Australia PM says suspected synagogue arson appears to be terrorist act

Sydney, Australia Reuters Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that suspected arson at a Melbourne synagogue appeared to be an act of terror, a day after his Israeli counterpart said the Labor government had motivated the crime with anti-Israel policies. “The atrocities that occurred at the synagogue in Melbourne clearly were designed to […]
Attack near Tunisia synagogue kills four

Tunis, Tunisia Reuters An attack near a synagogue in Tunisia killed two security officers and two visitors on Tuesday the government said amid an annual pilgrimage to the island of Djerba that draws hundreds of Jews from Europe and Israel. The attack was staged by a guard at a naval installation on Djerba who used […]
Essay: Abrahamic Family House “changes all the rules” of interfaith understanding

In an article first published on Religion News Service, KNOX THAMES says the mosque, church and synagogue complex is a shining monument to tolerance…
Seven killed in synagogue attack as West Bank violence spirals

Jrusalem/Gaza Reuters A Palestinian gunman killed at least seven people and wounded three others in a synagogue on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Friday in an attack that heightened fears of a spiral in violence, a day after the deadliest Israeli raid in the West Bank in years. Police said the gunman arrived at around […]
Wow!: First known depictions of Biblical heroines Jael and Deborah uncovered in Israel

KATHRYN POST, of Religion News Service, reports on a remarkable find…
As rabbi was held hostage in Texas synagogue, interfaith colleagues gathered to help end the standoff

RNS If there’s a word that comes up repeatedly when friends discuss Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the rabbi who was taken hostage with three others at his Reform synagogue Saturday, it’s “kind.” “Kind doesn’t begin to cover it,” said Lindsey Weiss, who attended Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, since she was 11. “He’s the nicest […]
Was Mary Magdalene really from Magdala? Two scholars examine the evidence

RNS The findings were heralded with bold headlines. Archaeologists excavating near the Israeli town of Migdal, also known as Magdala, had found remnants of a first-century synagogue. “2nd-Temple-period synagogue found where Gospel’s Mary Magdalene was born,” The Jerusalem Post’s 12th December headline declared. Newsweek, Express UK and the Smithsonian magazine followed up with similar headlines. The […]
Synagogue, mosque and church to join under one roof in Berlin
Berlin, GermanyReuters A group of Muslims, Jews and Christians joined on Thursday to lay the foundation stone for a centre that will house places of worship for each religion in a symbol of interfaith dialogue in the German capital. Days after protests in Berlin over the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza, and at […]
Israeli paramedics: two dead in synagogue bleacher collapse

Jerusalem, Israel AP Israeli medics said at least two people were killed and more than 150 injured after a bleacher collapsed at an uncompleted West Bank synagogue on Sunday, the eve of a major Jewish holiday. The bleacher was packed with ultra-Orthodox worshippers and collapsed during prayers at the beginning of Shavuot. A spokesman for […]
Updated: At least two killed in Vienna attack involving multiple assailants, locations

Updated: 12.30pm (AEDT) Vienna, Austria Reuters Two people have been killed after multiple gunmen opened fire across central Vienna on Monday, and at least one attacker remained on the run after what Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described as a “repulsive terrorist attack”. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer warned people to stay away from the centre of the […]