2009-12-18

Seattle federation gunman found guilty



NEW YORK — The man who shot up the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building in July 2006 was found guilty of murder in his second trial. Naveed Haq, 34, found guilty on all eight counts will spend the rest of his life in prison. Following nearly two months of testimony, the jury agreed with the prosecution that Haq knew […]

Jewish burial for boy marred in Madrid



Thirteen-year-old Gai Ben-David was denied burial in the main section of Madrid’s Jewish cemetery because he had a Conservative conversion. Ben-David died earlier this month after suffering for years from brain cancer. He was buried in a section of Madrid’s Jewish cemetery reserved for those whose Jewishness is in question. Israel’s chief Sephardi rabbi, Shlomo Amar, ruled that since Gai […]

Effort underway to save Szarvas camp



BUDAPEST — A Facebook page and fund-raising campaign have been launched to save Szarvas, central Europe’s largest Jewish summer camp. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which runs the camp in southern Hungary, announced that camp operations would be cut in half this year due to the global economic crisis. In response, former campers and counselors formed a “Save Szarvas” […]

Clock ticking for Jewish community in Arkansas town



HELENA, AK — As the setting sun cast the Western sky in a pastel shade of pink, the last Jews of Helena gathered on a recent Friday night at the home of Miriam and David Solomon to welcome the Sabbath. Six elderly Jews — nearly all in their 90s — took their seats in the Solomons’ living room as David, […]