Haifa, Israel — Just after 5 p.m. on January 16, Israeli Channel 10 News correspondent Shlomi Eldar answered his cell phone during a live broadcast — a phone ringing so incessantly, he suspected the call was urgent. It was Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Gaza physician well known throughout Israel’s medical community. Abuelaish had been providing many…
During past presidential transitions, when pardons were in the air, many Orthodox Jewish activists set their sights on securing a pardon for Jonathan Pollard, imprisoned since 1987 on charges of spying for Israel. This year, though, members of the Orthodox community had another jailed cause célèbre to focus on: Sholom Rubashkin. Rubashkin, former CEO of…
Paris — For two weekends in a row, as Israel’s operation in Gaza raged, the flags of Hezbollah and Hamas flew in street demonstrations in Paris and other French cities. During the recent violence, antisemitic incidents rose to levels that have not been seen in France since the second Intifadah in 2000 and again when…
Tel Aviv, Israel — At first glance, the scene in central Tel Aviv the morning after Israel announced it was halting its military drive against Hamas in Gaza looked like one of celebration. Young men were stopping traffic to sell flags for drivers to clip on to their windows — an annual ritual that is…
Washington — The 2009 Jewish Community Inaugural Reception wasn’t a black-tie event. There was no dancing, and only a few traditional boldfaced names were spotted in the crowd. On the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration, Jewish communal professionals and politicians celebrated the historic transfer of power by talking politics. For organizational activists and those commonly…
Last winter, the Forward adjusted its printing schedule to try to better serve our readers. Now we are able to further upgrade our service while providing a newspaper that is even fresher, more lively and always original. Beginning with this issue, the Forward moves up its publication schedule by one day, closing late afternoon on…
Rabbi Capers Funnye, Jr., a cousin of First Lady Michelle Obama, is calling on President Obama to make Middle East peace “a top priority” of his administration. Funnye appears with a handful of other rabbis in a five-minute video, created before the inauguration by the organization Brit Tzedek v’Shalom – Jewish Alliance for Justice &…
The recipe for a documentary on the history of 20th-century American humor is simple. Begin with such Jewish pioneers as the Marx Brothers, Gertrude Berg and Lenny Bruce. Mix in the Three Stooges, Jerry Lewis and Jon Stewart. Add a dollop of Billy Crystal as the host. Then sprinkle in a few non-Jewish greats: Charlie…
Maxine, at just-turned-4, is in a superhero phase. This despite the fact that the only superhero she’s actually seen is WordGirl (the vocabulary-building crime-fighter from the planet Lexicon) on PBS. Both Max and her big sister, Josie, love the show; for Halloween, they dressed as WordGirl and her chimp sidekick, Captain Huggyface. (Guess who had…
The main Modern Orthodox rabbinical association says a prominent member violated its rules by participating in the National Prayer Service. A Rabbinical Council of America official told JTA that Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, the religious leader of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York City, broke the organization’s rules by participating in the service Wednesday at the…
Washington — The 2009 Jewish Community Inaugural Reception wasn’t a black-tie event. There was no dancing and only a few traditional boldfaced names were spotted in the crowd. On the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration, Jewish communal professionals and politicians celebrated the historic transfer of power by talking politics. For organizational activists and those commonly…
