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Gaza Rebuilding Sparks Contest Among Israel, Hamas and Palestinian Authority
Haifa, Israel — Hadas Balas is an unlikely rescue worker for Gaza. The 25-year-old Israeli student studies at Sapir Academic College in Sderot, an institution where classes are often interrupted by stints in bomb shelters. She has no experience in politics or nongovernmental organizations. And she has never been at all interested in the welfare…
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Mitchell’s First Visit All About Building Trust
Washington — Judging by the headlines in Israel’s daily tabloids, the first task of President Obama’s new Middle East envoy is earning the trust of the Israelis. “Before the elections: Mitchell is coming to pressure,” blared the lead front-page headline in Ma’ariv, referring to former Democratic Sen. George Mitchell, who arrived in Israel from Cairo January…
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On the London Stage, New Depiction Of Fagin Revives an Old Stereotype
London — He is one of the most infamous antisemitic caricatures of all time, a devious hook-nosed villain rivaled in stereotypical notoriety by only Shakespeare’s Shylock. Fagin, the Jewish street thief immortalized in print by Charles Dickens, has once again made a triumphant return to the stage in a new production of “Oliver!” the musical…
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Madoff’s Lawyer Plays Both Sides of the Court
There is perhaps no man in America as reviled and scrutinized as Bernard Madoff, the investor who has reportedly confessed to bilking investors out of some $50 billion. Hoards of photographers have made a habit of amassing outside his Upper East Side apartment building and the federal courthouse for his brief and occasional appearances. But…
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In Israel, Right Rising as Elections Approach
Haifa — With the war in Gaza over, Israel is gearing up for an internal battle — the February 10 general election. All parties put overt campaigning on hold during Operation Cast Lead, effectively shortening the campaign to three weeks. But this did not mean that the political map was in freeze frame during the…
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New House Energy Chief To Target Climate
Washington — When Rep. Henry Waxman of California won control of the chairmanship of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in November, he did so with the promise to make promoting alternative energy sources and combating global warming congressional priorities. Now, with President Obama putting energy high on his agenda, Waxman is sure to…
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Israel-Diaspora Partnership Threatened
The link between North America’s federated Jewish charities and the organization that built the State of Israel with their donations, the Jewish Agency for Israel, may be coming unglued. The Jewish Agency, founded in the 1920s as the operations arm of Theodor Herzl’s World Zionist Organization, today serves as Israel’s main immigration agency and as…
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L.A. Federation Chief Out Amid Big Changes
Los Angeles — In the midst of sweeping changes at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the charity’s long-serving president, John Fishel, is resigning. Fishel, 60, announced January 26 that he would step down as president of this city’s central Jewish charity when his contract expires at the end of December. He has served as…
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Rubashkin Granted Bail in Iowa
A federal judge has ruled that Sholom Rubashkin, former CEO of the embattled kosher meat giant Agriprocessors, should be released from jail on bail after Orthodox rabbis staged a campaign on his behalf. Judge Linda Reade of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa ordered Rubashkin’s release January 29, on the…
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Reeling in Hagiography
Compared with Anne Frank, her most obvious counterpart, Hannah Senesh is relatively unknown in America, but she is a hero of saintly proportions in Israel and in the Zionist youth movement. “Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh,” a recently released documentary film directed by Roberta Grossman, seeks to change this….
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Bar Mitzvah Planning (Or Not)
Every time I think about my son Max’s upcoming bar mitzvah, I temporarily freeze. My brain just locks up as I try to wrap it around the concept of putting together a fancy-shmancy shindig for hundreds and hundreds of people. It’s not that I don’t want Max to have a good time. It’s just the…
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