Social networking does come with drawbacks.

A lead story in today's Jewish Week begins... "Old-guard groups seen slow in recognizing viral threat from Facebook, YouTube. More than 35,000 people have joined the Facebook group “Israel is not a country! ... Delist it from Facebook as a country!” Two weeks ago in the JPost we have the President of Israel, Shimon Peres, urging young people to fight anti-Semitism using Facebook. And from today's JPost, "Israel loses Monopoly on capital as Hasboro makes Jerusalem stateless. The battle for Jerusalem took a new direction this week, when a reference to Israel was removed from an on-line poll to select the cities to be featured in the international version of the popular Monopoly board game." The ...

We invite you to join Jewish communities, organizations and individuals from around the world in celebrating a month of social action and Jewish unity.

Since its establishment in 2005 by KolDor, a global network of young Jewish activists, www.socialaction.com and Member of Knesset, Rabbi Michael Melchior and the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel, Jewish Social Action Month (JSAM) has evoked a remarkable response. For the last three years, Jewish Social Action Month has brought the world together in common cause – around our traditions of tzedek (righteousness) and tikun olam (repairing the world) – during the month of Cheshvan. This year, Cheshvan will be from 30 October to 27 November 2008. By encouraging ...

The British Royal Family is granting two of the U.K.'s largest Jewish organizations the use of Windsor Castle for a special anniversary dinner to mark Israel’s 60th anniversary. Both the UJIA and the JNF are in the early stages of planning the April 7 event, which will be held in the presence of the Duke of Edinburgh with guest of honor, Israeli President Shimon Peres. A JNF spokesperson said the anticipated 300 dinner guests would be raising funds for both organizations, the first time they have worked together on such a scale. UJIA chief executive Doug Krikler believed it was the first major Jewish — “and kosher” — event to be held at Windsor Castle.

From the February issue of Oleh Chadashot, a publication of Nefesh B'Nefesh, we bring you this story by Olah and author, Laura Ben-David. When trying to explain to people the uniqueness of Israel and Israelis, I find that a story speaks volumes. This story, however, speaks a whole bookstore. One evening, on our way back from a trip, we stopped at an unfamiliar falafel store in Jerusalem. We were hungry and tired, and looking forward to some quick food, and then our return home. We glanced around the place, determined that only falafel was sold there, all the while the proprietor watched us expectantly. As I moved toward the counter he asked, "Do you want ...

The Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities at the University of Pennsylvania made history Tuesday night. With the launch of a new collaborative initiative called Bridging the Gap, these communities took a step toward building long-lasting working relationships within the Penn community. Through dialogue and cultural events, this program hopes to foster a sense of mutual understanding that "is often lacking in the world today," said Mariam Ezz, Wharton senior and president of Penn Arab Student Society. "While there will always be a place for partisan events on campus, an initiative like Bridging the Gap will expose Jewish, Arab and Muslim students to a way of thinking that will foster compassion and mutual understanding," added Ezz. "I found it ironic that we hope ...

French Jewish organizations have joined together to expand private Jewish education in France. Seeded with 25m Euros, the new Fondation Gordin, created by the Fonds Social Juif Unifie (United Jewish Social Funds), the Foundation for Holocaust Remembrance, the Rothschild Foundation, the Sacta Rashi Fund and private donors, will focus on both refurbishing existing school buildings and constructing new ones. According to French Jewish businessman and philanthropist Pierre Besnainou, president of the United Social Funds, one-third of France 's estimated 100,000 Jewish children study in Jewish private schools, another third in public schools and the last third in Christian private schools. Some one-half of private-educated Jewish children study in Christian schools because, Besnainou believes, ...

A little over a month ago, I introduced you to Moishe House London. Now, in his own words, one of the founding members. by Joel Sameach Stanley Something is emerging in Jewish London. It’s hard to name as yet but you know it when you meet it. October 2007 was a landmark month. For four weeks running, you could, if you felt so inclined, attend a relatively large-scale alternative Jewish event every Saturday night, from the London JCC’s Balagan Boogaloo to Psychosemitic to the massive opening party at Moishe House London, the new Willesden Green based Jewish community house that happens to be my home. Besides a genre-fusing openness to try different ...

We live in a global village; new endeavors may be hatched in a living room in Monsey and brought to fruition in Jerusalem. Or a California foundation funds an innovative and new project in Buenos Aires or London. As we have learned from Thomas Friedman, we are no strangers to a flat world. And on this flattened Earth, borders recede and people are interconnected through commerce and communication. The Jewish people - no strangers to international connections - exemplifies this global trend. For those who may wish to consider joining this global trend or building new bridges in the U.K., we post in full today's press release from our friends at the Clore Duffield Foundation....

NEFESH B'NEFESH AND LEGACY HERITAGE FUND LAUNCH PHYSICIAN ALIYAH CAMPAIGN TO ADDRESS URGENT NATIONAL DOCTOR SHORTAGE Significant grants and supplementary income packages being offered to North American and British MD's making Aliyah to Israel (JERUSALEM) – Nefesh B'Nefesh, the organization dedicated to revitalizing Aliyah from the US, Canada and the UK, is launching a fellowship program for MDs from North America and the UK to help solve the serious shortage of doctors projected to occur in Israel over the next few years. In response to figures released by the Council for Higher Education's Planning and Budgeting Committee, suggesting that in the next ten years, Israel will experience a serious shortage of doctors, Nefesh B'Nefesh is teaming up with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry ...

Second Life Israel was launched Sunday, enabling SL users from around the world to visit Israel’s beaches and historic sites. The virtual state, preceded by a whole Jewish neighborhood in Second Life, is a work in progress, meant to, “present Israel to a global audience beyond the traditional media,” according to co-founder Chaim Landau. "This is a concept of Israel as a fun, entertaining, thriving and diverse community for Jews and non-Jews, and a home for Israelis on Second Life." The creation of Second Life Israel marks the beginning of a new chapter in digital Jewish society. Focusing on a range of areas, from the holy sites of Jerusalem as well as the modern life and tourist attractions known around the ...