Members of the newly elected European Jewish Parliament (EJP) are in Jerusalem this week, discussing with high ranking Israeli officials and with the leadership of American Jewry, ways in which European Jewry and American Jewry  should work closer together in light of the de-legitimisation campaign against Israel.

After a very successful visit to Brussels last week, The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisation continued to Jerusalem. Their agenda includes meetings with Israel's Top Political, Governmental and Military leadership.

Less than three months before the first round of a presidential election in France, the head of CRIF, the representative umbrella group of French Jewish institutions, Richard Prasquier, told the annual political dinner of the group that he has not given any instruction to Jewish voters but instead insisted on the existence of "yellow lines to those who spread a speech on ethnic preference and those who demonize Israel and call for its boycott,"a reference to the extreme right National Front as well as to  the Greens and the extreme left parties.

For the third time since he came to power in 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be Wednesday night the guest of honor at the annual dinner of CRIF, the umbrella representative group of French Jewish organizations. 

In another major breakthrough in its fast growing outreach, Jewish News One (JN1), the first 24/7 international Jewish news channel, is now also available live in the Russian language. 

Today, December 12^th, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation has finally closed the Murgab Bridge, which connects the wall with the Temple Mount. This can incite a conflict with Jordan. The bridge was closed by order of the Engineer of the City of Jerusalem that has been warning about the risks of its collapse.

American president, Barack Obama, announced this Thursday that his administration has done more for the security of Israel than any other president before him. "It is obvious that we don't have a more important ally than the state of Israel", announced Obama to potential donors to his pre-electoral campaign in the house of Jack Rosen, who is the chairman of the American Jewish congress.

A few days ago, a 30-year-old Jew, Emil Benjamin, was assaulted in the subway station in New York. Two guys started yelling anti-Semitic remarks towards him inside the train, and then moved on to beatings. In the midst of all the violence, one of the attackers pulled a knife out and stabbed the young man in the back. The criminals managed to escape the crime scene by jumping out of the train at the first station.

Dear candidate to the European Jewish Parliament elections,

The first ever European Jewish Parliament Elections have started today. More than 1,000 candidates have registered, or have been put forward by voters so far.