What is a school district of 123 students going to do with $1.6 million in federal grants earmarked for education reform? That’s the happy quandary facing the Kiryas Joel Village Union Free School District, a public school district for special education students in upstate New York, in the Satmar Hasidic town of Kiryas Joel. The…
Misha Avramoff, 71, has a little problem with his pronouns. “We bombed the King David Hotel,” he said in an interview is his office in Project Ezra’s space, on New York City’s Lower East Side, as an aside in the self-narrated — and decidedly nonlinear — story of his life. It is hard to picture…
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ruled that Jewish students will once again be included among groups protected from ethnic- or race-based harassment on campus under the Civil Rights Act. The October 26 decision, which restores a protection first given and then withdrawn from religious groups during the George W. Bush administration,…
Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has hoisted a question mark over the legitimacy of all conversions performed in the country since at least 1999. This constitutes the deepening of a crisis that began on September 6, when a representative of Israel’s Attorney General raised doubts about the legitimacy of conversions performed under the auspices of the country’s…
When Orthodox real estate developer Solomon Obstfeld was found dead on the second story roof of a Manhattan hotel in June, the official finding of suicide met with widespread skepticism among his friends. Press reports at the time noted Obstfeld’s connection to a contentious dispute over a Brooklyn condo development, and to a business partner…
Freedom is the grand theme of the new National Museum of American Jewish History, which is set to open its doors in November. In a way, the museum’s location demands that it engage with such a large, universal concept. It is housed in an imposing glass box in the center of Philadelphia, with a commanding…
Paul Simon Sings for His Supper and Award at Arts Horizons Gala “I’m a 59-year-old Jewish guy with no rhythm,” said Marc Summers, host of the October 25 Arts Horizons Gala. Summer, who hosts the Food Network’s “Unwrapped,” was so impressed with the kids of the PS 94 Fly Rhythm Steppers, who entertained the black-tie…
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – When she took the stage in the jammed ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood shortly after 11pm to claim her fourth term in the Senate, Barbara Boxer’s victory speech touched on issues foremost on her agenda: immigration, jobs and the economy, women’s rights, gay rights, and the plight of returning…
A show business term for people talented in more than a single discipline, “multi-hyphenate,” clearly defines Michael Feinstein. He is a pianist and singer who performs about 150 live shows annually; a recording artist with five Grammy nominations to his credit, including one for his CD with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; a composer currently working…
You are working on an important assignment for your boss when a message pops up on your computer. “You’re stressed out,” a dialogue box declares. “Time to take a break.” An Israeli high-tech innovation means that as of 2011, shops can begin stocking laptops with special hardware and software that will monitor a computer user’s…
EVANSTON, ILL. — Democratic U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky was ebullient Tuesday night, sharing a beer with cheering supporters at her re-election victory party at a local restaurant. But Schakowsky’s revelry was interrupted by a reporter asking about her opponent’s efforts to make an issue of her support for the Obama administration’s Israel policy. “This was…
