The US Defence Secretary has called for Iran to be given more time to respond to sanctions during a speech in Tunis.

Mr Panetta's remarks came a day before a much-publicised trip to Israel, where concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions is a high priority.

Activism on international poverty and human rights is bringing British and American Jews back into the community, the head of the American Jewish World Service said in London this week.

National Jewish Democratic Council President David Harris has demanded that Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, also known as “Joe the Plumber”, should apologise for releasing a campaign video in which he blames the Holocaust on gun control.

US Republican presidential candidates last night battled over who could declare the strongest support for Israel, all pledging to strengthen the bond between the two countries.

Addressing the Republican Jewish Coalition, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said his first foreign trip as president would be to Israel.

The White House has cautioned the UN heritage organisation UNESCO to cease meddling in the Palestinian attempt unilaterally to gain statehood.

The warning came after the cultural agency began considering admitting the Palestinians into its ranks.

Two American hikers, imprisoned in Iran as “American spies” for more than two years, have landed in Oman after being released.

Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal were greeted by their families, who described it as “the best day of our lives”.

The FBI has been accused of secretly recording discussions at the Israeli embassy in the US.

According to a blogger, who spoke to the New York Times, a translator for the intelligence agency shared transcripts of recorded conversations and telephone calls with him.