Jewish security network to be national model

By Eric Fingerhut

A Jewish security network will be used as a national model by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Read more »

This Week's Top News from JTA

Iran will "blow up the heart of Israel" if attacked by Israel or the United States, a top Iranian Revolutionary Guard official said.

About a dozen Israeli border policemen were lightly wounded Friday in clashes with Arab rock throwers in eastern Jerusalem.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill requiring President Obama to report to Congress on U.S. engagement with Iran by January's end.

Two congressmen are demanding to know why the director of national intelligence testified that Iran had no secret enrichment facilities.

President Obama extended the allowance for the Palestine Liberation Organization's Washington office.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill expanding the legal definition of a violent federal hate crime to include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Israel's Supreme Court rejected a request to allow Jews to visit the Temple Mount.

A Jewish school and the property of a Jewish businessman were painted with anti-Semitic graffiti in Buenos Aires.

The war crimes trial of John Demjanjuk will begin Nov. 30 in Munich, the state court announced.

Israel made a mistake by not cooperating with the Goldstone investigation, Sweden's foreign minister said.

Elsewhere in the Media

Families of children with Familial Dysautonomia, a rare Jewish Genetic disease, find hope through community support. Read more »

Program gives students in America and students in Israel an opportunity to explore what it means to be Jewish Read more »

Despite strong criticism from opposition, Knesset Law Committee moves ahead with plans for pro civil unions bill. Read more »

Benjamin Sklaver's death highlights the scarcity of Jewish military chaplains and points up the isolation often felt by Jewish members of the US armed forces. Read more »

The New York City Marathon on November 1 will include this social action endeavor started by two Reform rabbis. Read more »

The Union for Reform Judaism, the umbrella for more than 900 Reform congregations in the United States and Canada, will hold its upcoming biennial at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Nov. 4 to 8. Read more »

A new camp that emphasizes intensive sports and Jewish values is hoping to draw scores of budding athletes next summer. Read more »

Union News

Halloween for Jews

Check out our Holiday Happenings to see how to handle Halloween this year. In creative and exciting ways, learn to integrate Jewish tradition into the lives of our youngest students in school and at home

Youth Webinar 101

Learn everything you you need to know to be a successful youth worker. Explore the role of the youth worker in general and learn from the Union's top experts.

Got Shabbat? 

Celebrate Shabbat with your very young children with our Got Habbat series.  This week's edition brings Parshat B'reshit home and helps make the story of creation meaningful for your tots!

Books and Music: Habbat Cards

What's your Habbat Moment? The Gift of Habbat Cards offer 52 new ways to look at Habbat with different eyes. This is the perfect gift for religious school teachers, new temple families, or for you.

RJBlog: Raising our Voices, One Blog Post at a Time
In what is becoming an annual tribute to the power of online media and social networking, The 2009 Blog Action Day brought together diverse voices throughout the advocacy and activist communities to focus attention on the urgent issue of climate change.

Energy Efficiency and Historic Sacred Sites

The New York Landmarks Conservancy co-sponsors an all-day seminar for owners, managers, and users of New York City's historic religious properties.

North American News

A soft-spoken retirement announcement by the usually outspoken U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) left Democrats, Republicans, Jews and non-Jews expressing reactions that ranged from baffled to ... baffled. He is leaving to head the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation. Read more »

Fighting poverty is an important goal of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and so is protecting the environment. The umbrella group is taking on both issues in one fell swoop with its second annual "Fighting Poverty With Faith” initiative. Read more »

As their numbers grow, mixed-race Jewish families are facing the same question often put to interfaith families: Is there a need for separate programming? The answer, judging by the growth in the field, seems to be yes. Read more »

Around the Globe

The state-run Auschwitz Memorial Museum in Poland launched its official page on Facebook. Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI will visit Rome's main synagogue on the Catholic Church's annual day of study and dialogue between Catholics and Jews. Read more »

The united European-American front against Iran is not new, but three relatively recent developments have strengthened the alliance: Washington's shift toward negotiations, changes in government in Europe and the disputed election in Iran. Read more »

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