SIBIU, Romania – As a member of one of Eastern Europe’s leading Gypsy families, Luminita Cioaba easily could have followed the traditional Romani path laid out by her nomadic ancestors. But that was never her way. When her father — a man who became known as the King of the Gypsies — was planning for…
When I was growing up, in the Conservative movement, Jews were defined by the synagogues they attended, and the movements to which they belonged. We were all Jews, to be sure, but that bond was less strong than the loyalties of denomination. We were the USY team; they were the NFTY team. (I grew up…
A Democratic surge on Election Day would put a number of Jewish pro-Israel lawmakers in charge of key congressional committees, but Republican critics are warning that a GOP defeat would in the end undercut support for Jerusalem. Registered voters said they plan to vote for the Democrat over the Republican in congressional elections next month…
A hawkish Jewish organization that helped lead the charge against the Israeli pullout from Gaza is bestowing its top honor on one of the most vocal proponents of disengagement from the once-disputed territory. The Zionist Organization of America, which has harshly criticized the American-backed peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, is giving its…
In a sharply worded letter released Monday, the Rev. Al Sharpton accused Senator Joseph Lieberman of resorting to “flagrant race baiting” in criticizing opponent Ned Lamont’s campaign appearances with the black leader. “You never once attacked or questioned my commitment to Israel or any racial group in private or public” during the 2004 presidential primary…
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York decided on Monday to back out of a party celebrating a new book on Vichy France after discovering that the author’s postscript contained a passage critical of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. The party, scheduled to take place Tuesday, was planned in honor of the…
Keeping one’s good name is a central pillar of the Jewish faith. So too is refraining from gossip. But in the age of the Internet, where teenagers can spread rumors in mere nanoseconds and nearly everything goes on personal Web pages, upholding Jewish ethics — especially in cyberspace — poses a formidable challenge. But now,…
The United Teachers Los Angeles found itself in the midst of a firestorm last week after Jewish organizations discovered that its human rights committee planned to co-host an October 14 meeting to initiate a campaign of divestment, boycott and sanctions against Israel. One day after meeting with a cadre of Jewish organizational leaders and fielding…
This is a story about a broken old Yiddish clock that managed to turn back time. For decades, the clock had adorned my grandparents’ various apartments in New York City’s Washington Heights section before my grandmother passed away in 1975. But by the 1990s, it had been relegated to a neglected corner of my parents’…
Mitzvah Chic: How To Host a Meaningful, Fun, Drop-dead Gorgeous Bar or Bat Mitzvah By Gail Anthony Greenberg Fireside Paperback/Simon & Schuster, 240 pages, $20. After attending one too many bar and bat mitzvahs that were shows in ostentation rather than real celebrations of children’s entrances into adulthood, writer Gail Anthony Greenberg realized that most…
At Gibeon the Eternal appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and the Divine said, “Ask, what shall I grant you?” – 1 Kings 3:5[:10-13??] One midrash teaches that the holiday of Simchat Torah derives from the celebration of Solomon. In a dream, the Holy One asks Solomon his dearest wish. Solomon prays for…
