Printer Friendly

Email to A Friend

Friday December 7, 2007

Shorts: U.S.

Bush coming to Israel

President Bush is scheduled to visit the Jewish State Jan. 9, the White House and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s confirmed this week.

Bush last visited Israel nearly a decade ago when he was governor of Texas.

The president’s complete itinerary has not yet been announced, and it is unknown if he will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas or if he intends to visit neighboring Arab nations such as Jordan or Egypt. — ynetnews.com

Pearl’s parents to be honored

Judea and Ruth Pearl, the parents of Daniel Pearl, will be honored at a White House Chanukah reception Dec. 10.

Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was murdered in 2002 by terrorists in Pakistan. His last words, captured on videotape before his kidnappers killed him, were “I am Jewish.”

His parents have edited a National Jewish Book Award-winning collection of essays, “I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl,” which were culled from 147 Jews from 12 countries. — jta

Hillels to light candles for Sderot

Campus Hillels around the world will light the fourth Chanukah candle in solidarity with the besieged residents of Sderot.

The Hillel Israel project Light a Candle With Sderot is an effort to raise worldwide awareness of the challenges faced by Israelis and Palestinians under attack near the Gaza border.

Hillel Israel is calling on Jews around the world to participate. — jta

Happy Chanukah — here’s a diaper

Haredis plan to attack the tourists that flood Jerusalem’s Mea She’arim during Chanukah.

Their ammo? Eggs, diapers full of goodies and whatever else the volunteer group can get its hands on.

The brigade has nicknamed itself the Sicarrii (Dagger-bearers) after Judean extremists from the period of the Second Temple. Eighty residents have already volunteered to enforce the program.

During Chanukah, Mea She’arim and its environs become popular destinations for throngs of tourists from Israel and abroad. This phenomenon — or nuisance as the locals see it — can start as early as 7 a.m. and end as late as 3 a.m.

The struggle against tourism in Mea She’arim has been ongoing. Last year, residents established rotating neighborhood watches of yeshiva students whose job it was to prevent visitors from entering the neighborhood. And just so that people could not claim they were not warned, volunteers posted signs around the area with the headline “Attention Hellenists” demanding that potential visitors

avoid disrupting their way of life. — ynetnews.com

Did you find this article interesting? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and you'll be notified each week when "J." goes online. We'll tell you about the most important stories of the week and give you a link to each one.

This page contains a BETA version of Amazon contextual links. They are marked by the dashed underline.  Your purchases support our site. At times they point to items which are not related to the actual link. Please alert us by email if you discover objectionable links.