Over the past few years, some congregations in New York City have put a new spin on the old song “Dancing in the Street” as they celebrate Simchat Torah, the annual completion and recommencement of the cycle of reading the Torah. The festival, which this year begins October 4 at sundown, is observed amid much…
“THE RAPE OF EUROPA”: A MUST-SEE FILM “The Rape of Europa” (based on the eponymous book by Lynn Nicholas) is a film that needs to be seen by every high school student, college student, history teacher, history buff, art teacher and museumgoer worldwide. It is not about the famous allegorical painting by Titian (1487-1576); it’s…
Washington – As Israel and the United States struggle to maintain a veil of ambiguity over Israel’s alleged air strike against Syria earlier this month, Congress is bringing the issue out into the open and giving American sanction to an event that now seems all but confirmed. Democrat Robert Wexler from Florida introduced a resolution…
In a bid to create the largest institution for Judaic research outside of the State of Israel, New York University is seeking to combine forces with the long-beleaguered Center for Jewish History. A written proposal — developed by officials at NYU and slated for delivery to the center this week — envisions a merger between…
Under ordinary circumstances, Jews and Muslims sitting down to eat a ceremonial meal together would make for a notable achievement. But when an interfaith group sat down for dinner in Fayetteville, Ark., last Saturday — the Jews, to break the Yom Kippur fast; the Muslims, to mark the end of the 10th day of Ramadan…
Paris – A French judge reignited a long-running controversy last week over the coverage of the shooting of Mohammed al-Dura, a Palestinian boy whose televised death in 2000 became an iconic image of Israeli brutality and a rallying cry across the Middle East. Judge Laurence Trébucq ordered France 2, a French television network that aired…
While most of the Jewish world was protesting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York, at least one Jewish group, albeit an outcast one, invited the leader for a private meeting. The most extreme faction of Neturei Karta, an ultra-Orthodox sect that believes the State of Israel to be illegitimate, had a personal meeting…
Sam Hopkins, aka DJ Balagan (Balagan is Hebrew for tumult), is a mixer, drummer and producer. His newest album, “Funny Accent,” is a mix tape in the most classic sense. Rather than simply sample older songs for his own aggrandizement, Hopkins removes himself from the process — acting more like a museum curator than an…
While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was grabbing the spotlight this week at the United Nations’ General Assembly, Western diplomats were warning behind the scenes that they will circumvent the world body in order to economically pressure Tehran to halt its nuclear weapons program. European officials in particular have ratcheted up their rhetoric in recent weeks,…
Los Angeles – While most Los Angeles Jews gathered for the annual Kol Nidre service in synagogues far removed from any hint of the city’s crime-addled underbelly, a tiny swath of Angelenos could be found praying for absolution in the very place where sins abound. Situated on the Venice Beach boardwalk — known since the…
Latinos Invtited to Shul Fifty-five pastors from Latino evangelical churches all over Southern California traveled to Los Angeles’s swank Sinai Temple to symbolically celebrate the harvest festival of Sukkot. The event was much more than a multicultural waving of the lulav, the traditional palm fronds that mark the holiday. Israel’s local consul general, Ehud Danoch,…
דער מחבר איז אַן אַמעריקאַנער־געבוירענער ייִדיש־אַקטיוויסט, פּאָעט און איבערזעצער אין בערלין.
