JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

Updated 02/03/12 @ 05:13PM EST

• Philadelphia’s Jewish newspaper is in a flap with organizers of a boycott, divestment and sanctions conference over the disinvitation of one of its reporters from the event.
• An Israeli program that offers incentives to move to outlying areas does not include West Bank settlements.
• The U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved a bill that would effectively cut Iran off from international banking transactions.
• Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country is prepared to assist those who would confront Israel and the United States.
• Polls showed overwhelmingly negative feelings for Israel and Jews among Jordanians and Lebanese.

• Susan G. Komen for the Cure has backed down from its decision not to fund Planned Parenthood.
• A poll suggested a shift toward Republicans in party identification among Jews.
• Rabbi Menachem Youlus, who was dubbed the “Jewish Indiana Jones” for his remarkable tales of rescuing Holocaust-era Torahs, pleaded guilty to fraud.
• An Australian TV broadcaster rejected complaints from Jewish groups that a controversial series "endorses and reinforces demeaning stereotypes about Jews."
• Jared Loughner is not yet competent to stand trial, according to the court-appointed psychologist in the case of the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords.

• Israeli officials said there was an understanding that the time was near to consider a military strike on Iran.
• Seventy-one Ethiopian emigres arrived in Israel accompanied by lay leaders from the Jewish Federations of North America.
• The Oakland, Calif., chapter of the Occupy movement overwhelmingly endorsed a proposal in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
• An art prize that will guarantee an Israeli artist living in Israel or abroad a cash prize and a solo exhibition in Jerusalem was established at the Bezalel Academy.
• Chefs from the White House, the Kremlin, the Elysee Palace and the Chancellery of Germany are touring Israel and will cook a gala dinner for peace.

• An office to help Russian immigrants to Israel and other countries prove their Jewish status has opened in Moscow.
• Yeshiva University is the fourth most popular school in the country, according to a recent U.S. News and World Report ranking.
• A Jewish mother from France won the first step in an international custody battle against a Saudi prince, whom she claims has kidnapped her daughter.
• A Jewish student at a high school in Silver Spring, Md. was asked to prove that he wore a yarmulke for religious reasons.
• The West could carry out a military strike on any of Iran's nuclear facilities, former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said.

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