Free Republic

Interfax reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin called to European Jews to come to his country, during a meeting with representatives of the European Jewish Congress. .....

Opposition leader Yitzhak Herzog has called on Israel to accept refugees from Syria, in addition to the humanitarian efforts it is already making. Speaking at the weekly "Shabbatarbut" event in Tel Aviv, Herzog asserted that "Jews cannot be indifferent when hundreds of thousands of refugees are searching for a safe haven." Israel has already been providing medical aid to Syrians injured near its borders. But his comments proved controversial, as Israel is already struggling to deal with tens of thousands of illegal African immigrants claiming refugee status. In particular, working-class residents in neighborhoods in southern Tel Aviv - where most...

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Senate plan to dramatically expand a visa program for highly skilled foreign workers resembles a proposal unveiled by Microsoft last fall, but well exceeds the company’s own goals. Led by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, five Republicans and five Democrats rolled out the Immigration Innovation Act on Tuesday to lift the annual quota of H-1B visas for those workers from 65,000 to 115,000. That new cap would grow each year if demand outstrips supply, potentially up to 300,000 visas annually.

Essam el-Erian, a top advisor to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, has resigned from his position, Egyptian media reported Sunday. Although the report said that el-Arian had willingly made the decision because he was “occupied with other work,” analysts said that there was no doubt that he was pressure to quit – after inviting back to Egypt the descendants of Jews who were thrown out of the country, or who fled due to anti-Semitic violence. A report on Israel Radio quoted Egyptian state-controlled radio as broadcasting a statement from el-Erian, who said he had decided to quit his position as a...

The commander of the Hevron Region of the Israel Police, Col. Yitzchak Rachamim, partook in the candle lighting ceremony at the Cave of Patriarchs Wednesday. "Our primary goal is that not only Jews from Diaspora will visit the Cave of Patriarchs, but also the residents of Israel will all flock in multitudes to this holy site," he said. "We identify fully with the importance of the place – this is the foundation of the state of Israel," he added. "The policemen and officers of the Hevron Region serve in this dear and holy place out of a sense of mission,...

Diplomatic sources in Cairo said the Egyptian government is willing to receive the new Israeli ambassador whenever Israel wishes to send them. The matter is not dependent on diplomatic or security conditions, Cairo daily Al Ahram quoted them as saying Wednesday. The sources said that that the timing for the arrival of a new ambassador is up to Israel and that the Egyptian government will not intervene in the matter. The outgoing Israeli ambassador, Yitzchak Levanon – who has been in Israel since shortly after a mob stormed the Cairo embassy two months ago – returned to Cairo Sunday for...