Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert raised eyebrows this week when he praised America’s war in Iraq as a “great operation” that brought stability to the Middle East. Olmert made his remarks Monday during a White House press conference with President Bush, before heading to Los Angeles to speak at a major gathering of thousands of…
Israelis had mixed reactions to the Democratic landslide in America’s elections last week. Jews were largely apathetic, yet many Arabs followed them closely, hoping that the results would bring a change to American policies in the Middle East. Hani Smadar, 25, a cashier at a Jerusalem supermarket, didn’t even know about the elections: “I’ll tell…
In the first post-election battle between the Bush administration and the Democrats, the Jewish community is standing behind the president as he pushes the candidacy of John Bolton for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Despite the declared hostility of Democrats and several moderate Republicans, the White House has formally put forth the reappointment of…
A gay Jewish San Francisco lawmaker was re-elected, following a controversy over his decision to have a baby with a lesbian co-parent. On November 7, voters in California’s heavily gay Castro, Glen Park and Noe Valley areas gave Bevan Dufty another four-year term on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Dufty became a father on…
Danny Meyer won’t be cooking this Thanksgiving. When the Forward visited Meyer in Manhattan at his Union Square offices to ask the great restaurateur how to prepare for a Thanksgiving party, his answer was: “Spend the week before just loving each other. By the time [Thanksgiving comes], the warmth in your house will be palpable.”…
When I was 5, I decided to try woodcarving. So I grabbed a knife and went to town on the antique sideboard my mother had painstakingly stripped and refinished herself. I was no dummy; instead of carving my own name, I scratched out “ANDY” — my brother’s name. Hours later, when the knife was safely…
Jews spend a great deal of time sitting around dining room tables, and many of us have distinct memories associated with the dinnerware and cookware of our families. An exhibit, Beyond the Set Table, asks the question: How many ways can one set a Jewish table? The exhibit includes plates from the Temple Judea Museum…
‘Your parents bought us burial plots beside theirs?” Cassie brings hand to face in disbelief. “Without asking us first? Who buys someone burial plots without asking first?” “You know how traditional they were, honey,” Zach says in a nonchalant tone. “They wanted to get a little Cave of Machpelah action going for our family. Like…
Opponents of free trade scored a surprise victory in Congress this week, heralding what some activists and observers predict will be an increasingly tough fight about globalization in the years ahead. Days before President Bush was slated to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Hanoi, the administration suffered an embarrassing setback when the House…
Pennsylvania’s Allyson Schwartz and Florida’s Debbie Wasserman Schultz were both elected to Congress by heavily Jewish districts in 2004. Now the two Jewish lawmakers are essentially squaring off against each other: in the fight for a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee.
NEW GENERATIONS BEING TAUGHT TO REMEMBER THE HOLOCAUST No sooner does Ruth Westheimer arrive at a function, when photographers, guests and VIPs make a beeline for the munchkin-size psychosexual therapist best known worldwide as “Dr. Ruth.” Always effusive about her latest book (she’s written 31), film documentary or lecture, on October 25 at the American…
