How smart is Sheldon Adelson? The smartest, according to two newspapers he owns. When Forbes included the casino billionaire on its list of the “100 Greatest Living Business Minds,”, the Adelson-owned media did its part to spread the word. Adelson’s Israeli newspaper, Israel Hayom, ran articles on the honor in its English online edition and…
The world of sports and politics collided over the weekend as President Trump repeatedly criticized football players for kneeling during the national anthem as a protest against racism and police brutality. While many people (including NFL owners) announced their support for the players and their right to protest peacefully, perhaps the most surprising statement of…
Democrats in Congress are launching an investigation into Jared Kushner’s reported use of a private email address for government business. Elijah Cummings of Maryland sent a letter to Kushner on Monday, warning the presidential son-in-law and adviser to preserve all his personal emails. Cummings suggested he will eventually demand all the correspondence, Politico reported. Politico…
What does tzimmes have to do with the fraud trial of the New Jersey senator Robert Menendez? Plenty, it turns out. The Jewish holiday favorite was first referenced last week by Judge William H. Walls, the non-Jewish judge presiding over the case, when he compared his decision to allow certain evidence in the case to…
The administrator of the New York village of Kiryas Joel, home to members of the Satmar Hasidic group, reportedly earns $216,000 a year — more than all but three other government employees in a three-county area in suburban New York. The village, with a population of 23,000, has ten employees who earn over $100,000 per…
DJERBA, Tunisia (JTA) — Anticipating the sun’s rapid ascent in the African skies, six barefoot men align themselves early in the morning in a drafty corridor of the still-cool interior of Africa’s oldest synagogue. Casually humming a biblical hymn in Hebrew, they and an Israeli journalist hold off on holiday prayers in the hope of…
(JTA) — Former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson resigned from the board of the Ploughshares Fund days after she retweeted an article accusing American Jews of pushing the U.S. into a war with Iran. Wilson, who paternal grandfather was Jewish, made the announcement on Sunday in a series of tweets. “Actions have consequences, and while…
A new TV ad seeking information about the murder of Democratic staffer Seth Rich includes Russian subtitles — a clear hint that its funders believe the slaying could be linked to conspiracy theories about the hacking of the Democratic National Committee. The 30-second ad, produced by Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman, is set to air in the…
(JTA) — A court in Sweden has rerouted a neo-Nazi march on Yom Kippur farther away from a synagogue. The Gothenburg administrative court ruling concerning the Sept. 30 march by the far-right Nordic Resistance Movement overrode the suggested route by police. The court also shortened the route. The group had initially wanted to march on…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — In advance of a visit by President Donald Trump’s special envoy Jason Greenblatt, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a U.S. request to postpone a meeting of a settlement planning committee. Greenblatt is scheduled to arrive Tuesday in Israel to continue discussions toward restarting peace talks with the Palestinians, the Israeli…
(JTA) — What does Kathie Lee Gifford do when she isn’t on air next to Hoda Kotb? Apparently, she visits Israel quite often. In fact, the “Today” co-host is publishing a book co-written with a messianic Jewish rabbi on her visits to the Holy Land. Gifford, who has said that she’d like to become a…
