The culture of proscription and banning is alien to European culture and alien to preserving identity. It also gives exactly the opposite message that it seeks to convey, argues the chief rabbi of Moscow and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Conference of European Rabbis. Read More »
The New York Times 
Iran Is Said to Begin Nuclear Enrichment
PARIS Brushing aside international calls for stricter sanctions against it, Iran was reported on Tuesday to have begun enriching its stockpile of uranium for use in a medical reactor, raising the stakes again in its dispute with the United States and other countries over its nuclear program. Read More »
World Briefing | Middle East: Yemen: Qaeda Affiliate Urgesjoint Blockade of Red Sea
The Yemen-based wing of Al Qaeda called Monday for a regional holy war and a blockade of the Red Sea to cut off shipments to Israel. In an audio recording posted on a jihadist Web site, the group’s deputy leader, Said Ali al-Shihri, called on the Somali insurgent group Shabab to help block the strait that separates Yemen from the Horn of Africa. Read More »
In Northern Iraq, a Vote Seems Likely to Split on Familiar Lines
QARAQOSH, Iraq There was a hope, not long ago, that democracy would mean peace and stability for Nineveh, a place where cultures and armies have clashed since biblical times. Instead, democracy is hardening divisions of people, of resources, of land in ways that threaten the future of Iraq itself. Read More »
Identity Found: On West Side via West Bank
Najla Said’s “Palestine,” a one-woman Off Broadway show that began previews on Saturday, is a coming-of-age story about Ms. Said’s journey to become an Arab-American on her own terms. Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Najla Said performing “Palestine” at the Fourth Street Theater. Read More »
Both Parents’ Ages Linked to Autism Risk
Older mothers are more likely than younger ones to have a child with autism, and older fathers significantly contribute to the risk of the disorder when their partners are under 30, researchers are reporting. Read More »
News Analysis: Russia and U.S. Lead Calls to Reduce Nuclear Arsenals
MUNICH — For many years, the Munich Security Conference has been dominated by rivalry and suspicion between Russia and the United States. The suspicion continues to be fueled by Russian hatred of the idea of NATO expansion even further eastward, eventually admitting Ukraine. Read More »
David V. Becker, 86, Dies; Expert on Thyroid Disease
David V. Becker, a pioneer in using radioactive materials to diagnose and treat thyroid disease and an expert on the thyroid damage caused by the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in 1986, died Jan. 31 at his home in Manhattan. He was 86 and had continued his research work until last year. David V. Read More »
Iran’s President Moves Ahead on Uranium Processing
CAIRO Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ordered the nation’s atomic energy agency on Sunday to begin producing a special form of uranium that can be used to power a medical reactor in Tehran, but that could also move the country much closer to possessing fuel usable in nuclear weapons. Read More »
Rights Group Faults Israel’s Gaza War Crimes Probe
By AP RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — An international human rights group says Israel failed to show it’s conducting an impartial investigation into Gaza war … Read More »
The Riddle of Consciousness
The Riddle of Consciousness – NYTimes.com Get Home Delivery Log In Register Now Home Page Today’s Paper Video Most Popular Times Topics Search All NYTimes.com Week in Review World U.S. N.Y. / Region Business Technology Science Health Sports Opinion Arts Style Travel Jobs Real Estate Autos Advertise on NYTimes. Read More »
Arts: Two Cities, One Lasting Cultural Exchange
To many people who have never been to China, myself among them, San Francisco’s Chinatown the oldest and one of the largest districts of its kind in North America still largely represents Chinese culture, despite the popularity of films like Read More »
After the Summer Olympics, Empty Shells in Beijing
After the Summer Olympics, Empty Shells in Beijing – NYTimes.com Get Home Delivery Log In Register Now Home Page Today’s Paper Video Most Popular Times Topics Search All NYTimes.com Week in Review World U.S. N.Y. / Region Business Technology Science Health Sports Opinion Arts Style Travel Jobs Real Estate Autos Advertise on NYTimes. Read More »
Off the Shelf: Terrorism and the Pocketbook
SHORTLY after Sept. 11, 2001, a soon-to-be familiar figure appeared in the news media. He was a young Muslim who wanted nothing more than to strap on a belt laden with explosives and blow himself up in an area crowded with infidels. He thought his reward would be eternity in paradise with 72 virgins. Read More »
O.K., Russia, Time to Work It
Western-Style Gyms Are Catching On in Russia – NYTimes.com Get Home Delivery Log In Register Now Home Page Today’s Paper Video Most Popular Times Topics Search All NYTimes.com Fashion & Style World U.S. N.Y. Read More »
Lydia Csato Gasman, Picasso Scholar, Dies at 84
Lydia Csato Gasman, an art historian known for her groundbreaking scholarship on the work of Picasso, died on Jan. 15 in Charlottesville, Va. She was 84 and lived in Charlottesville. Blog ArtsBeat The latest on the arts, coverage of live events, critical reviews, multimedia extravaganzas and much more. Join the discussion. Read More »
Hamas Insists Rockets Were Not Aimed at Civilians
JERUSALEM Hamas insists that it did not intentionally aim rockets at Israeli civilians during the Gaza war last winter, according to a report submitted this week to a United Nations office in Gaza. Read More »
Southern Discomfort
Lunch at the Governor’s Mansion With Jenny Sanford – NYTimes.com Get Home Delivery Log In Register Now Home Page Today’s Paper Video Most Popular Times Topics Search All NYTimes.com Fashion & Style World U.S. N.Y. Read More »
An Offensive Tackle Named Shlomo
There Mr. Weinstein invited the player to accompany his family to Rosh Hashana services at Cnesses Israel , a synagogue near the site of the Packers’ … Read More »
World Briefing | United Nations: Secretary General Reports on Gaza Inquiries
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to be released Friday that Israel and the Palestinians took steps toward independent investigations of possible war crimes committed during the Gaza campaign last winter, but that neither was far along enough to draw conclusions. Read More »
Art Review | ‘Philagrafika 2010′: What Is Printmaking Today? Philadelphia Dares to Ask
PHILADELPHIA The fine art of printmaking is not what it used to be. To produce printed images using tools more sophisticated than potatoes and rubber stamps once required the esoteric knowledge of an alchemist and the manual skills of a surgeon. Read More »
Exhibition Review | ‘Rubbers: The Life, History & Struggle of the Condom’: Unrolled, Unbridled and
In the 18th century Casanova referred to them as “English frock coats” and made prodigious use of the “little preventive bag invented by the English to save the fair sex from anxiety. Read More »
Movie Review | ‘Eyes Wide Open’: Passion and Identity Crisis in a Pious Community
“Eyes Wide Open,” the quiet and confident feature debut of the Israeli director Haim Tabakman, explores the conflict between sexual desire and religious obligation. Set in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem, the film, written by Merav Doster, gives nearly equal weight to both sides in that struggle. Read More »
Rebuffing Scholars, Germany Vows to Keep Hitler Out of Print
MUNICH In Germany, an author is granted an ironclad copyright for 70 years after his death, apparently even if he is subsequently regarded as one of the greatest mass murderers in history and a dark stain on the national character. Read More »
Bit of a Stir as Clinton Strays From Script on Mideast Peace
WASHINGTON With an inadvertent bit of shorthand, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton set off a buzz in diplomatic circles on Wednesday, and may have offered a glimpse into how the Obama administration hopes to revive the stalled peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Read More »
Israel : Jerusalem’s Mayor Bowing to Demolition Order
By AP Bowing to the orders of the attorney general, Mayor Nir Barkat of Jerusalem, left, has agreed to evacuate a Jewish settlers’ house built illegally in … Read More »
Egypt: Ancient Monastery Called a Sign of Coexistence
“The announcement we are making today shows to the world how we are keen to restore the monuments of our past, whether Coptic, Jewish or Muslim,” said Zahi … Read More »
Israeli Minister Adds Heat to Exchange With Syria
JERUSALEM Israel’s blunt-talking foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, warned Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, on Thursday that the Assad family would lose power in any war with Israel, ratcheting up bellicose exchanges between the countries in recent days. In a speech at Bar-Ilan University, near Tel Aviv, Mr. Read More »
Palestinian Official Doubts Israel Talks to Resume
Israel has only agreed to curb construction. Erekat said he will meet a US diplomat on Thursday to hear more about the Mitchell proposal. … Read More »
Pakistani Scientist Found Guilty of Firing at Americans
A Pakistani neuroscientist was convicted on Wednesday of trying to kill American military officers while she was in custody in Afghanistan, capping a trial that drew notice for its terrorist implications as well as its theatrics. Aafia Siddiqui denied the shooting. Read More »