In 1897, two New York policemen disrupted a public ceremony marking the Blessing of the Sun and dragged a rabbi down to court for failing to have a permit. More than a century later, on the opposite coast, government officials are not only giving a similar ceremony their blessing — they are also putting money…
After months of relative passivity, Egypt effectively declared war in mid-April on Iranian-backed terrorist groups operating in its backyard, executing an unprecedented wave of arrests of alleged terrorists, smugglers and arms-makers linked to Hezbollah and Hamas. In the most dramatic action, Cairo announced April 8 that it had arrested 25 Egyptian, Lebanese, Sudanese and Palestinian…
Josie wails, “I hate flute! I won’t play Takahashi Twinkle!” She hurls herself onto the couch, swanning and weeping like Sarah Bernhardt. What do you do when you want your kid to do a given afterschool activity — whether it’s chess club, music, sports or religious school — and she doesn’t want to do it?…
On March 7, 22-year-old Jake Berkowitz set out from Anchorage, Alaska, on the 2009 Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race, with 16 dogs and a steely resolve. Twelve days later, he triumphantly crossed the finish line in Nome. Coming in 31st out of 67 competitors, Berkowitz shattered his 65th placing from his first race last year….
So we only have a few days left of Pesach… and I happen to be quite happy about this! It’s not that I don’t understand Pesach or why we don’t eat leavened things – I do. I actually think the story of Pesach reminds us, as Jews, of some important lessons. The reminder that I…
Rarely has so much political interest been focused on a single piece of furniture. The extra table now standing in the Knesset chamber has come to symbolize Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, a supersized — and poorly constructed — behemoth. In fact, wags note, the table is more solidly built than the government that will sit…
When former president Bill Clinton officially opens the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center later this month, the village of Skokie will stake its claim on history. Holocaust history, to be sure, but also — and perhaps more significantly — as the place where the seeds of the Holocaust education movement in the United States…
In a seeming departure from centuries-old traditions of American Jewish skepticism, interest in spirituality is markedly on the rise among Jewish young adults, according to a study released this month. The study’s authors note the trend with cautious optimism, suggesting that heightened spiritual interest might provide a “route to Jewish engagement” and “broaden Judaism’s appeal”…
In Hollywood, Israeli actresses are stealing the show. No fewer than three Israeli starlets will be appearing in major American studio releases over the next month, while others are scooping up roles on television shows and in theater productions. Ayelet Zurer plays the female lead in the forthcoming “Da Vinci Code” sequel, “Angels & Demons,”…
A fundraising letter that was distributed by JTA and seemed to disparage bloggers and other online commentators has prompted quick backpedaling from JTA officials, demonstrating anew the perils of offending the Jewish blogosphere. The kerfuffle began April 3 when fundraisers sent out an e-mail from JTA President Elisa Spungen Bildner, asking for donations to help…
The Jewish community’s most vocal proponent of stricter immigration policies is accusing a national Jewish group of leading a “McCarthyite effort” to silence him. Stephen Steinlight, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies, leveled the charge upon discovering that the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society had e-mailed Jewish newspapers alleging that his organization…
