A letter from Israel
My name is Ashleigh Harris and this is my first semester on the Aardvark Israel gap year program. I am 18 years old from Melbourne. Read more
UK Labour general secretary resigns after tenure tainted with antisemitism
May 5, 2020 by JNS
U.K. Labour General Secretary Jennie Formby, who once said it’s “impossible to eradicate antisemitism,” has resigned from the position. Read more
RCNSW says “download the app”
May 5, 2020 by J-Wire Newsdesk
The president of the Rabbinical Council of NSW Rabbi Nochum Schapiro and his executive has appealed to community members to download the COVIDSafe app. Read more
MDA has been at the forefront of the fight against Coronavirus
May 5, 2020 by Zaki Heler
Since the Coronavirus arrived in Israel, Magen David Adom, as Israel’s national emergency medical and blood services organization has been at the forefront of the national effort to prevent the spread of the virus and maintain public health. Read more
After prolonged battle, Israel approves work to make Cave of the Patriarchs accessible to disabled
May 4, 2020 by Aryeh Savir - TPS
After months of battling, Defence Minister Naphtali Bennett has approved construction work on the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron which will make it accessible to people with disabilities. Read more
Selby & Friends Chamber Music on Stage & Online
May 4, 2020 by Geoff Sirmai
One of Australia’s most loved classical ensembles has broken the ‘living-room broadcast’ barrier with a socially distant concert performance of Mozart, Beethoven and Dvořák – filmed live in Sydney. Read more
Despite coronavirus, Jews’ bodies still being flown to Israel for burial
Despite the coronavirus outbreak and almost the complete shutdown of international travel to Israel, deceased Jews from around the world continue to be flown to Israel for burial. Read more
Ask the rabbi
May 4, 2020 by Rabbi Raymond Apple
What I get out of being Jewish?….ask the rabbi. Read more
Israel’s High Court hears petitions against Netanyahu’s continued rule
May 4, 2020 by JNS
Israel’s High Court of Justice began hearing petitions on Sunday seeking to bar incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from forming a government, including a national-unity coalition with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz while facing criminal indictments. Read more
Feintooner
May 4, 2020 by Feintooner
This week’s cartoon…Hezbollah-Rein. Read more
Opera Australia launches free online streaming platform with Joan Sutherland in the starring role
May 4, 2020 by J-Wire Newsdesk
Unable to perform live while the country is in COVID-19 lock-down, Opera Australia has created another way to share their performances with opera fans, today launching OA | TV: Opera Australia on Demand, a free online streaming service. Read more
UN Special Rapporteur incites hatred towards the Jewish People
May 4, 2020 by David Singer
Michael Lynk – UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967 – has issued an explosive anti-Jewish statement that fails to acknowledge the Jewish People have any vested legal and human rights claims to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in Judea and Samaria. Read more
After weeks of COVID-19 shutdown, Israeli school system opens partially
May 3, 2020 by TPS
The Israeli school system opened its doors on Sunday for grades 1-3 and 11- 12 after weeks of closure due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Read more
On the other hand
May 3, 2020 by Michael Kuttner
We have successfully survived our lone Seder and the week of Passover, mourned our fallen soldiers and civilians despite IDF cemeteries being closed to the public and celebrated Yom Ha’Atzmaut in a virtual manner. Read more
Former Labour MPs expelled over antisemitism invited to speak in online meeting
A number of former Labour Party members who were involved in the party’s widely covered antisemitism crisis participated with Labour MPs on Wednesday evening in an online meeting hosted by the newly formed “Don’t Leave, Organize” group, reported The Jewish Chronicle.
Read more
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher donate cargo of PPE to health-care workers in UK
May 3, 2020 by JNS
British Jewish comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen and his wife, Australian actress Isla Fisher, helped donate a cargo of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that was airlifted to healthcare workers in the United Kingdom last week. Read more
Israeli film ‘Asia’ wins awards at Tribeca Film Festival
May 3, 2020 by JNS
The Israeli movie “Asia” won three awards at the Tribeca Film Festival, including one for Israeli actress Shira Haas and the Nora Ephron Award. Read more
Israeli biotech company starts clinical trials of CBD-steroid treatment for virus
May 3, 2020 by JNS
The Israel-based biotech company Stero Biotechs has started a small-scale clinical trial at Rabin Medical Centre’s Golda Hasharon Campus in Petach Tikvah on the effects of a steroid-Cannabidiol (CBD) treatment on hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Read more
V-PJV Online
May 2, 2020 by Community newsdesk
Progressive Judaism Victoria has prepared online discussions every Sunday this month. Read more
Mike Kelly: a special friend, a special tribute
May 1, 2020 by J-Wire Newsdesk
Liberal MP Julian Lesser sat across the benches in parliament from Labor MP Mike Kelly who announced his resignation from the government yesterday. He pays tribute to his special, close friend. Read more
Family reflections on Yom HaShoah: a personal search into the dramatic saga of her Mahler- Rose-Bujanover family
May 1, 2020 by Inna Rogatchi
I grew up with those photos. The photos from distant beautiful fairy-like life: Tuileries Garden, Paris, elegantly dressed woman, her children surrounded by birds and flowers in a totally another dimension of life. Read more
Israel acquires 61m surgical masks, 811 respirators it prepares for next wave of Coronavirus
May 1, 2020 by Aryeh Savir - TPS
Israel was successful in securing the purchase of some 61 million surgical masks, about 930,000 N95 masks, about a million Coronavirus testing kits and 811 respirators in the past month and a half, the Ministry of Defense revealed yesterday. Read more
JNF challenges students with recycled art competition
May 1, 2020 by J-Wire Newsdesk
As Covid-19 forced Australia and the world to stay at home, JNF Australia launched JNF Educate, an online platform to educate, entertain and engage students at home. Read more
Weizmann Institute scientists develop “sniff test” that predicts recovery of consciousness in brain-injured patients
May 1, 2020 by Yael Edelman
If an unconscious person responds to smell through a slight change in their nasal airflow pattern – they are likely to regain consciousness. Read more
Is there ever a right time?
May 1, 2020 by Michael Kuttner
Israelis this week remember all those who lost their lives so that Jewish sovereignty could once again be guaranteed followed by celebrations to commemorate that historic event in 1948. Read more
Professor Walter Mead on the post-pandemic world
May 1, 2020 by J-Wire Newsdesk
In the latest of its webinar series, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) hosted distinguished academic Professor Walter Russell Mead, who is also the Wall Street Journal’s Global View columnist, on the topic “Who will lead the post-pandemic world?”. Read more
Yeshayahu Leibowitz
May 1, 2020 by Jeremy Rosen
My nephew Dov, a philosopher, scholar and rabbi of YAKAR Jerusalem, sent me a brilliant essay he recently published entitled “ On Social Distancing and deontology.” Read more
AIJAC asks government to reconsider its position on Hezbollah
May 1, 2020 by J-Wire Newsdesk
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) has welcomed the German government’s decision to join a growing list of countries that proscribe the entirety of Hezbollah as a terrorist group and again urges the Australian government to seriously reconsider its stance on the organisation. Read more
Netflix’s ‘Unorthodox’ degrades Chassidic Jews into caricatures
When my Facebook feed first filled with reviews of Netflix’s “Unorthodox,” I felt no urge to watch it. The well-worn genre of predictable coming-of-age stories about the glory of secularism dwarfing one-dimensional Chassidic characters didn’t spark my interest. Read more
Following the right directions
May 1, 2020 by Rabbi Michoel Gourarie
A question for Rabbi Michoel Gourarie. Read more
