Jerusalem – Amjad Alayan is Israeli television’s first Arab sitcom hero — a term applied loosely here, since the bespectacled Amjad is, well, a nebbish. Think George Costanza of “Seinfeld” fame with an Arabic twist. Amjad appears on Israel’s Channel 2 every Saturday night in “Arab Labor,” which is the first prime-time program featuring Arab…
Last week, Hillel’s president announced the completion of a guide that aims to help its staff members welcome “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning” students. The 186-page resource was written and edited by a largely gay-and-lesbian-identified group of Hillel professionals, several of whom have been discreetly meeting for years. This is their most concerted…
Los Angeles – At a recent debate over which party should receive the Orthodox Jewish vote, the strongest Democratic Party defender was a man who once headed up Democrats for Richard Nixon and later supported former Republican senator Alfonse D’Amato. The debate, held here at the Orthodox Union’s West Coast Torah Convention, pitted Democrat David…
A chief rabbi of the Spinka ultra-Orthodox sect and his aide were indicted in California last week for using their synagogues to launder money. Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Weisz was arrested in Los Angeles along with his top aide, Moshe Zigelman, for what the U.S. Attorney’s Office describes as a “sophisticated tax fraud and money laundering…
A medical clinic in Ethiopia that emerged as an icon of the Jewish rescue effort in the country will close its doors next month, leading relief organizations to wonder about the future of those who remain in the country. The clinic, which was set up in 1990, emerged as the de facto capital of the…
According to the London-based Saatchi Gallery’s Web site, painter Freddie Linsky, who has recently shown in Boston and in West Palm Beach, Fla., has dedicated his “whole life” to his art and is a “familiar face” at press viewings held at London’s major galleries. But though Saatchi’s mission is to present work by “largely unseen…
In addiction, the first step is admitting you have a problem. And Josie has a problem. She’s jonesing for Toontown. Toontown is an online multi-player game. The Toons, cute animated creatures, struggle to defend Toontown from the Cogs, soulless corporate robots in boxy business suits trying to turn the colorful town into a dreary gray…
ISRAELI-BORN FILMMAKER OFRA BIKEL HONORED WITH CHANCELLOR AWARD “Journalism is our first line of defense against those who will spread lies,” said Alan Brinkley, Columbia University’s provost, at the November 13 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism dinner. Brinkley was quoting none other than the late NBC News anchor Chancellor. The black-tie event honored…
Washington – As Israel stepped up air attacks on Gaza this week, the Bush administration refrained from blocking any measures or criticizing Israel’s activity. The Israeli Air Force last week renewed the practice known as “targeted killing” against members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Gaza. Israeli officials have said in recent weeks that…
A rural community described as “far away from everywhere,” Cairo, Ill., boasts 40 churches, 40 blocks and fewer than 4,000 people — and as of earlier this month, it also has 55 brand-new Jews. Dozens of Cairo’s residents — all African American and ranging from toddler to senior citizen — visited a mikveh in Memphis,…
Cairo, Egypt – The American University in Cairo is a neatly landscaped stronghold of Egypt’s ruling elite, the alma mater of the wife and children of the country’s autocratic and deeply unpopular president, Hosni Mubarak. As a symbol of the ruling class and its close ties to the United States, the university has long been…
