http://www.jta.org/ en-us Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 (c) JTA. Reproduction of material without written permission is strictly prohibited. http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080828yiddishvilne08212008.html A self-described Yiddishist was personally offended by the suggestion that Vilna no longer existed. But she discovered that in today's Lithuania, the dissonances between Vilna and Vilnius ripple across the country -- and around the globe. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080828yiddishvilne08212008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080826Lithuaniapartisans08212008.html The president of Lithuania has promised that his country's investigation into the wartime activities of three elderly Jewish World War II partisans will be dropped, according to an official of the Simon Wiesenthal Center -- but can he keep the promise? Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080826Lithuaniapartisans08212008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200808220822gaisrael.html The conflict between Georgia and Russia required something of a balancing act for Israel, which has defense ties with Georgia but a delicate relationship with the global power of Russia. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200808220822gaisrael.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080819Georgiatwo08192008.html As Russia occupied Georgia, pushing ever closer to the capital Tbilisi and bisecting the country, the relief effort of nearly two weeks has had only one prime directive: Find every Jew. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080819Georgiatwo08192008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080818georgia08182008.html The normally close relations between Jews in Russia and Georgia -- manifested in organizations and charities meant to bring them together -- have been strained by nationalism and propaganda wars generated by the conflict between their nations. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080818georgia08182008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200808150815garefugees.html Jews are struggling to escape the war zone in Georgia while Russian military forces are obstructing Jewish aid groups trying to reach them. JTA's Grant Slater meets in Tbilisi, Georgia, with some of the Jewish refugees who have managed to flee. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200808150815garefugees.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080812Georgiawar08122008.html As the conflict between Georgia and Russia moved toward an uneasy stalemate, the migration of refugees continued and more Jews emerged from the fog of war. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080812Georgiawar08122008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080811russiawar08112008.html Russian and Georgian troops continued to fight a pitched battle on Monday that has spilled beyond the borders of South Ossetia and toward the Georgian city of Gori, where Jewish relief organizations continued to make contact with local Jews. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080811russiawar08112008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080810southossetia08102008.html More than 200 Jewish residents fled fighting near the Georgian border, most from a city where Russian bombers destroyed several apartment blocks Saturday, according to the Jewish Agency. Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080810southossetia08102008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080810IsraelGeorgia08102008.html For the Jewish state it's more than just sound diplomacy -- Russia is widely expected to supply Tehran with advanced anti-aircraft missiles that could fend off a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear sites. Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080810IsraelGeorgia08102008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008080608062008sharanskysolzhenitsyn.html Natan Sharansky, who along with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is among the most famous inmates and chroniclers of the Soviet labor camp system, says charges that Solzhenitsyn harbored anti-Semitism should be understood in context. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008080608062008sharanskysolzhenitsyn.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080806rootlesscolumn07312008.html How to define what is "Jewish" provides endless fodder for debate in post-Holocaust, post-communist Europe. Is there, as the concept of allosemitism implies, a "certain Jewish something" that sets Jews apart? Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080806rootlesscolumn07312008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080803Germanaid07312008.html The Swiss branch of a major Catholic charity has pulled its support from a German NGO over its suggestion that a military strike should be considered if other measures fail to convince Iran to drop its nuclear ambitions. Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080803Germanaid07312008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080727Berkowitzresigns07252008.html The executive director of the Chabad-led organization that has dominated Jewish life in the former Soviet Union is leaving his post to begin a new initiative to reach Russian Jews. Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080727Berkowitzresigns07252008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080725Genesis07252008.html A closely allied group of prominent and controversial Russian billionaires has thrown its largesse behind a multinational philanthropic fund to develop Jewish identity among Russian speakers worldwide. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080725Genesis07252008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080722bryennir.html Jewish groups welcomed the attendance of U.S. officials at multilateral nuclear talks with Iran, saying the talks clarified Iran's position and demonstrated America's intention to exhaust diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080722bryennir.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080713Sarkozysummit07132008.html While the French-initiated summit for the Union for the Mediterranean did not produce any major breakthroughs, French President Nicolas Sarkozy did recognize one achievement: every Arab country but Libya sitting down with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080713Sarkozysummit07132008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080710kirshenblattpoland07092008.html Since learning to paint at 73, Mayer Kirshenblatt's mission for nearly two decades has been to record the vibrant lost world of his childhood in Poland. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080710kirshenblattpoland07092008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200807080708medsummit.html The participation of every Mediterranean country except one in France's summit inaugurating a Mideast-E.U. confederation has boosted prospects for a union that the French president hopes will advance Arab-Israeli peace. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200807080708medsummit.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080708AlDura7608.html The organized Jewish community in France is publicly calling on President Nicolas Sarkozy to launch an investigation into the controversial 2000 TV broadcast of an alleged Israeli shooting of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080708AlDura7608.html