(JTA) — (New York Jewish Week via JTA) —The rift at Park East Synagogue may widen, as Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt, who was fired as assistant rabbi last month, has started his own Shabbat service three blocks away from his former synagogue. This will be at least the second service hosted by Goldschmidt since he was…
BUDAPEST (JTA) — The two main kosher restaurants in this city have had excellent reputations for years. Carmel and Hanna both offer signature local items like goulash with nokedli, a paprika-rich beef stew featuring handmade noodle dumplings; Hungarian schnitzels; and flodni — a poppy-rich, nutty Hungarian-Jewish layer cake. That’s alongside Israeli dishes, such as shish…
(JTA) — British musician Alex Clare burst onto the pop music scene with his debut album in 2011, and was offered a chance to tour with megastar Adele. But the tour would have required him to travel and perform on Jewish holidays, and Clare is an Orthodox Jew. So he declined the opportunity, then lost…
(JTA) — (Jewish News of Greater Phoenix via JTA) — An antisemitic tirade at a school board meeting in suburban Phoenix last week has spurred an extensive response among local officials and Jewish leaders — some of whom say they were distressed that board members did not rebut the comment at the time. During the…
(JTA) — At the closely-watched COP26 conference on climate change in Glasgow, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel’s famed start-up sector could add a “mighty” contribution towards mitigating the climate crisis — if its entrepreneurs focus on it. “As the country with the most start-ups per capita in the world, we must channel our…
(JTA) — When Rabbi Lisa Gelber heard that the Food and Drug Administration had approved the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5-11, she couldn’t wait for the moment that her daughter would get the shot. But she also knew her daughter was scared of needles. So she sat down with her daughter, 11-year-old Zahara,…
(JTA) — Former President Donald Trump told a conservative Jewish radio host that Israel until recently “literally owned Congress,” a claim similar to those that have triggered accusations of antisemitism against other politicians. The comments came during Trump’s Oct. 29 interview with Seattle-based talk show host Ari Hoffman as Trump was reviewing his Middle East…
A day after a fraternity at George Washington University reported that a small replica Torah used in its initiation process was damaged during a weekend vandalism spree, the university’s Jewish community is working to raise awareness of campus antisemitism — even while some wonder whether the incident was an act of hate. A rally is…
(JTA) — (New York Jewish Week via JTA) — In 1992, the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations learned that before moving to the United States, a Brooklyn potato chip salesman had participated in the liquidation of Jewish ghettos in Poland, including those in Warsaw, Lublin and Czestochowa. And there was evidence that he helped other SS…
(JTA) — When shopping for Hanukkah-related products from mainstream retailers, it’s only a matter of time before you stumble across a product that misses the mark, like a mug decorated with the words “Deck the halls with matzo balls.” But this year, major retailers are responding to customer complaints about Hanukkah products they say are…
(JTA) — Even when Arthur Kurzweil sits by himself in his study, he doesn’t feel that he’s alone. After all, he has the dreidels — all 4,000 of them. Kurzweil, 70, is a prolific author and editor who has written books about Judaism and magic and his car rides with Talmud scholar Adin Steinsaltz, as…
