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Israel Stuck Between a Rocket and a Hard Place
Jerusalem – The only thing separating Israel from an invasion of Gaza — a full-scale assault that its political leadership does not want to launch and its military commanders are reluctant to wage — is the notorious inaccuracy of the makeshift Qassam rocket. “If a Qassam falls on a kindergarten, a school or even a…
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Top Rabbi Calls for Leaders To Stay Out of Campaign Fight
As the leader of the country’s largest synagogue movement, the Union for Reform Judaism’s Rabbi Eric Yoffie normally tries to stay out of partisan politics. But in recent months, as presidential contender Barack Obama has been subjected to a wave of public criticism from segments of the Jewish community, Yoffie has found himself increasingly distressed…
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L.A.’s Latino Mayor Welcomed as One of the Tribe
Los Angeles – When Israel launches its 60th anniversary celebrations across America, the Los Angeles ceremony will be led not by one of this city’s many boldface-named Jews but by its Mexican-American mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa. The choice is unsurprising to those familiar with the 55-year-old politician, who enjoys an unusually strong connection to Jews and…
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Terror Victims Lobby Bush Over Lawsuits
Washington – Fearing a sudden change in American policy, Jewish victims of Palestinian terrorism are lobbying the Bush administration and Congress to ensure the enforcement of lawsuits against the Palestinian Authority that award them compensation. The intense lobbying effort comes amid signs of a shift in the position of the Bush administration, which so far…
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Peace Negotiator Who Advised Obama Campaign Strikes Back at Critics
Washington – One of the foreign-policy experts who has advised Barack Obama’s campaign on Middle East issues is striking out against critics who have used him to criticize the Illinois senator’s views on Israel. Robert Malley, a former special assistant to President Bill Clinton on Arab-Israeli affairs, told the Forward that the attacks on him…
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Jerusalem To Allow Secular Burials
Jerusalem – Lior Brand, a Tel Aviv businessman in his thirties, has some ideas about death — specifically, his own. “I don’t lead a religious life, and neither do my parents or my wife, but we like ceremony,” Brand said. “I want a ceremony that reflects the way I lead my life. I feel as…
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Hezbollah Threats Put Jews on Alert
Washington – Jewish communities worldwide went on heightened alert this week, following threats by Hezbollah to avenge the assassination last week of Imad Mugniyah, a longtime senior leader of the terrorist group. In the United States, the FBI sent out alerts to field offices and law enforcement agencies nationwide to increase awareness of the heightened…
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Imprisoned in India, But Not Forgotten in Canada
Toronto – The imprisonment of a Canadian Jewish businessman in India has become a surprising cause celebre for the leaders of Montreal’s Jewish community. The imprisoned man is Saul Itzhayek, who has both Canadian and Israeli citizenship. Itzhayek was convicted and sentenced to three years last May for entering India from Nepal with an expired…
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William Berkowitz, 83, Leading New York Rabbi
Rabbi William Berkowitz, a longtime spiritual leader of a major New York City synagogue, died February 3. He was 83. Berkowitz served as senior rabbi at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun between 1950 and 1984. He was also well-known for creating the Dialogue Forum, an innovative series of public conversations with such figures as Martin Luther King,…
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Revolution on Stage
The Moscow Yiddish Theater: Art on Stage in the Time of Revolution By Benjamin Harshav, translated by Benjamin Harshav and Barbara Harshav Yale University Press, 248 pages, $45. In 1992, the Guggenheim Museum collaborated with scholar Benjamin Harshav on an exhibit of Marc Chagall’s legendary set designs for the Moscow State Yiddish Art Theater, known…
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Curious Linguists
You don’t have to be Spanish to study Spanish. You don’t have to be Chinese to study Chinese. But, do you have to be Jewish to study Yiddish? “It has come up in class at the National Yiddish Book Center,” said Amanda Lineweber, an 18-year-old Smith College student. “People think if there is no cultural…
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