Amnesty manager compares Israel to Islamic State

http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/125161/amnesty-manager-compares-israel-islamic-state

Amnesty staff member Kristyan Benedict

A senior Amnesty figure has compared Israel with terrorist group Islamic State.

Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty’s campaigns manager in the UK, tweeted on Wednesday: “Israeli regimes [sic] response to our Gaza report: Amnesty is ‘a propaganda tool for Hamas & other terror groups’ (#JSIL?)”

“#JSIL” is used on Twitter to compare Israel with terrorist organisation Islamic State by replacing ‘Islamic’ with ‘Jewish’ in the group’s common alias, ISIL.

Year of enriching egalitarianism

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/125215/year-enriching-egalitarianism

It has been a year since Orthodox men and women in London came together for a new, experimental type of service, one in which women leyn and lead certain parts of tefillah while still considering their practices halachically acceptable.

The founders of the partnership minyan in the UK – who started services at Borehamwood and Hampstead – have hailed the progress made so far in “an absolutely amazing year.”

JC columnist Miriam Shaviv, who helped to set up the minyan in Borehamwood, said it has been “an overarching success” which has provided “a really rewarding, enriching experience for everyone involved”.

Israel slams Amnesty ‘war crimes’ report

http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/125125/israel-slams-amnesty-war-crimes-report

Rocket attack on Sderot in June 2014 (Photo: Wikipedia)

Israel has rejected claims by Amnesty International that its army committed war crimes in the latest Gaza conflict, alleging that Amnesty “serves as a propaganda tool for Hamas and other terror groups”.

The Israeli Embassy in London condemned Amnesty for its “extreme bias” and for “producing no evidence” to back up allegations in a new report, entitled ‘Families under the Rubble: Israeli attacks on inhabited homes’.

The 47-page dossier focuses on eight attacks by the IDF which Amnesty said caused the deaths of “at least 104 civilians, including 62 children”. The NGO said that “several of the attacks directly and deliberately targeted civilians or civilian objects, which would constitute war crimes.”

Thieves steal Arbeit Macht Frei sign at Dachau

http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/125066/thieves-steal-arbeit-macht-frei-sign-dachau

The Arbeit Macht Frei sign at Dachau concentration camp

Police in Germany are investigating the theft of the “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign from the main gate at Dachau concentration camp.

A section of the wrought-iron sign, measuring 191cm by 94cm, was taken on Sunday night.

Security guards failed to spot the thieves, who had to scale another gate before getting to the sign.

Lib Dem Friends attack Bibi new home plans

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/124912/lib-dem-friends-attack-bibi-new-home-plans

A senior figure in a prominent pro-Israel group has spoken out about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to expand existing settlements in East Jerusalem.

Lord Monroe Palmer, vice president of the Liberal Democrats Friends of Israel, said that Israel was “aggravating some of its friends as well as giving ammunition to its enemies” by approving construction of 1,060 new houses in Ramat Shlomo and Har Homa.

“Sadly, the announcement this week for more than 1,000 new homes outside of the ’67 borders in East Jerusalem doesn’t make friends and influence people outside Israel and the Friends of Israel,” he said.

Netanyahu ‘chickenshit’, says top US official

http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/124842/netanyahu-chickenshit-says-top-us-official

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with President Barack Obama

A senior US government official has called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “chickenshit”, while another has accused him of being a “coward.”

In an interview with The Atlantic, unnamed figures in the Obama administration said that fear and political self-interest was preventing the prime minister from making peace.

The first official said: “The thing about Bibi is, he’s a chickenshit.”

Now he’s a real Transformer: LaBeouf becomes a Christian

http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/124810/now-he%E2%80%99s-a-real-transformer-labeouf-becomes-a-christian

Transformers actor Shia LaBeouf has moved away from his Jewish roots to embrace Christianity following his latest role.

Mr LaBeouf, whose mother is Jewish and who had a barmitzvah, told Interview magazine that his time spent portraying the deeply religious Boyd ‘Bible’ Swan in David Ayer’s Fury had greatly affected him.

“I found God doing Fury. I became a Christian man … in a very real way. I could have just said the prayers that were on the page. But it was a real thing that really saved me.”

Shabbat UK: ‘It’s been a game-changer for involvement’

http://www.thejc.com/community/community-life/124890/shabbat-uk-its-been-a-game-changer-involvement

Rabbi Daniel Rowe

Shabbat UK has been hailed as a “game-changer” by the rabbi who volunteered to coordinate the nationwide celebration.

“There were at least 3,000 people who volunteered,” reported Rabbi Daniel Rowe, who is the education director at Aish. “They opened their homes and delivered challah to the poor. People who’d never got involved before wanted to help. That alone has inspired lots of people, empowering them to think they can be part of the Jewish community.

“It’ll have all sorts of amazing impacts,” he added. “People taking their Judaism more seriously, doing more charitable work and volunteering more.”

How letters of love kept soldier alive

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/124902/how-letters-love-kept-soldier-alive

A First World War officer’s heartbreaking letters to his wife written while in prisoner of war camps are being released 100 years after he signed up.

Lieutenant Otto Feldman, a Czech officer, left behind two daughters and a pregnant wife to join the Austro-Hungarian army in November 1914. He wouldn’t meet his son for six years.

Captured by Russians forces and held in prisoner-of-war camps for four years, the soldier found solace during his “mental torment” by writing diary entries to his wife, Else.

How MI5 used the JC to spy on a fledgling state

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/124918/how-mi5-used-jc-spy-a-fledgling-state

Personal: Eban is addressed by his birth name, Aubrey

MI5 intercepted a letter from The Jewish Chronicle while spying on an Israeli politician, newly released files have shown.

JC chairman David Kessler wrote to Abba Eban, one of the state’s founding fathers, on June 9, 1948, less than a month after Israel was created.

He commended Mr Eban, who lived in north London at the time, on speeches he made to the UN and discusses British reaction, noting optimistically: “There appears to be a far greater unity of thought on the Palestine question amongst the Jewish Community [sic] in England than there was previously.”