(JTA) — The only time I ever attended Israel’s International Bible Quiz, I sat three rows in front of the prime minister. It was 2005, I was a 19-year-old student, and I watched as Ariel Sharon strolled in with his security detail, a large black nylon kippa perched lumpily on his head. The rest of…
The White House held its first-ever Israeli Independence Day party on Tuesday night, and some of the biggest movers and shakers in the American Jewish world were in attendance. Among them was Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a former Republican congressional candidate and author of books like “Shalom in the Home” and “Kosher Lust.” Boteach, who frequently…
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law on Tuesday that prohibited state agencies from contracting with companies that boycott Israel. “You can always count on Texas,” Abbott said at the signing ceremony at the Austin Jewish Community Center. “Any anti-Israel policy is an anti-Texas policy.” The law, known as HB 89, charges the Texas Comptroller’s…
Ivanka Trump has created a lifestyle brand — and now a book — premised on women’s empowerment. But her company did not have a maternity leave policy until her female workers pushed her to adopt one. When Trump’s “Women Who Work” initiative launched in 2013, “They [had] no maternity policy in place, they [didn’t] have…
Strap yourself in: There’s yet another twist in the rollercoaster ride that is Sebastian Gorka’s stint at the White House. After word spread over the weekend that the controversial counterterrorism adviser is on his way out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, now Gorka claims to have a promise from the president he can stay. In an…
A frequent contributor to Fox News Channel claims that she was told by her talent agency not to report her allegation that she had been sexually assaulted by a Fox News executive. Tamara Holder recounted to the Huffington Post on Tuesday that she told one of her agents, Steve Levine of ICM, last September that…
James Deen, one of the world’s most successful porn stars, is growing increasingly uncomfortable with how online pornography affects people at younger and younger ages. In a recent interview, Deen expressed his concern that the plethora of easily accessible pornography is providing a warped view of sexuality and relationships, especially given that the average child…
(JTA) — Fifty-five Democratic lawmakers signed on to a letter urging President Donald Trump to dismiss Sebastian Gorka, an adviser accused of being a member of a Hungarian far-right nationalist group. Among the nine Congress members leading the effort, five are Jewish: Reps. Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey and Jerrold Nadler of New York, Bradley Schneider of…
On Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day), Jews around the world celebrate the founding of the state of Israel. Want a celebratory and fun test of your knowledge? Check out this 18 question Buzzfeed quiz and let us know how you did by tweeting your score @jdforward.
President Trump has decided to pull Steve Bannon out from under the bus, signaling in a Tuesday interview that he will be keeping on his chief strategist, who seemed for the past month to be on the ropes. “Bannon is a very decent guy who feels very strongly about the country. Likewise, Jared. And they’re…
(JTA) — The national director of the Anti-Defamation League urged the establishing of a federal task force to coordinate hate crimes responses across the executive branch in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Jonathan Greenblatt set forth a series of policy recommendations during a Tuesday hearing on an increase in religious hate crimes, according to…
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