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Costa Rica awaits extradition request
Costa Rican authorities are awaiting the arrival of an extradition request for accused Nazi collaborator Bohdan Koziy, who was indicted on war crimes charges this week. Read more »
Costa Rica may extradite alleged war criminal
Accused Nazi war criminal Bohdan Koziy, who has been in Costa Rica for nearly two decades, may soon be extradited to Poland, ending an impasse Costa Rica has faced for two years as it sought a country to expel Koziy to. Read more »
Costa Rica, El Salvador get show of support
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Jan 5 (JTA) — Costa Rica and El Salvador may not be feeling lonely these days thanks to heavy tourism, but visits like the one this week from the leadership of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations are still welcome. Of course, unlike other visitors, the six-person delegation had an unusual purpose: to show appreciation for the countries' stalwart support of Israel and their climates of religious tolerance. "Both Costa Rica and El Salvador have long been friends to Israel and the U.S.," Conference president Ronald Lauder said after a 75-minute meeting with Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodriguez late Tuesday. The Conference, he said, wants "to work with Costa Rica and El Salvador to help them." The only two nations in the world with embassies to Israel in Jerusalem, the disputed capital claimed by Israel but unrecognized by most of the world, Costa Rica and El Salvador have long enjoyed respect among pro-Israel groups. But that respect has rarely translated into meeting their needs for investment, trade and cultural exchange. While tourism has become Costa Rica's leading industry in recent years and a large number of the tourists are believed to be Jewish, little organized "Jewish tourism" exists per se, Conference executive vice chairman Malcolm Hoenlein said. Lauder said Costa Rica is also looking for increased investment in high-tech industries to complement the Intel assembly factory that opened here in 1998. American Jews could play a role in both fields, he said. The support of Israel by Costa Rica and El Salvador has long been a source of curiosity. El Salvador has a small Jewish community. Costa Rica's Jewish community is believed to be under 4,000 people, although as Lauder and Hoenlein noted, a quarter of Rodriguez' Cabinet is Jewish despite the community's traditional support of the opposition party. Conference officials said they are planning an event later this month in Israel to honor the Costa Rican and El Salvadoran ambassadors there. "We don't take friends for granted," Hoenlein said. Read more »
Monument to Zionist restored in Costa Rica
Workers have begun returning a monument to Latin American Catholicism´s leading Zionist advocate to a prominent location in a Costa Rican town, almost a year after it was removed for restoration. Read more »
Extradition request in Costa Rica
After years of effort, extradition papers have been presented by Poland for an accused Nazi collaborator living in Costa Rica. Read more »
Costa Rican synagogue stirs controversy
This Rosh Hashanah, the Israeli-Zionist Center, Costa Rica's most prominent synagogue, will welcome the new year in a new, spacious and — according to some observers — ostentatious new synagogue. Read more »
Central American Jews back pact
Members of Central America's small Jewish communities have played an uncommonly pivotal role in pushing for the approval of the United States-Central America Free Trade Agreement. Read more »
Panama’s rabbi has built a community
When Zion Levy arrived in Panama for his first rabbinical assignment 53 years ago, he wondered why his Jerusalem superiors had sent him. Today, the aging rabbi remains in Panama, much beloved and looking for a local successor. Read more »
Panama Jews pained decade after bomb
For relatives of the Jewish victims of a Panama airline bomb, a decade of grief is compounded by the fact that the bombing remains unsolved. Read more »
El Salvador to move embassy
El Salvador will move its embassy in Israel to Tel Aviv, a diplomatic setback that leaves Israel’s capital without any embassies. Read more »
RSS Feed Breaking News
Updated 05/24/12 @ 04:11PM EST
- Jewish groups called on Israel to protect African migrants in Israel after riots in Tel Aviv.
- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel is returning campaign donations under investigation by federal authorities.
- A new survey suggests that Germans have lost some love for Israel over the past three years.
- An Arab-Israeli immigrant to the United States was found guilty of murder in Michigan.
- Israel's Arava Power Company has closed on financing for eight solar power projects worth $204 million.
- U.S. Jewish groups condemn anti-African violence in Tel Aviv
- Mandel returns funds under investigation
- Obama’s same-sex marriage nod echoes historic Catholic-Jewish debate
- Survey: Israel losing ground with Germans
- Israeli Arab guilty of murder in Michigan
- Israel’s Arava firm finances $204 million for solar projects
- Israel will solve African migrant problem, Netanyahu assures
- Senate distinguishes between Palestinian refugees and descendants
