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JTA, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, is the definitive source for American Jewish community news and opinion.

Toronto native Alex Iscoe, left, unfurls a UJA banner atop Mount Vinson Massif in Antarctica in January, the highest peak on the continent.

Climber scaling Everest to raise money for Ethiopian olim

Toronto native Alex Iscoe, left, unfurls a UJA banner atop Mount Vinson Massif in Antarctica in January, the highest peak on the continent. (Alex Iscoe) Read more »

Pope’s visit to Israel fraught with potential minefields

By Ruth Ellen Gruber · April 30, 2009

Pope Benedict's upcoming visit to Israel, which comes at a time of some strain in Vatican-Jewish relations, inevitably will invite comparison -- and contrast -- with the visit to Israel by his predecessor, John Paul II. Read more »

Top Stories

Richard Pratt, eclectic Australian billionaire and philanthropist, dies at 74

By Dan Goldberg

Richard Pratt, who fled Poland as a child on the eve of Holocaust and went on to become one of Australia’s richest men and biggest Jewish philanthropists, died Tuesday at age 74. Read more »

With Specter’s switch, Senate loses GOP Jewish voice

By Ron Kampeas

For the first time in decades, a moderate GOP Jewish voice -- embodied over the years not only by Specter but also Rudy Boschwitz of Minnesota, Warren Rudman of New Hampshire and the late Jacob Javits of New York -- will be absent from the Senate. Read more »

AIPAC policy conference to push Iran bills

By Ron Kampeas

Just in time for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual policy forum next week, U.S. Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) introduce a major new Iran sanctions bill. Read more »

The Jewish conspiracy against Durban II (No, seriously)

By Michael J. Jordan

It’s no secret who was behind the effort to discredit the 2009 Durban Review Conference in Geneva. So why were some U.N. officials wary of saying so? Read more »

Blogs

The Fundermentalist

GUEST SIDEKICK: Why the L.A. federation tapped a Mexican poster artist

Can a Mexican poster artist living in East L.A., whose family owns panaderias (Mexican bakeries) and… Read Blog »

Capital J

Brit Tzedek, J Street, IPF, APN back unity gov stance (UPDATED WITH IPF and APN)

Four left-wing Jewish groups are urging their supporters to get behind the Obama administration’s… Read Blog »

The Telegraph

American (Jewish) Idol

L.A. Jewish Journal blogger Danielle Berrin weighs in on American Idol’s Jewish sensation, Adam… Read Blog »

The Wandering Jew

Photos and Videos

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rear left, and President Obama, flanked by Israeli and U.S. officials, speak prior to their Mideast summit on Sept. 22, 2009 in New York City. (Avi Ohayon / GPO / Flash 90 / JTA) Irving Kristol, the Jewish thinker known as the "godfather of neoconservativism," died on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. (The American Enterprise Institute) Israeli President Shimon Peres, left, embracing Assaf Ramon at his Israel Air Force pilot's graduation ceremony in June 2009. Assaf, son of the late astronaut Ilan Ramon, was killed in a flight training accident on Sept. 13, 2009. (IDF) Revelers celebrating the final total of $7,523,869 at the 29th Annual Chabad Telethon on Sept. 13, 2009. (Bardugo.net) Rabbi Joseph Potasnik right, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, and Imam Shamsi Ali, left, of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York at a welcoming reception for Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan, center, by the Board of Rabbis at the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York on Sept. 10, 2009. The event also was a farewell tribute to Edward Cardinal Egan. (David Karp) Los Angeles Lakers star Ron Artest and Rabbi Chaim Cunin of Chabad of California prepare to shoot some hoops on Sept. 9, 2009 in a promotion for the Chabad Telethon that was taking place four days later. (Mushka Lightstone) A group gathers for kabbalistic meditation at Camp Sukkat Shalom on Sept. 3, 2009, one of several Jewish-themed camps at Burning Man, a festival held annually in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. (Ben Harris) U.S.-convened talks between Israelis and Palestinians are likely to go ahead despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approval of 455 new homes in West Bank settlements. (Alex Kolomoisky / POOL / Flash90 / JTA) U.S. pop singer Madonna performing in Tel Aviv on Sept. 1, 2009 on the last stop of her "Sticky and Sweet" concert tour. (Amir Meiri / Flash90 / JTA) Gilboa Deputy Mayor Eid Saleem, center, flanked on the left by Jenin Gov. Qadoura Qadoura and by Gilboa Mayor Daniel Atar, makes a point at news conference in New York on Aug. 31, 2009 during a U.S. tour pushing their coexistence project. (Eric Albert)

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  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rear left, and President Obama, flanked by Israeli and U.S. officials, speak prior to their Mideast summit on Sept. 22, 2009 in New York City.
  • Irving Kristol, the Jewish thinker known as the "godfather of neoconservativism," died on the eve of Rosh Hashanah.
  • Israeli President Shimon Peres, left, embracing Assaf Ramon at his Israel Air Force pilot's graduation ceremony in June 2009. Assaf, son of the late astronaut Ilan Ramon, was killed in a flight training accident on Sept. 13, 2009.
  • Revelers celebrating the final total of $7,523,869 at the 29th Annual Chabad Telethon on Sept. 13, 2009.
  • Rabbi Joseph Potasnik right, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, and Imam Shamsi Ali, left, of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York at a welcoming reception for Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan, center, by the Board of Rabbis at the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York on Sept. 10, 2009. The event also was a farewell tribute to Edward Cardinal Egan.
  • Los Angeles Lakers star Ron Artest and Rabbi Chaim Cunin of Chabad of California prepare to shoot some hoops on Sept. 9, 2009 in a promotion for the Chabad Telethon that was taking place four days later.
  • A group gathers for kabbalistic meditation at Camp Sukkat Shalom on Sept. 3, 2009, one of several Jewish-themed camps at Burning Man, a festival held annually in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
  • U.S.-convened talks between Israelis and Palestinians are likely to go ahead despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approval of 455 new homes in West Bank settlements.
  • U.S. pop singer Madonna performing in Tel Aviv on Sept. 1, 2009 on the last stop of her "Sticky and Sweet" concert tour.
  • Gilboa Deputy Mayor Eid Saleem, center, flanked on the left by Jenin Gov. Qadoura Qadoura and by Gilboa Mayor Daniel Atar, makes a point at news conference in New York on Aug. 31, 2009 during a U.S. tour pushing their coexistence project.
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