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IDF Turns To Human Rights Watch for Help
As human rights organizations continue to be vilified by an Israeli government still smarting from the effects of the Goldstone Report, the Forward has learned that the Israeli military has been in conversation and even actively working with Human Rights Watch, the international organization that has been often — and loudly — denounced by the…
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In ‘Bombshell,’ JTS Eliminates Cantorial Dean
The Jewish Theological Seminary is eliminating the position of dean of its cantorial school as part of a major reorganization and consolidation at Conservative Judaism’s flagship seminary. Chancellor Arnold Eisen said that the restructuring would take place in lieu of closing the cantorial school — the course of action recommended by an outside consultant. Eisen’s…
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A Jewish Journal of Ideas Is Born
Barring snowstorm-induced printing delays, during the week of February 15, mailboxes across the country will receive the launch issue of The Jewish Review of Books, a new print journal. A quarterly magazine devoted to Jewish literary and political affairs, the JRB boasts heavy hitters on its editorial board, such as Michael Walzer, Leon Wieseltier and…
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At the South Pole, The Sabbath Is Welcome Even When the Sun Shines
In a small chapel overlooking a frozen sea inlet, Dick Heyman leads a tiny congregation in a Sabbath-evening service. “Blessed are you, endless one, who makes the evenings fall,” he says, opening the Ma’ariv service with an English rendition of the prayer Asher Bidvaro. “Oh, wait,” Heyman says, pausing. “We can’t say that here.” Heyman…
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New Israel Fund Critics Plan New Moves in the Knesset Against the Charity
A recently aborted Knesset proposal to investigate whether the largest financial supporter of Israeli human rights groups is subversively anti-Israel is merely the opening salvo planned against the New Israel Fund in Israel’s parliament. With support from several Knesset members, Im Tirtzu, the group that sparked the Knesset investigation move, wants to stop Israelis, who…
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Oren: J Street Clash Ebbing
The Israeli ambassador to Washington says his dispute with J Street is close to resolution and that the group was “much more in the mainstream.” Michael Oren stirred controversy last summer when he declined to attend the inaugural conference of the dovish pro-Israel lobby, and again late last year when he told a group of…
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Critics Counter J Street at U Penn Hillel, Which Proves Big Enough For Both
Days before the controversial appearance by the head of J Street at the University of Pennsylvania’s Hillel, critics of the left-wing Israel lobby announced that they would hold a counter-event in the same building at the same time. The prospect of an explosive evening came on the heels of weeks of harsh criticism aimed at…
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Controversial Arabic School Stays Mum
As children, joking and gossiping, spilled out of Brooklyn’s Khalil Gibran International Academy on a frigid Friday afternoon recently, one stopped to answer a waiting reporter’s question about his experience there. “It’s a cool school,” he said. “It’s a good school to go to —” he continued, before another student cut him off. “Don’t say…
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Bernard Lander, Touro College Founder, Dies at 94
Rabbi Bernard Lander, the founder and president of Touro College, died February 8 of congestive heart failure at his home in Queens, the college has announced. He was 94. Lander started Touro in 1971 after spending two decades as a sociology professor at Yeshiva University, where he also served as dean of the university’s Bernard…
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Marijuana — Menace or Mitzvah?
NEWS ITEM: Religious leaders — from Reform to Orthodox — are increasingly supportive of the medical use of marijuana. Should marijuana be forbid To everyone who is a Yid? Is puffing on the suspect weed Offensive to the Jewish creed? Or is cannabis kosher now, On grounds it soothes the fevered brow And eases torments…
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Chai Designs For Less
Many of us grew up in homes where there was little or no Jewish art. It seemed kitschy, or people were simply not ready to go wall-to-wall Chagall. Today, however, we are looking with fresh eyes at Jewish art and, when the price is right, schlepping some of it home. But many Jews, especially younger…
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