Opinion International AffairsFor the first time in history, the General Assembly (GA) of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) are holding their annual conference in Tel Aviv. For the last several decades the federations have met in Israel, every fifth year in Jerusalem. Until now.The GA’s 2018 conference theme is “We Need to Talk,” a reflection of challenges faced by the partnership between Israel and American Jewry during the last two years; challenges that are in part a function of profound shifts, which impact the relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry.Last year, North American Jewish federations transferred $113.4 million to Israel, a sum that is considerably less than the $200 million American Jews gifted Israel in 1948 (in absolute dollars). To put this into perspective, Israeli startups raised over $5 billion last year.Once upon a time, the Jewish business leaders of Tel Aviv would have welcomed wealthy American Jewish leaders, to lean on … [Read more...] about Tel Aviv Diary: American Jews and Israelis—We Really Need to Talk
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Huey Lewis and the News musical to make world premiere in California next week
By Alyssa Pereira, SFGATE Updated 12:04 pm PDT, Friday, August 31, 2018 Huey Lewis and the News performed, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," during the seventh inning stretch during Game 3 of the World Series at AT&T Park on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014 in San Francisco, Calif. Huey Lewis and the News performed, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," during the seventh inning stretch during Game 3 of the World Series at AT&T Park on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle 2014 Huey Lewis of Huey Lewis And The News performs at Shaky Knees Music Festival at Centennial Olympic Park on May 14, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Ryan Myers/imageSPACE/Sipa USA/TNS) Huey Lewis of Huey Lewis And The News performs at Shaky Knees Music Festival at Centennial Olympic Park on May 14, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Ryan Myers/imageSPACE/Sipa USA/TNS) … [Read more...] about Huey Lewis and the News musical to make world premiere in California next week
Philippine President Duterte Calls God ‘Stupid’ Over Original Sin
The Philippine president, notorious for having cursed the pope and world leaders like former U.S. President Barack Obama, has sparked new outrage by calling God "stupid" in Asia's largest Catholic country. Opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV shot back Monday by describing President Rodrigo Duterte as "one evil man" and his remarks as "very much consistent with the deceitfulness, heartlessness and ruthlessness of his policies." Even some of Duterte's political allies were critical. A Catholic Bishop, Arturo Bastes, called the president a "madman" and urged Filipinos to pray for an end to Duterte's "blasphemous utterances and dictatorial tendencies." "Duterte's tirade against God and the Bible reveals again that he is a psychological freak, a psychopath, an abnormal mind who should have not been elected as president of our civilized and Christian nation," Bastes said. A bourbon warehouse in Kentucky partially collapsed on Friday, potentially damaging around 9,000 barrels of bourbon … [Read more...] about Philippine President Duterte Calls God ‘Stupid’ Over Original Sin
The Latest: Germany backs calls for Gaza probe
Updated 7:52 am, Tuesday, May 15, 2018 Now Playing: Gaza's Health Ministry says the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire near the Gaza border has reached 37. (May 14) Media: Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The Latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (all times local): 3:50 p.m. Germany says it supports calls for an independent investigation into the killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests in Gaza. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert says the violence "concerns us greatly and it's terrible that so many people lost their lives, including minors." Seibert told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday that the right to peaceful protest should exist in Gaza too, but blamed the Palestinian group Hamas for firing up tensions on the day the United States unveiled its new embassy in Jerusalem. He said: "Hamas is trying to escalate the violence. That is cynical." window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: … [Read more...] about The Latest: Germany backs calls for Gaza probe
Facebook finally explains why it bans some content, in 27 pages
SAN FRANCISCO – Among the most challenging issues for Facebook is its role as the policeman for the free expression of its 2 billion users. Now the social network is opening up about its decision-making over which posts it decides to take down – and why. On Tuesday the company for the first time published the 27-page guidelines, called Community Standards, that it gives to its workforce of thousands of human censors. The set of guidelines encompasses dozens of topics including hate speech, violent imagery, misrepresentation, terrorist propaganda and disinformation. Facebook said it would offer users the opportunity to appeal Facebook’s decisions. The move adds a new degree of transparency to a process that users, the public and advocates have criticized as arbitrary and opaque. The newly released guidelines offer suggestions on topics including how to determine the difference between humor, sarcasm and hate speech. They explain that images of female nipples are … [Read more...] about Facebook finally explains why it bans some content, in 27 pages