Although Israel-based journalists are barred from publishing the particulars of the Azmi Bishara case, some details have been reported in Arab media outlets and in the blogosphere. One of the most explicit and seemingly reliable accounts appeared in the Tikun Olam Web site of Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein, who is a frequent critic of Israeli…
Internal critics of the umbrella organization widely viewed as the American Jewish community’s consensus voice on Middle East affairs are lauding the nominee to head the group. June Walker, national president of the women’s Zionist organization Hadassah, was tapped Monday to chair the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Walker, a veteran volunteer…
Matthew Bronfman, a candidate for the presidency of the scandal-plagued World Jewish Congress, resigned last week from the board of Israel Discount Bank’s New York branch. Bronfman’s April 13 resignation came after the bank commissioned a report to look at allegations of potential conflicts of interest in his work at the bank. While the report…
Yiddish actor David Rogow died April 17 in New York. He was 92. Born in Vilna, Rogow started performing in theatrical productions while attending the Real Gymnasium. He then went on to act in the troupe Davke and in the Yiddish marionette group Maidam. Rogow survived World War II in Russia; soon after the war,…
MoveOn.org has presidential contender John McCain in its sights, for a joke he made on Wednesday about bombing Iran, while stumping in South Carolina. (Right after that remark, McCain talked about the importance of defending Israel.) Here’s the link to the video on YouTube.
Is our religious consciousness enhanced when we attempt to make our sacred scriptures relevant to a contemporary mind, or when we accept and enter into their foreignness, and allow them to be “irrelevant,” ancient, and utterly new? This week’s “double portion” of Tazria/Metzora begs the question, with 59 verses about tzaraat (a skin disease similar…
Terror is stalking the streets of Jerusalem. It’s not the Palestinian brand. It’s the work of ultra-Orthodox extremists who have been, according to recent reports in the media, using and threatening violence against other ultra-Orthodox Jews whose religious observance strikes them as too lax. Known in Jerusalem’s Haredi community as “the sikrikin,” they recently burned…
For years, I’ve been obsessed with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. I don’t remember when I first heard about this event, which was New York City’s worst workplace disaster before 9/11. On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the factory’s eighth floor; 146 workers, most of them young Jewish and Italian girls, died….
Rock out and celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut with Heedoosh, a band started by Israeli brothers Yahav and Yaniv Tsaidi. Influenced by such groups as Stone Temple Pilots, Guns n’ Roses, Radiohead and the Ramones, Heedoosh mixes hard rock and Brit-pop with Hebrew lyrics and sacred text. The show is presented by KFAR Jewish Arts Center. Subterranean,…
Trial lawyer Mike Ciresi has jumped into the Senate race in Minnesota.
Franken: Norm Coleman has “Big Tobacco” and “Big Oil,” I have “Big Comedy.” See report on how Tom Hanks, Larry David, Jason Alexander, and other funny men come through for their buddy in Minnesota.
