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  • Facing serious fiscal challenges, Brandeis to shed 60 staffers

    David Swindle|Jun 21, 2024

    (JNS) — Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., recently announced plans to eliminate 60 employees due to financial difficulties. “These decisions have not been made lightly,” the academic institution’s senior leaders wrote in an email to staff. “We have examined spending across the university to find savings. Unfortunately, it was not possible to identify sufficient savings without needing to reduce positions.” The cuts may hit non-tenured faculty the hardest. “The need for contract faculty will be reviewed as contracts come up for renewal,...

  • AEPi launches innovative 'chapter without walls'

    Jun 21, 2024

    (INDIANAPOLIS, IN) — Alpha Epsilon Pi International, the world’s largest and leading Jewish college fraternity, has launched an innovative new virtual fraternity chapter – AEPi’s “Chapter Without Walls” – for men looking for the specific brand of Jewish leadership development and advocacy training that AEPi provides but attend colleges at which there is not an active AEPi chapter. The AEPi Chapter Without Walls currently has members from schools such as Clemson University, The New School, Savanah College of Art and Design, Furman University an...

  • IAF chief: Israel prepared to use 'massive' firepower

    Jun 21, 2024

    (JNS) — Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar said on Tuesday that should military operations on the country’s northern front be expanded, the IAF will “enable a change in the security reality in the north.” Speaking at a ceremony for the re-establishment of Battalion 139 of the Air Defense Array, Bar said: “Alongside the iron defense, we are acting offensively and denying Hezbollah’s capabilities, shoulder to shoulder with the Northern Command. Together, we will also know how to expand and intensify the attack if required....

  • Rescued hostages suffered 'severe psychological abuse' in captivity

    David Isaac|Jun 21, 2024

    David Isaac (JNS) - While Israeli security officials have requested that the four hostages rescued by the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday keep their experiences secret, some details have nevertheless emerged. The four - Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40 - appeared to be in good health when first seen on camera on June 8, the day of the raid. But two days later, Dr. Itay Pessach of the Sheba Medical Center revealed they were in a "state of severe...

  • Success of German far-right party in EU election has many Jews hearing echoes of Nazi past

    Toby Axelrod|Jun 21, 2024

    (JTA) - BERLIN - The success of German extremists in Sunday's European Parliament election has mainstream Jewish leaders and politicians worried. Some say they fear the country is veering into political territory that resembles the era just before the rise of the Nazis here nearly a century ago. The strong showing for far-right parties reflects worries about increasing numbers of Muslim refugees since 2015 in Germany. The Alternative for Germany Party stresses isolationism, takes an anti-EU and...

  • Blinken welcomes plans to reform the PA

    Jun 21, 2024

    (JNS) — In his first meeting with the new Palestinian Authority prime minister on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the PA’s plans to pass a series of administrative reforms. Blinken stressed “the need for full and consistent implementation of those reforms to achieve the aspirations of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza” in his meeting in Sweimeh, Jordan, with Mohammad Mustafa, the P.A. prime minister, per a U.S. readout of the meeting. The U.S. secretary also reaffirmed the Biden administration’s “support...

  • Hamas said to have rejected ceasefire proposal

    Amelie Botbol|Jun 21, 2024

    (JNS) — Hamas has rejected the Israeli hostage-ceasefire deal, claiming that it is fundamentally different than the one presented by U.S. President Joe Biden on May 31, the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday. The Gaza-based terror group sent a clarification memorandum to the Palestinian terror factions on Wednesday, the text of which was seen by the news outlet. It claims that the current proposal “does not promise a permanent ceasefire, the occupation’s forces will remain in Gaza, and when they receive the hostages, they will...

  • For Sinwar, Gaza's civilians are cannon fodder

    David Isaac|Jun 21, 2024

    (JNS) — Messages sent to mediators by Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar show that as far as he’s concerned, the more civilians die in Gaza the better. He sees such deaths as working “to his advantage,” The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The Journal reviewed “dozens of messages” Sinwar sent to ceasefire negotiators and others in which “he’s shown a cold disregard for human life and made clear he believes Israel has more to lose from the war than Hamas.” “We have the Israelis right where we want them,” said Sinwar in a message sent rec...

  • Weekly roundup of world briefs

    Jun 21, 2024

    IDF has downed more than 150 drones since Oct. 7 (JNS) — Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, the Israel Defense Forces has intercepted over 150 drones using ground-based systems such as the Iron Dome, the military announced Monday night. Additional UAVs have been downed by fighter jets, according to the IDF. On Tuesday morning, the IDF announced the interception of a “suspicious aerial target” heading towards Israel “from the east.” No warning sirens were activated as the target did not cross into Israeli territory. Hours ear...

  • House passes bill that sanctions those who help ICC pursue Israeli officials

    Jun 21, 2024

    (JNS) — The U.S. House of Representatives voted 247 to 155 on Tuesday to pass H.R. 8282, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act. Two Republicans voted “present” and 42 Democrats voted with Republicans for the bill. AIPAC stated that the bill responds to the “morally bankrupt and legally baseless attack against Israel” leveled by Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, a United Nations agency located in The Hague. Khan announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

  • Ben-Gvir attacks decision to release 30 jailed terrorists 

    Jun 21, 2024

    (JNS) — Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Tuesday slammed a reported decision to release 30 Palestinian terrorists who were captured by Israel Defense Forces troops in the Gaza Strip. “The decision by the IDF and the National Security Council to release terrorists back into the Gaza Strip without conditions is unfathomably delusional,” the Otzma Yehudit Party leader told Channel 14 News. “The IDF is expected to withstand the shortage of prison space during a war when there are tens of thousands of detained terrori...

  • No 'blank check' for IDF, Bank of Israel head says amid $67B war

    Jun 21, 2024

    (JNS) — The Jewish state should task a committee with probing the state’s defense budget amid a war that appears poised to cost $67 billion between 2023 and 2025, Amir Yaron, the governor of the Bank of Israel, said on Thursday. Speaking at the College of Management Academic Studies in Rishon Letzion, Yaron said that “a prosperous economy requires security, and security requires a prosperous economy,” Reuters reported. “The war should not bring with it a blank check for permanent defense expenditures, and proper balances have to be found,” h...

  • 'For the first time since Oct. 7, I can breathe'

    Amelie Botbol|Jun 21, 2024

    (JNS) — “I am very cheerful and full of joy. For the first time since October 7, I feel that I can breathe again,” Aviram Meir, the uncle of Almog Meir Jan, told JNS on Thursday. Meir Jan was rescued during “Operation Arnon” last Saturday along with Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv from two separate locations in Nuseirat Camp in the central Gaza Strip. Hamas terrorists abducted all four from the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im during the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. “We thank all the decision-makers, the planners and the soldi...

  • Israelis rejoice after four saved from Gaza

    Amelie Botbol|Jun 14, 2024

    (JNS) - Thousands of Israelis converged on "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, many euphoric over the daring operation to rescue four captives from Gaza even while demanding a deal with Hamas to secure the freedom of the remaining 120 Israelis held by the terrorists. During a complex daytime operation in the heart of a crowded residential neighborhood, Israeli forces recovered from Hamas captivity Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40. "I was so...

  • IDF hostage rescue renamed 'Operation Arnon' in honor of fallen commander

    Jun 14, 2024

    (JNS) - Israel will rename Saturday's hostage rescue operation after Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, a member of the Israel Border Police's "Yamam" National Counter-Terrorism Unit who was mortally wounded during the mission. Zamora, 36, from Sde David, a moshav in southern Israel, leaves behind a wife, Michal, and two children. His wife eulogized him in a Facebook post. "Everything is now filled with the image of the hero Arnon Zamora. Long before he was a warrior and hero, he was a sweet and...

  • Four freed!

    Charles Bybelezer|Jun 14, 2024

    (JNS) - Israeli forces on Saturday rescued four hostages from two separate locations in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. During a complex IDF/Border Police/Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) daytime operation in the heart of a crowded residential neighborhood, the forces recovered from Hamas captivity Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40. A fighter from the Border Police's Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit was mortally wounded during the rescue missio...

  • International reactions mixed

    Jun 14, 2024

    (JNS) — Western officials have expressed relief at the rescue by Israeli forces of four hostages Saturday, though some have also echoed Arab countries in condemning the operation in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp as a “massacre.” “Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv are free and safe today. We share the relief of their families and call for the release of all the remaining hostages,” tweeted E.U. High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. He went on to call for the implementat...

  • Nova massacre survivor wins gold at European jujitsu championship

    Jun 14, 2024

    (JNS) - Israeli jujitsu fighter Yarin Shriki won a gold medal at the European Championship in Germany over the weekend, seven months after surviving the Hamas massacre at the Supernova music festival near Gaza. "I dedicate the victory to my good friend Yohai Ben Zecharia, may God avenge his blood, who was murdered on October 7, as well as to the speedy return of all the hostages," Shriki told Israel's Channel 14 News. Shriki entered the final against Belgian Florian Bayili, ranked No. 1 in the...

  • AIPAC taps its No. 2, Elliot Brandt, to be its next CEO

    Ben Sales|Jun 14, 2024

    (JTA) — The next leader of AIPAC will be Elliot Brandt, who has served as a senior official of the pro-Israel lobby for decades and will take the helm shortly after the November elections — a move toward continuity as Israel faces volatile conflicts on multiple fronts. Brandt, currently the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s vice CEO, will succeed longtime CEO Howard Kohr, who is stepping down at year’s end after nearly 20 years leading the group. Under his leadership, the organization burgeoned and, in recent years, shifted to launchi...

  • German Holocaust reparations increase again this year

    Philissa Cramer|Jun 14, 2024

    (JTA) — The German government has agreed to allocate $1.5 billion in Holocaust reparations this year, setting a new record for how much the country is spending to support survivors. The increase from a total of $1.4 billion last year is due to a rise in the amount the government is paying to reimburse survivors’ medical expenses. But the sum paid directly to survivors has once again declined, reflecting the accelerating deaths of survivors. And the growth in the total package is expected to end soon as the number of living survivors plu...

  • Yesha Council head lobbies against Palestinian state in DC

    Jun 14, 2024

    (JNS) — Israel Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council and head of the Binyamin Regional Council, is in Washington this week to advocate against a Palestinian state. Ganz met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday in an effort counter the push by the White House to establish a Palestinian state in the wake of the Hamas-led massacre of Oct. 7. “There is no room for a two-state solution. [President Joe] Biden cannot appoint conditions for Israel, whether with regard to the Palestinian state or to stopping the war with Hamas. We in the United Sta...

  • Ben-Gvir suspends gov't role until terms of ceasefire deal made clear

    Jun 14, 2024

    (JNS) — Otzma Yehudit Party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday said he would suspend his role in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition until the premier revealed the details of the ceasefire proposal announced by U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday. “As long as the prime minister continues to hide the details of the deal, Otzma Yehudit will disrupt his coalition,” tweeted the right-wing leader, who also serves as Israel’s national security minister. The proposal was announced publicly by Biden in a televised address o...

  • Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on July 24

    Ben Sales|Jun 14, 2024

    (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on July 24, his fourth time appearing before the legislative body. The Netanyahu speech, coming against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, is meant to demonstrate American support for Israel at a time when Israel has come under widespread criticism for its military campaign and Netanyahu faces a possible arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. “We look forward to hearing the Israeli government’s vision for defending democ...

  • UAE FM calls PA leadership 'Ali Baba and the forty thieves'

    Jun 14, 2024

    (JNS) — United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan called the leadership of the Palestinian Authority “Ali Baba and the forty thieves,” speaking during a meeting of Arab countries that was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Axios, citing five sources, reported that a shouting match erupted during the April 29 meeting in Riyadh that also included the top diplomats of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as well as top P.A. official Hussein al-Sheikh. The meeti...

  • A night of elegance and generosity

    Jun 14, 2024

    On the evening of June 5, Oakmonte Village hosted the much-anticipated Jewish Pavilion Senior Services Cocktail Cabaret party. More than150 attendees gathered to support elders in long-term care, a mission that lies at the heart of the Jewish Pavilion Senior Services. One of the highlights of the evening was the live music, as well as the numerous raffle prizes. There were so many prizes that every single participant walked away a winner. The Jewish Pavilion Senior Services organization is...

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