Thirty national Jewish organizations that are members of the Conference of Presidents joined in a pre-Passover appeal to President Obama led by Conference leaders Richard Stone, chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman, requesting that President Obama release Pollard prior to his reaching his 10,000th day of imprisonment, which will fall on April 8, 2013. After wishing the president a successful trip to the Middle East, the leaders respectfully and urgently requested that the president “act on the commutation of his sentence to time served before this milestone is reached. Pollard, whose health has deteriorated, has expressed remorse and regret repeatedly...more.

Una delegación de líderes de B'nai B'rith Internacional se reunió con el secretario general de las Naciones Unidas, Ban Ki-moon, para discutir temas tan acuciantes como el trato que recibe Israel en el organismo internacional, la creciente amenaza nuclear de Irán y la situación en Siria, entre otros temas.

La representación de B'nai B'rith Internacional estuvo encabezada por su presidente, Allan Jacobs, y su vicepresidente Ejecutivo, Daniel Mariaschin.

"Tuvimos la oportunidad de tener una conversación abierta con el secretario general sobre temas de gran preocupación para Israel", dijo Jacobs en referencia al encuentro mantenido el pasado 20 de marzo...more.

Jane Oppenheim will receive Amos Lodge 136 of B'nai B'rith's 61st annual Americanism Award at a testimonial dinner Sunday, May 19, at the Scranton Jewish Community Center. The award is given annually to an outstanding person for his or her lifetime of community service.

Jane has been involved with and extended her support to numerous community and educational organizations and continues to serve on area and national boards. She has been the recipient of many awards and honors.

Her "lifelong commitment to education, her stalwart belief in civic responsibility, and her dedication to Reform Judaism, locally, nationally, and worldwide, reflect the centuries' old values of B'nai B'rith: defense of human rights and staunch anti-discrimination efforts throughout the world," the organization says in a biography of Jane sent with the award announcement.

As is tradition, Jane was selected by past winners and representatives of several community organizations, including the United Way of Lackawanna County, the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, the Scranton Area Foundation, the Lions Club, Kiwanis and Amos Lodge.

Tickets may be purchased or a congratulatory greeting may be placed in the program book by calling Richard Bishop at 346-8414 or 905-0177 or Ed Monsky at 343-1197.

B'nai B'rith International also welcomed the restoration of full relations between the two countries:

The normalization of relations between Israel and Turkey — the region's only two democracies — sends a strong message of stability in a troubled part of the world.  

This positive development comes amid the rapidly deteriorating situation in Syria, where human rights groups estimate 70,000 Syrians have been killed in the two years since the uprising against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and countless thousands have been displaced.

El Director Internacional de Naciones Unidas y Asuntos Intercomunales de B'nai B'rith, David Michaels, asistió a un encuentro interreligioso con el nuevo jefe de la Iglesia Católica en la Sala Clementina del Vaticano. El Sumo Pontífice ofreció públicamente un saludo especial a los judíos y afirmó su compromiso con Nostra Aetate, Declaración del Concilio Vaticano II , que ha transformado las relaciones entre católicos y judíos.

"Estoy muy contento de saber que en el primer día de su pontificado, el Papa Francisco ya está retomando donde el Papa Benedicto dejó con respecto a las relaciones de la Iglesia con los judíos", dijo el presidente de B'nai B'rith Internacional, Allan J. Jacobs...more.

The B’nai B’rith Justice Unit #5207 celebrated its annual installation of new officers at their 33rd annual brunch on Sunday, March 10, 2013,  at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale.

The members celebrated the election of one of the LGBT community’s outstanding advocates for social justice, the Honorable Lisa Porter. Judge Porter was installed as the B’nai B’rith president for the 2013-14 term...more.

by Ruth Ellen Gruber

When the white smoke rose last week at the Vatican, signaling to the world that the College of Cardinals had chosen a new pope, Catholics weren’t the only ones waiting with bated breath.

Jews, too, were eager to see whether the new pontiff would be someone familiar with their concerns.

Would he be a non-European unfamiliar with the Jewish people and the weighty legacy of the Holocaust? Would he carry on the legacy of his immediate predecessors and work to further Jewish-Catholic relations? ...more.

by Stewart Ain and Steve Lipman

A dozen Jewish leaders and other clerics were invited to meet with Pope Francis one day after his inauguration Tuesday, among them the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who said he hopes the pope will lift the “cloud” hanging over the Vatican.

Among those attending Tuesday’s inaugural Mass was David Michaels, director of inter-communal affairs at B’nai B’rith International.

“It was, as expected, a moment of celebration for Catholics — but it also further signaled the new pope’s personal commitment to the continuance of the unique and historic contemporary friendship between Catholics and Jews,” he wrote in an e-mail interview. “Immediately after his election, Pope Francis sent a personal message to this effect to the chief rabbi of Rome; today, not only did Jewish leaders enjoy a place of prominence and proximity to the pope in St. Peter’s Square, but the Jewish community was the only inter-religious partner group of the Catholic Church to be singled out for specific greeting during the pope’s public remarks.”

Michaels said he views this as “a clear continuation of the practice of Benedict XVI — and a sign of allegiance to the momentous path of John Paul II...more.

B’nai B’rith Internacional saúda novo Papa Francisco I e aguarda com expectativa a continuidade da amizade entre católicos e judeus.

A B’nai B’rith Internacional congratula-se com o Papa Francisco I, que foi eleito no Vaticano em 13 de março pelos 115 cardeais católicos votantes. O novo papa, ex-cardeal argentino Jorge Mario Bergoglio, é o primeiro papa da América Latina. Ele irá liderar uma igreja católica com 1.2 bilhão de fiéis. Em novembro, o então cardeal Bergoglio foi o orador principal na solenidade em memória da Krystallnacht (Noite dos Cristais) da B’nai B’rith, em Buenos Aires, onde ajudando a acender as velas da menorá.

“Congratulamo-nos com o Papa Francisco I em seu novo papel como líder da Igreja Católica”, disse o Presidente da B’nai B’rith Internacional Allan J. Jacobs. “As relações católico-judaicas permaneceram focadas pelo Papa Bento XVI, e estamos ansiosos para continuar a sólida base de diálogo inter-religioso já existente.” O Papa Bento XVI renunciou no mês passado. Francisco I é 266º papa. “Fomos encorajados pelo histórico progresso nas relações Católico-Judaicas”, disse o vice-presidente executivo da B’nai B’rith Daniel S. Mariaschin. “O diálogo inter-religioso, salientando a tolerância e o respeito mútuo, é cada vez mais importante no mundo de hoje...more.

The Obama administration refused to participate in a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting on Israeli settlements and slammed the body for its "disproportionate" focus on Israel.

The Geneva-based council on Monday debated a January special report on the settlements that called for Israel to immediately withdraw from the West Bank and suggested Israel may be liable for war crimes if it does not leave.

B'nai B'rith International's representative at the United Nations in Geneva, Klaus Netter, said in a statement to the council that the report was counterproductive.

"Far from advancing the peace process between the two main parties, the fact-finding mission report has only reinforced Israel’s doubts about returning to active participation in this council and produced yet another source of conflict that may occupy this council’s attention for months or years to come," he said...more.