by April. A Bosnian Serb with Israeli citizenship can be extradited to Bosnia to stand trial on charges of genocide, a Jerusalem court ruled. Israel is responsible for the assassination last week of an Iranian nuclear scientist, the German newspaper Der Spiegel reported. Russian authorities have failed to respond to requests for more information on the Raoul Wallenberg case. An Israeli rabbinical group and leading Orthodox rabbis in the Diaspora have agreed to help prospective new immigrants whose Jewish status has been questioned by Israeli immigration authorities. Representatives from progressive Jewish organizations met with White House officials. The Security Community Network is convening a conference call for organizers of Jewish camps and travel programs in the wake of the Norway massacre. A database of Holocaust-era property records has become the largest publicly available, single-source database of lost Jewish property assets from that era. At least three liberal U.S. Jewish groups have expressed support for burgeoning social justice protests in Israel. Simon Greer will become the president and CEO at the Nathan Cummings Foundation after serving in the same roles at Jewish Funds for Justice. Mary Rothstein, Australia’s oldest Jew, has died at age 110. Judoku, a Jewish version of Sudoku, has been released as an application for the iPad.