Seven Yemeni Jews, refugees from the heightened tensions in their homeland, have arrived in New York and begun settling into new lives amid the Orthodox community in Monsey. They are the first wave of what could be as many as 113 Yemeni Jews who are expected to immigrate to the United States, some as early…
A coveted invitation to meet with President Obama at the White House was extended to the leaders of 14 Jewish groups, including many of the expected mainstream organizations and two surprises: the dovish J Street and Americans for Peace Now. Just as notable was the list of groups that did not receive invitations to the…
Oh, the poor, humble pickle. Whether lying next to a hamburger or slipped as an afterthought into tuna salad, pickles routinely play second fiddle in American cuisine. Of course, with its greenish complexion and homely bumps, the fermented cucumber hardly qualifies as leading lady material. Still, something feels amiss when the pickle is not around….
Ellen Frankel, CEO and editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society, has labored for the better part of her career to make Jewish traditional texts more palatable to a general audience. The new “JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible” — a hybrid of JPS’s modern translation, along with Frankel’s reinterpretations of words and phrases that were archaic, awkward…
CELEBRATING THEODORE BIKEL’S 85TH BIRTHDAY AT CARNEGIE HALL “Whenever I’m asked what I’d like for a birthday present,” actor, singer and activist Theodore Bikel said, “I am quick to say, an evening with friends. A party where we will make music.” And that’s just what Theo, as his friends call him, got on June 15…
Manus Gass of River Edge, N.J., writes: “Reading about Michelle Obama’s cousin, Rabbi Capers Funnye, stirred a recollection of a Russian Jewish word that I believe referred to the Tsar: ‘Fonye.’ If I remember correctly, it was sometimes followed by *ganef, *thief. Could you let me know whether such a word or phrase really exists?”…
Call me old-fashioned, but I always thought flowers were for vases – not plates. Oh, sure, I read the articles showing a cheerful chef tossing a nasturtium blossom on a pile of lettuce. Surely a tasteless bid for attention, I sniffed. A recent web search for organic pest riddance has given me a new taste…
Forward contributor Micah Kelber and Forward intern Nadja Spiegelman recently attended a naturalization ceremony in New York City. Among the 150 people who took an oath of allegiance to America there was Israeli-born Shlomit Levav, who shared her feelings about emigrating from the Jewish State.
President Barack Obama sought Monday to address Jewish concerns that his administration is applying uneven pressure on Israel, reassuring Jewish leaders of his commitment to demanding that all sides in the Middle East peace process live up to their obligations. In a White House meeting with top leaders from a diverse array of Jewish groups,…
NEWS ITEM: For the first time in its long history, the British parliament elected a Jewish speaker of the House of Commons. He is John Bercow, 46, the son of a taxi driver. The leader of Bercow’s Conservative Party, David Cameron, hailed the historic occasion: “I would also like to put on record an historical…
Fresh, local green beans should be here any day, now – but when they aren’t available, I rely on the frozen ones from Trader Joe’s. I like that TJ’s haricots verts are less waterlogged than many other brands of frozen green bean, and I appreciate the way each bean seems to have been individually frozen…
