ROME (JTA) -- Italy will never recognize a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.
Berlusconi at a celebration of Israel's 63rd birthday praised the Jewish state as the only democracy in the Middle East. He was the guest of honor Wednesday at an Israeli Independence Day reception hosted by Israeli Ambassador Gideon Meir.
"No, absolutely not," he was quoted as telling reporters when asked whether Italy would recognize a unilaterally declared Palestinian state.
ROME (JTA) -- Pope Benedict XVI praised the development of Catholic-Jewish relations over the past four decades and renewed commitment to dialogue.
"What has happened in these forty years must be seen as a great gift from the Lord and a reason for heartfelt gratitude towards the One who guides our steps with his infinite and eternal wisdom," he told a senior delegation from B'nai B'rith international at an audience Wednesday at the Vatican.
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- A Zionist Organization of America mission to Congress lobbied for bills that would move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and cut off assistance to the Palestinian Authority if it declares statehood.
Some 400 delegates met with an array of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate on Thursday.
They lobbied for bills that would remove the presidential waiver from existing legislation mandating the embassy's move from Tel Aviv and that would cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority in case it declares statehood unilaterally.
BERLIN (JTA) -- A Munich court has found John Demjanjuk guilty of war crimes, and sentenced the 91-year-old former autoworker to five years in prison.
Thursday's verdict came after 93 court days, including deeply affecting testimony from Dutch survivors and their kin, and monologues by Demjanjuk's chief attorney, Ulrich Busch, who claimed his client was just as much a victim of Germany as any Jew.
Reacting to the early news, Jewish leaders expressed gratitude to the court.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
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Adam Dickter and Stewart Ain
New York City police on Thursday said they had arrested two Muslim men trying to buy weapons, including guns and a grenade, for an attack on New York City synagogues.
One of the men said he was enraged at the way Muslims are treated in the world and wanted to raise money to fight against Israel in the Gaza Strip, according to District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who is prosecuting the men. “They did it for jihad,” Vance said at a press conference at City Hall.
The arrests capped a seven-month investigation.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
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Stewart Ain
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Staff Writer
or the first time in its history, the city’s annual Celebrate Israel Parade up Fifth Avenue will be televised live. WWOR-TV Channel 9, which is owned by Fox Television Stations, is slated to carry the parade from noon until 2 p.m. on June 5.
The decision to have the parade carried by one of the two Fox broadcast channels in New York — the other is Channel 5 — has nothing to do with Fox’s pro-Israel stance, according to parade organizers.
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak presented a plan for an agreement with the Palestinians.
The points could shed some light on the plan that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present when he speaks to a joint session of the U.S. Congress later this month.
Israel will take "brave steps" and "make difficult decisions" for peace, Barak said Tuesday night at a reception for soldiers at the military's headquarters in Tel Aviv.
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel canceled the residency status of 140,000 Palestinians, allegedly without warning, the daily Haaretz reported.
A document obtained by Haaretz, following a request filed under the Freedom of Information Law by a human rights organization, shows that the residency status of 140,000 West Bank Palestinians were canceled between 1967 and 1994, shortly after the signing of the Oslo Accords.
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- President Obama reportedly is planning a new speech to the Muslim world that would call for a rejection of Islamic militancy.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the White House is planning for such a speech within the next two weeks, just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to roll out proposals for reviving peace talks with the Palestinians in a meeting with Obama and in a speech to the U.S. Congress.
(JTA) -- Trustees of the City University of New York's approved an honorary degree for playwright Tony Kushner, reversing an earlier decision.
The executive committee of the CUNY board of trustees voted Monday night to award Kushner an honorary doctorate during commencement ceremonies next month. The committee can reverse decisions of the full board.
