In an uncertain legal climate created by a rightward shift on the Supreme Court, Jewish groups are grappling with how hard to push back against decisions favoring a lower wall between church and state. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed April 17, a coalition of advocates is fighting back against a Detroit program that distributed beautification…
As Cleveland’s Jewish federation ponders a move to the suburbs, a group of civic activists is urging the organization’s board to keep its headquarters downtown. A loose coalition of players in Cleveland’s Jewish and civic life will meet with the board of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland this week and urge it not to…
Washington – Legislation aimed at preventing discrimination against carriers of illness-causing genes was expected to pass in the Senate April 24, ending a 13-year-long congressional standoff. Jewish groups have played an active role in pushing for the bill, a reflection of the issue’s importance for Jews. Jewish women have been at the center of the…
The arrest this week of an elderly American Jew on charges of spying for Israel appears to have put a serious dent in recent efforts to win a pardon for another American Jew in jail on similar charges. There has recently been a surge in activity surrounding the case of Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S….
Washington – While taken by surprise by the Ben-Ami Kadish spy scandal, Israeli officials remained confident this week that the affair will not have a chilling effect on the strong political and defense ties the two countries share. Israeli officials in Jerusalem and Washington said this week that the dialogue with the United States over…
A new exhibit at the largest museum in New Jersey, The Newark Museum, presents a side of Israeli art rarely seen outside the country. The show, titled Women’s Tales: Four Leading Israeli Jewelers, contains the work of several of Israel’s pre-eminent contemporary jewelry makers, whose designs explore themes of living as a woman in Israel….
They don’t bang their shoes at the United Nations or prematurely declare peace for our time, but with those fortunate exceptions, the Israeli diplomats described in Gregory Levey’s debut memoir appear capable of just about anything. There’s the memorable scene — unforgettable, really — in which the country’s foreign minister conducts a high-level strategy meeting…
It’s Saturday night in Jerusalem’s Talbieh neighborhood, and a crowd of 50 is gathered to hear Matt Bar rap about the Bible. The lanky Iowa City native has achieved a kind of celebrity among young Anglos in Jerusalem with his Bible Raps project, a phenomenon he’s hoping to repeat this summer when he travels to…
Arthur Schwartz’s main kitchen was packed. It did not seem like an unusual occurrence. On this particular day, a neighbor came over, searching for challah tips, and his housekeeper polished a set of antique brass pans. In the background, his assistant whipped up a prolific number of apple cakes for a lecture taking place the…
Hilarity might not be the most obvious feature of the Ethiopian Jewish community’s arduous migration to Israel, but playwright Yossi Vassa has not only made that trek as a child, he also has a background in stand-up comedy. In “One of a Kind,” a play that Vassa co-wrote with Shai Ben Attar about his family’s…
Washington — The arrest this past week of a retired Army engineer is refocusing attention on claims in Washington that Jonathan Pollard was not the only Israeli spy planted in the American military. Ben-Ami Kadish, 84, was released on bond April 22 and is back at his home in The Ponds retirement community in Monroe…
