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Swaths of Color at Brain Trauma Gala
MAHARAJA TURNS HEADS AT BRAIN INJURY GALA TO AID VICTIMS WORLDWIDE It was glitz, pageantry and royalty in service of lifesaving at the March 7 Royal Rajasthan Gala to benefit the Brain Trauma Foundation. With sitar players and drummers providing background music, the event’s general chairman, His Highness Maharaja Gajsingh II of Marwar-Jodhpur, in a…
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Billionaire Boychiks Battle for Media Empire
When Sam Zell, a Chicago real estate mogul and soon-to-be media magnate, was a junior counselor at a Jewish summer camp, he regularly transfixed his campers with tales of his family’s escape from Nazi-occupied Poland. The Zell family traveled through Russia and Japan, pretending to be tourists at the Bolshoi Ballet so as not to…
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‘Bell Curve’ Scribe Mulls Roots of Jews’ Brainpower
One of the most controversial and influential public intellectuals in American life is weighing in with a new theory on the roots of Jewish intelligence. Charles Murray, famous for “The Bell Curve,” his book on the racial basis of intelligence, has published an article in this month’s Commentary, titled “Jewish Genius.” In the essay, Murray…
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For Many Palestinians, Right of Return Is Primarily Theoretical
Hussein Refugee Camp, Amman, Jordan – With spiky hair propped up by loads of gel, and a goatee with shaved vertical strips, Khaled Jamal would make a hip hair stylist in any Western metropolis. But Jamal, 22, is a Palestinian refugee, born in Amman to a family from Jaffa and Kafr ’Ana. His life centers…
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Anachronistic Ideas on the Military, Immigration Retain Surprising Power in Israel
Jared Diamond, author of the best-selling book “Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed,” could gain some sad satisfaction by reading Israeli news in recent days, especially if he reads between the lines. One of his central warnings keeps getting confirmed — for instance, by the report that the Israeli military plans to clamp…
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Bible-class Bill Debated — on Passover
When Texas lawmakers publicly vetted a bill last week that would mandate Bible classes in the state’s public schools, one group was conspicuously absent: Jewish parents and community leaders, who were celebrating the first day of Passover. On April 3, the Texas House Public Education Committee met to consider a controversial measure that would require…
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Saudis Push Peace Plan at Summit, With Israeli Reporter Present
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – The officials of the Saudi information ministry who waited for us in the royal terminal of the international airport in Riyadh had but one duty: to see to it that we received as quickly and easily as possible our entry visas for the summit of the Arab League, which was due…
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Charity Chiefs Propose Restructuring Agency
The heads of United Jewish Communities, the troubled umbrella organization of American Jewish federated charities, dropped a bombshell on their officers and constituents this month in the form of a sweeping and largely unexpected plan for restructuring the flagging organization. The plan, laid out in a strategy paper that has only recently begun to circulate…
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Baking Challah In Order To Put Bread on the Table
Almost every self-employed person has financial ups and downs. For me, last year was one of the downs — not a calamity, but business was slow. And when you have the expenses that come with a young and growing family, it’s easy to be concerned. I was concerned. As Judaism teaches in such circumstances, to…
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Democratic Contenders at NJDC
All six major Democratic contenders – Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Richardson, Biden and Dodd – will be on hand at the National Jewish Democratic Council policy conference to be held April 23-25 in Washington, D.C.
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Ordaining Gay Men and Women
The portion of Shemini details laws of animal sacrifice and of kashrut. Without a Temple, we no longer bring God animal offerings. As a result of rabbinic interpretation, we now observe many more rules of kashrut than those written in the Torah. Over time, Jewish practice sometimes expands and sometimes contracts. For what reason? One…
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