Bill Richardson, who served as the governor of New Mexico and the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., said a mixture of public pressure and private diplomacy fostered Monday’s return of Jewish contractor Jacob Ostreicher to American soil after he was held captive for more than two years in Bolivia. “With Ostreicher there was intensive public pressure by many Jewish organizations, it was very effective,” he said. more

In a country engulfed by anti-government protests, Ukrainian Jews find themselves facing the same existential choice as the rest of the country. The protests began during the last weekend of November, when Ukrainian police clashed with hundreds of protesters in Kiev’s Independence Square, known as “Maidan.” The crowd was protesting Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to freeze plans to join a free trade agreement with the European Union just before the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit. more

THURSDAY DEC. 19 HEALTH SCREENING. 10 am to 2 pm, free health screenings will be performed by St. Francis Hospital medical personnel at the Inwood Senior Community Service Center in the Five Towns Community Center, 270 Lawrence Ave., Lawrence, (516) 239-6244. more

Last week’s parsha showcases the bond between Yosef Ha-Tzadik (Joseph the just one) and Yisrael Sava (Israel the elder) who is also our zeida (grandfather) Ya’akov. This inspiring story of the special relationship of grandfather to grandchildren, prompted the great Yosef of our time, Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l, to write an eloquent and learned teaching reflecting upon the first relationship between grandfather and grandsons as recorded in the Bible, that being between Jacob and Ephraim and Menashe. more

The American Studies Association, the nation’s oldest and largest association devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history, announced today their membership has decided to participate in the world’s oldest hatred...anti-Semitism. The way they are exhibiting their hatred is via an academic boycott of the Jewish State. more

In the litany of complaints offered up by Jewish opponents of the State of Israel, two themes are most common. Firstly, they like to claim that their critiques of the Jewish state are “muzzled” by Jewish establishment leaders and organizations. (“Jewish Voice for Peace,” an anti-Zionist group based in the Bay Area with an amusingly kumbaya name, even has a blog dedicated to exposing such intrigues, entitled “Muzzlewatch.”) Secondly, they are fond of pointing out that political debate among progressives in Israel is freer and more open than in the stodgy, cautious circles of American Jewry. more

There is a puzzling story in this week’s portion, Shemot, which occurs just as Moshe is ready to return to Egypt to set his people free. When Moshe stops at a small inn before the last leg of the journey home, G-d actually attempts to put him to death! After 39 verses (Exodus 3; 1-4: 19) where G-d convinces Moshe to leave Midyan and accept the mission of bringing the Jewish people out of Egypt, Moshe accepts and, taking his wife and children with him, sets forth on the journey south, back to Egypt. more

t was the great sage Hillel who said (Avot 2:5), “In a place where there are no men, try to be a man.” The sentiment of the phrase doesn’t lend itself to be reformulated to gender-neutral terminology, so I apologize in advance to those who find it offensive. Nonetheless, I think an understated message from this phrase can help us understand the first real episode in the life of Moshe, when he controls his own destiny. more

The Village of Lawrence Board has scheduled a public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 9, to discuss limiting the tenure of trustees to six consecutive years. more

An unusually heavy snowfall blanketed Israel this week, closing roads and stranding commuters, leading Jerusalemites to open their homes for Shabbat to thousands stuck on the icy roads. more