Rebecca Spence
By Rebecca Spence
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Culture New Fund Gives Young Jews a Place at the Table
When a group of 20-somethings formed a fund to give money to innovative Jewish not-for-profit groups, their project itself was, in an ironic twist, an innovation in Jewish philanthropy. It’s no secret that Jewish donor circles are, for the most part, dominated by wealthy individuals — predominantly men — who are well beyond the half-century…
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News Orthodox Rabbi Talks of Splitting Jerusalem, Faces Backlash
Los Angeles – When a prominent Orthodox rabbi broke ranks with the official Orthodox line last week and called for an open discussion of the division of Jerusalem, the backlash was swift — though not entirely unexpected. Yosef Kanefsky, senior rabbi of B’nai David-Judea Congregation, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Los Angeles’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood, is…
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News Fleeing Fires, San Diego Seniors Are Sheltered and Serenaded at Area Synagogue
Encinitas, Calif. – As last week’s wildfires tore through Southern California, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes, one group of evacuees managed to have a good time in spite of it all. Amid the chaos wreaked by the inferno, more than 100 Jewish seniors — including a plucky 101-year-old — fled their San Diego-area…
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News Paparazzi, Beware! Hollywood Stars Have a Secret Weapon: Israeli Commandos
Los Angeles – When Kevin Federline’s lawyer wanted to serve Britney Spears’s closest associates with subpoenas during the ill-fated duo’s recent custody battle, he hired a former Israeli commando to get the job done. While this service may not have necessitated counter-terrorism expertise, the ex-Israeli operative who carried out the mission, Aaron Cohen, has built…
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News L.A. Jewish Groups Focus on Silver Screen
Los Angeles – Mark Jonathan Harris steers clear of attending synagogue services and claims membership in not one Jewish organization. But the filmmaker says that he expresses his identity in another very essential way: through his work. In fact, two of Harris’s three Oscars were for Holocaust-related documentaries, and he cites the mantra of “Never…
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Israel News Celeb Expert Offers Unique Advice
With Britney Spears displaying more bizarre behavior by the day — not to mention last week’s legal bombshell granting custody of her children to her ex-husband, Kevin Federline — the toasted pop tart probably could use all the advice she can get. But only one Hollywood commentator-cum-unsolicited-advice-giver can offer Spears some words of wisdom connecting…
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News One of L.A.’s Last JCCs Fights for Its Life
Sherman Oaks, Calif. — In a neighborhood peppered with restaurants with names like Café Eilat and a raft of kosher supermarkets to choose from, the sole Jewish community center here may soon be forced to shutter its doors. A protracted battle pitting the members of the Valley Cities JCC in Sherman Oaks, Calif., one of…
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News Yom Kippur Raid Roils Staid L.A. Neighborhood
Los Angeles – A recent incident at an Orthodox day school in one of this city’s epicenters of Jewish life is inflaming tensions in a neighborhood long plagued by ethnic controversy. On the holiest night of the Jewish calendar year, two inspectors for the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety arrived unannounced…
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