Jewish Telegraphic Agency

jta.org — Throughout the breadth of the north-tropical zone of Brazil, where Jews have been settling in larger and smaller towns in the course of the past twenty-five years, one can see but rare instances of economic soundness.

jta.org — According to Wikipedia, Shimon Peres was born on Aug. 2, 1923. But try telling that to him. [[READMORE]] Peres had an eventful year leading up to his 89th birthday. In 2012, the president of Israel starred in YouTube viral video effort as part of a social media campaign to promote his Facebook page.

jta.org — An officer in the IDF stopped a soldier from reading personal poetry on the radio because it would " ruin the image of a combat soldier." As the Independent's Alistair Dawber notes: Throughout history, soldiers faced with grim circumstances on the battlefield have been inspired to write some of the world's most memorable poetry.

jta.org — At Tablet, Jamie Kirchick picks apart the phenomenon of pinkwashing, the notion that Israel is trumpeting the freedoms of its gay community merely as cover for its mistreatment of the Palestinians. Sarah Schulman, a the world's preeminent pinkwash-watcher, organized a conference in April at the City University of New York's Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies.