Ari Fleischer, press secretary under President George W. Bush, told Fox News last night that Trump’s visit to Houston amid the catastrophic flooding crippling the city lacked a certain something: empathy. “There was something missing from what President Trump said ― I hope he’ll say it later today ― but that’s the empathy for the…
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman confirmed on Wednesday he had received an email in January last year from an adviser to Donald Trump about a Moscow real estate project, but said he had neither replied nor discussed it with Putin. The Washington Post reported this week that Michael Cohen, one of Trump’s closest business advisers,…
Ousted White House adviser Sebastian Gorka lashed out at liberal American Jews, saying they “have basically become anti-Israel.” Gorka claimed he had come under attack because of his pro-Israel stance — not his long association with far right wing Hungarian group that was allied to the Nazis. “I’ve been a great friend of Israel and…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel Police halted a Hasidic wedding in the central Israel city of Lod because the bride was 14 years old. The groom, reported to be in his 20s, and the girl’s father were arrested on Monday night prior to the ceremony, Israel’s Channel 2 first reported. The men later were released to…
(JTA) — Three weeks ago, Lauren Laderman left Camp Young Judaea-Texas after serving as the unit head for 14-year-olds this summer. Then Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast, and Laderman was back at camp, this time preparing the cabins for evacuees in need of a place to live. On Tuesday, families began moving into the…
(JTA) — The University of Chicago Divinity School has named an Orthodox Jewish woman as its new dean. Laurie Zoloth, 67, a bioethicist and a scholar of religion and Judaic studies, became the school’s dean in July. Zoloth previously served on the faculty at Northwestern University, holding appointments in the department of religious studies and…
(JTA) — A New York judge has issued a temporary restraining order to block the demolition of a century-old Brooklyn synagogue to make way for an apartment building. The order came after 17 members of the Chevra Anshei Lubavitch synagogue in the Borough Park neighborhood said they did not know about the deal by two…
CHICAGO (JTA) — A Jewish family is suing a Chicago-area funeral home for botching a burial so badly that the casket toppled and splintered in the grave, exposing the deceased’s white shroud to a gathering of over 100 traumatized mourners. After three months of trying unsuccessfully to settle the case, the family of tax attorney…
(JTA) — A Brooklyn couple killed in a house fire was remembered as “genuine,” “righteous” and “devoted to family” at their joint funeral. Mourners spilled outside a Borough Park chapel on Monday afternoon for the joint funeral of Howard and Evelyn Gluck, who were killed early that morning in a blaze that ripped through their…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs has reversed its opposition to allowing same-sex couples to adopt in the country. The ministry said in a Supreme Court brief that there is no problem in principle with adoption by a same-sex couple. The brief was filed in response to a petition regarding adoption…
(JTA) — Most Houston-area Jewish institutions have been flooded due to Tropical Storm Harvey and a large portion of the city’s Jewish population is living in areas that have experienced flooding, the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston said. “While we do not yet know the full extent of the damage, we know that most of…
