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In a first, a Jewish organization opens an office at the Vatican
(JTA) — In what’s being touted as a first for a Jewish organization, the World Jewish Congress advocacy group opened an office in Vatican City to liaise with Catholic leaders and further Catholic-Jewish relations.
WJC President Ronald Lauder visited Pope Francis while inaugurating the organization’s “representative office to the Holy See” on Thursday.
Lauder, a billionaire heir to the Estée Lauder fortune and a longtime Republican donor, presented the pope with a document the WJC called “Kishreinu,” meaning “our bond” in Hebrew. The document “encapsulates the intricate historical and cultural tapestry binding Jewish and Catholic communities around the globe,” the WJC said in a press release.
Upon receiving the document, Pope Francis said: “Our intertwined communities of faith shoulder the sacred duty of weaving a world imbued with brotherhood, challenging inequalities, championing justice and ensuring peace transcends ethereal realms to root firmly in our shared reality.”
Lauder also asked the pope to call on Hamas to free the nearly 200 hostages taken during its attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 — which Pope Francis had done already last week. The WJC president was joined by Claudio Epelman, the organization’s interfaith dialogue commissioner and head of its Latin American branch.
“We ask the Pope to use his power, his strength, to free these hostages,” Lauder said in addressing the pontiff. “You may be the only person with the moral authority to do this. I believe that God, in his own way, has brought us here today to ask this on behalf of all the Jewish people of the world.”
WJC said its “Kishreinu” initiative was a response to Nostra Aetate, the landmark 1965 document that modernized the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church, Judaism and other religions.
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The post In a first, a Jewish organization opens an office at the Vatican appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Riding Anti-Trump Wave, Australia’s Albanese Secures 2nd term
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
i24 News – Australia’s Anthony Albanese claimed a second term as prime minister on Saturday, in a comeback against once-resurgent conservatives that commentators said was powered by voters’ concerns about the impact of US President Donald Trump.
Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative Liberal party, conceded defeat and the loss of his own seat, echoing the fate of Canada’s conservatives and their leader Pierre Poilievre, whose election losses last week were also widely attributed to a Trump backlash.
Supporters at Labor’s election party in Sydney cheered and hugged each other as Albanese claimed victory and said his party would form a majority government.
“Our government will choose the Australian way, because we are proud of who we are and all that we have built together in this country,” Albanese told supporters.
The Australian Electoral Commission website projected Labor would win 81 of 150 seats in the House of Representatives, increasing its majority in parliament, with 68% of the vote counted.
The post Riding Anti-Trump Wave, Australia’s Albanese Secures 2nd term first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli PM Netanyahu Postpones Upcoming Visit to Azerbaijan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Feb. 16, 2025. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed next week’s visit to Azerbaijan, his office announced on Saturday, in part due to recent developments in Gaza and Syria.
The prime minister’s office also cited “the intense diplomatic and security schedule” and said that the visit would be rescheduled, without announcing a new date.
Netanyahu was to visit Azerbaijan from May 7-11 and was expected to meet with President Ilham Aliyev. Israel and Azerbaijan maintain close security and energy ties.
The post Israeli PM Netanyahu Postpones Upcoming Visit to Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says It Intercepted Missile Fired from Yemen; Houthis Claim Responsibility
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Israel’s military said on Saturday it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen and Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the attack, the third of its kind by the Iran-aligned group in 24 hours.
The Israeli military said sirens were activated in a number of areas in Israel after the missile was launched. No casualties or serious damage have been reported from the missile salvos.
The claim of responsibility, announced by the Houthis’ military spokesperson, came amid an intensification of US airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
In March, US President Donald Trump ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis to reduce their capabilities and deter them from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The deadly strikes on the group have been the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January.
The Houthis say their attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping are in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Hamas terrorists and Israel in Gaza.
The group pledged to expand its range of targets in Israel in retaliation for a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza launched in mid-March, breaking a two-month-old ceasefire after the mediated talks on terms for extending it broke down.
The post Israel Says It Intercepted Missile Fired from Yemen; Houthis Claim Responsibility first appeared on Algemeiner.com.