Under attack as a subversive, anti-Israel group, the New Israel Fund, the largest financial supporter of human rights groups in Israel, has opted to respond by rallying supporters of a progressive agenda in Israel. Adopting a notably combative tone under new leadership, the American- based charity is depicting an accusatory report by a new Israeli…
A crucifix hangs on the back wall of the classroom at the Franciscan school. Beneath it stands a menorah — an unusual sight in devoutly Catholic Poland. The Higher School of Hebrew Philology, located in Torun, Poland, is a new three-year private college that opened last October. It’s making history, offering a program of study…
A congressional letter calling on the United States to press for the lifting of the blockades imposed by Israel and Egypt on Gaza has sparked controversy within the Jewish community. Jewish groups from the left have actively supported the initiative, led by Democratic Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Jim McDermott of Washington. But other…
In Tel Aviv, where she works, Alina Serjukov is Jewish. In Ashkelon, where she lives, she’s considered a gentile. Alina discovered her strange predicament in the run-up to her January 14 wedding, when she and her husband attempted to register their upcoming marriage with the local rabbinate. But the official rabbi in Ashkelon refused to…
At the border of Crown Heights and Brownsville, in an impoverished corner of Brooklyn, stands the hulking, tan brick building that houses P.S. 191, the Paul Robeson School. The school serves a student population that is remarkable in its disadvantage: 99% of its roughly 300 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade qualify for free or…
In the strongest sign so far of pushback against dovish Jewish groups, a New York congresswoman representing an ultra-Orthodox constituency retracted her support from congressional initiatives meant to ease the pressure on Palestinians in Gaza. Yvette Clarke, of New York’s 11th District, which covers large parts of Brooklyn, met February 1 with a group of…
With only one major ice rink and a mountain that would never be confused with the Alps, Israel is being buffeted by opposing forces as it prepares to send a small delegation of athletes to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. On one side are Israeli citizens who see no manifest destiny for the nation to…
My two-year-old daughter Hannah developed an annoying habit recently. Whatever she wants, she asks be done “all the way.” To simply put on her socks is insufficient; she wants them pulled up all the way to her knees. If she asks for milk, she wants it poured all the way to the top of the…
Valentine’s Day is the one day a year when it is accepted, even expected, that people will act a little crazy in love. Want to wear all pink? Go for it. Profess your undying love to a stranger? Now’s as good a time as any. While Valentine’s Day is not a Jewish holiday — Tu…
say what you want about the boys of Platoon Two, Company B. say that we’re foolish, and incompetent—a collection of half-wits and merry pranksters who couldn’t build a pup tent, much less a campsite, to save our lives. say that we’re reckless and irresponsible. Because we are. We lose bullets like they’re paper clips, we…
A congressional letter calling on the U.S. to press for lifting the Israeli and Egyptian imposed blockade on Gaza has sparked controversy within the Jewish community. Jewish groups from the left have actively supported the initiative, led by Democratic congressmen Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Jim McDermott from Washington. But other Jewish groups and Israeli…
געוויסע עקספּערטן האַלטן, אַז מע דאַרף באַטראַכטן ל״ג־בעומר ווי אַ פֿרילינגדיקן מײַ־פֿעסטיוואַל
