Professors at Columbia University have been mum over the abrupt resignation last month of Michael Stanislawski as director of the school’s Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, an umbrella for scholars anchored in other departments. Stanislawski declined to comment on his change in status at the institute, which was established in 2005 in part to…
ZOA Accuses ADL The campus of the University of California at Irvine, long a breeding ground for controversy and anti-Israel activism, has stirred up another fight — this time between a pair of Jewish organizations. Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, has sent a scolding letter to Abraham Foxman, national director of…
The Scroll of Esther is getting a makeover from some kids in Pennsylvania, a Reconstructionist scribe and a computer graphics program. Congregation Or Hadash, a small Reconstructionist synagogue located in the Philadelphia suburb Fort Washington, has commissioned a sofer to create a megillah that incorporates drawings by students in its religious school. The scribe, Rabbi…
Stars of the Great White Way inject humor and spunk into the ancient story of Esther in the fourth annual Broadway Purim Shpiel. The performance features Skylar Astin of “Spring Awakening,” Heather Spore of “Wicked,” Iris Bahr of “Dai (Enough),” Kenita Miller of “Xanadu” and Richard Kind of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” The show is…
Kimya Dawson is the top-selling artist in America! I admit I didn’t see it coming. The last band I knew before it was famous (you know… when it was really cool) was the White Stripes, which my friend Adam saw perform on his college campus. I’d forgotten what this feels like — this sense that…
Actor Josh Radnor is glad to be back at work. During the recent writers’ strike, production of his CBS show, “How I Met Your Mother,” was shut down for three months, along with nearly every other scripted television series. Now taping again and in its third season, the sitcom isn’t quite a runaway hit, nor…
Count on Middle Eastern politics to turn what is billed as a French fair into a political slugfest. The Paris book fair, one of the major events on the European literary calendar, opened March 14, with Israel as the “guest of honor.” The focus led a number of Arab states to boycott the festival. “Iran…
Washington – As the battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton continues, Obama has worked to win the endorsements of former American diplomats in the Middle East in an effort to strengthen his pro-Israel credentials. Obama was successful in landing the support of Daniel Kurtzer, a former ambassador to Israel, who is considered to be…
During a year with many high-profile antisemitic attacks, the overall number of antisemitic incidents in the United States declined for the third year in a row, according to a report released March 5 by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL counted 1,357 antisemitic incidents in the United States last year, compared with 1,554 in 2006 —…
In an election year dominated by the issue of race in the presidential campaign, a Jewish congressman from Memphis, Tenn., is crying foul over the reluctance of his African American colleagues to lend a hand to his re-election bid. Freshman Rep. Steve Cohen — one of a handful of white lawmakers to represent a majority-black…
Beersheba, Israel – Atypically for Israel, Anat Weinstein-Berkowitz is dressed so smartly that she would fit in comfortably at any Wall Street law firm. Except for her sneakers. She traded her high heels for flats earlier this week, after Ashkelon, where she is municipal spokeswoman, became the newest target for Hamas rockets. “I can run…
