Is it possible that the vibrations of New York City’s subway lines could be an unforeseen new contribution to winemaking? “There’s been no scientific research about the consequences of vibrations on winemaking,” said David Lecomte, head winemaker at City Winery, as we sat in the basement conference room of the new winery and concert venue…
Although the Pentagon recently decided against awarding the Purple Heart to veterans suffering psychological trauma as a result of war, America has come a long way in acknowledging the prevalence of mental distress — whatever its source — and embracing psychotherapy as a treatment. The evolution of the so-called talking cure during the second half…
Senior officials in the Obama administration have reached out to Jewish leaders in an attempt to address the community’s concerns regarding the upcoming United Nations’s World Conference Against Racism, scheduled to take place in April. Israel and American Jewish groups have been uneasy with the possibility that the U.S. might attend the conference, commonly known…
After counter-demonstrators critical of Israel interrupted a recent pro-Israel rally in Malmo, Sweden, the Jewish community held a second rally last week. The follow-up gathering was a bold challenge not only to the community’s increasingly vocal pro-Palestinian neighbors, but also to a perceived rise in anti-Israel sentiment in the Swedish media and government and in…
Washington — As a candidate, Barack Obama vowed to reform President Bush’s faith-based social services initiative — in particular Bush’s endorsement of the right of religious groups to discriminate in hiring members of their own groups in programs receiving federal funds under this program. But as president, Obama backtracked on that promise February 6, when…
National Jewish leaders have pulled back on their long-standing campaign against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides humanitarian services for Palestinian refugees — an early sign of caution in confronting a new administration, and of Congress’s determination reshape the country’s stance toward the U.N. more favorably. The Jewish leaders’ push to reform…
AUTHOR ERICA JONG AT CHARLOTTE WHITE’S SALON DE VIRTUOSI CONCERT Several years ago, during my first lunch with Charlotte White, founder of Salon De Virtuosi, she told me: “My father and grandfather began each day with the Forverts, and my mother loved A Bintel Brief.” We were at the Regency Hotel, and a stack of…
Washington — Publicly, the administration of President Obama has pledged to “hit the ground running” in reviving Middle East diplomacy. But the indecisive results of Israel’s elections have provided the White House with breathing room it actually welcomes. Israel is now in a political limbo that could last as long as two months, a time…
Conservative Judaism, the centrist denomination that once dominated American Jewish religious life, faces a crucial juncture this spring in its quest to halt a lingering decline. The United Synagogue, the movement’s congregational arm, is set to hire a new executive officer, completing a wholesale generational change of guard in Conservative Judaism’s three major institutions. The…
As American Jewish leaders headed off to Rome for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on February 12, there was no doubt about what was at the top of their agenda. Just eight days earlier, in the face of public protests from world Jewry, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 50 Catholic members of Congress and even…
Washington — Still roiling from the desecration of a Caracas synagogue, Venezuela’s small Jewish community is trying to make sense of the conflicting messages it is getting from the Chavez government. On one hand, the country’s leader, facing international criticism and pressure from Jewish leaders worldwide, has renounced antisemitism and moved quickly to make arrests…
