Taglit-Birthright Israel, the highly regarded Jewish communal initiative that has sent more than 200,000 young Jews on free trips to Israel, has carefully tended its image as pluralistic and inclusive. But the religious slant and political orientation of the largest, most well-funded organizer of follow-up programs for Birthright alumni is raising concerns, even among top…
An unusual sign appeared in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in early August. On it is a large Star of David constructed out of 50 or so rubber chickens. In the middle of the star, Yiddish text offers a free bike loan to any of the Yiddish-speaking Satmar Hasidim who live in the area. You…
Attempts to finalize a deal on a settlement freeze are entering the final stretch, although significant differences still exist between American and Israeli negotiators. While those negotiators have reportedly reached an understanding on a nine-month freeze on new construction in the West Bank, both sides are struggling to agree on what should happen the day…
Matthew Soffer, a 29-year-old rabbinical student from Philadelphia, was the rookie manager of a weak fantasy league baseball team until he turned to his faith and traded for a player of Jewish heritage. His chosen one was Ryan Braun, the Milwaukee Brewers slugger whose Israeli-born father is Jewish (but whose mother isn’t). “His bat is…
Sam E. Antar wants you to know up front: He’s no hero. The former chief financial officer of Crazy Eddie Inc. whose testimony helped convict his cousin, Eddie Antar, in 1993 takes an almost gleeful tone when confessing his sins. He lied. He committed fraud. He skimmed money. He misled investigators. And when he came…
If the Rev. Patrick Desbois is bothered by the glances from late-lunching tourists at a midtown Manhattan hotel café, he’s not letting it show. These Friday afternoon guests probably didn’t expect to hear about mass graves, murdered babies and Nazi killing machines over their cappuccinos and sandwiches. But Desbois, in a casual black shirt and…
When an article in a Swedish newspaper asserted that Israeli soldiers were snatching and killing Palestinian men to harvest their organs for transplant, Israelis reacted with outrage. To be certain, the most incendiary claims in the story, which was published August 17 in Sweden’s largest daily newspaper, the left-leaning Aftonbladet, are clearly false. There is…
A rare genetic disease that disproportionately afflicts Ashkenazic Jews is receiving a large and unprecedented infusion of research funding from the federal government. The National Institutes of Health on August 20 awarded a four-year grant of $3.5 million to the Tay-Sachs Gene Therapy Consortium, a group that is researching therapies for the disease. “It’s the…
In most respects, Fishkill Farms operates like any of the dozens of sustainable family farms that dot New York’s Hudson River Valley. Each morning, a team of workers heads out into the field to plant and prune back weeds, or tend to the farm’s 50 acres of fruit trees. Nearby, chickens busily peck at the…
A Google search linking black-eyed peas and Jews reveals a wide discussion about the Jewish roots of the popular hip-hop band (sadly, none) and a riff on Lenny Bruce’s Jewish vs. goyish shtick that peas are Jewish while black-eyed ones are goyish. But black-eyed peas are Jewish. Jews from both Syria and the American South…
Like many other people, this summer has been full of summer squash! It almost seems to be falling from the sky. I have made zucchini bread (and muffins), I also made these zucchini fritters (really just a summer latke). I just got some more zucchini and yellow squash in my CSA box and I really…
