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News
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UJC’s Future at Stake as Local Charities Call for Dramatic Cuts
United Jewish Communities, the national association of federated Jewish charities, is facing calls from a host of federation leaders for drastic cuts in next year’s budget. A combination of tough economic times and widespread dissatisfaction with UJC has led to the calls for change. At least one proposal would strip the national organization down to…
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Muslim Congressman Walks a Tightrope, And Manages To Keep His Balance
“Did you lose your family, brother?” Rep. Keith Ellison asked as he gently touched the arm of the young Palestinian standing outside the ruins of what was his Gaza home. After hearing that the man had lost both his parents, Ellison promised, “We’ll go back and tell them what we saw.” The exchange was caught…
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Guyana Leader Was Always Her Own (Jewish) Woman
CORRECTION APPENDED One of the most colorful chapters in American Jewish history ended on March 28, with the death, at age 88, of Janet Jagan, former president of the South American country of Guyana. Born Janet Rosenberg in Chicago in 1920, she was one of only three Jewish women ever to lead a modern nation….
The Latest
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At a KinkyJews Seder, Pharoah Isn’t the Only One With the Whip
Forget the bitter herbs. When about 100 Jews gather in Brooklyn on April 5 for a pre-Passover Seder, they will pay homage to their enslaved ancestors not with the traditional sinus-clearing horseradish, but by spanking each other with wands of chocolate licorice. They will recount the story of Passover with a liberal dose of double…
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Politics And History Pollute Palestinian View of Shoah
Strings of Freedom, the Palestinian youth orchestra from Jenin, has been silenced; its instruments confiscated, its rehearsal space sealed, its director barred from the West Bank refugee camp because she took the teens to play for elderly Israelis on a day designated for kindness. The attempt to do something positive across boundaries of nationality, religion…
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Pesach Kitniyot Rebels Roil Rabbis As Some Ashkenazim Follow New, Permissive Ruling
In Tel Aviv, shortly before Passover, David Cohen was mulling over his holiday menu. “I’m thinking of making sushi,” he said. His plan reflects more than just growing Israeli enthusiasm for Japanese food; it reflects a new polarization on one of the most controversial of Passover-related issues — kitniyot. Cohen, a beer brewer in his…
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Religious Leaders Avert Death Certificate Delays
Bowing to pressure from Jewish and Muslim leaders who warned that funerals could be delayed, state lawmakers have tentatively agreed to reject proposed budget cuts that would have drastically reduced funding for medical examiners across New York. Both faiths require speedy burials — within a day of death, if not sooner. New York City’s medical…
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Satmar-Backed Abuse Bill Excludes Many Adults
At the urging of the Catholic Church and some Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish leaders, the state legislature has given new life to a bill to address child sexual abuse considered weaker than one favored by groups representing sexual abuse survivors. The competition between the two bills is small potatoes in a state Capitol wrangling with a…
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Michael Bloomberg Honored
“OZ ELLIOTT,” WHO HELPED SAVE THE CITY, HONORED AT NEW YORKER FOR NEW YORK GALA “It was Seders at the Safers’ and Christmas at the Ozes’,” said “60 Minutes” correspondent Morley Safer, remembering the Citizens Committee for New York City’s founder, Osborn “Oz” Elliott, at the committee’s February 24 New Yorker for New York Awards…
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The Best in Baseball
The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball’s Chosen Players By Howard Megdal HarperCollins, 320 pages, $22.99. For Jewish fans, searching for Jewish players in Major League Baseball is one of the rites of spring and summer. Discoveries bolster ethnic pride — think of the news that Boston Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis, nicknamed…
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Musical Motherhood
If you live in or near New York, get over to the DR2 Theater to see “Dear Edwina” before it closes on April 19. “Dear Edwina” is a musical for kids about manners, but it’s also charming, tuneful entertainment that will not make adults want to drive spikes into their own ears. It is so…
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