An unusual request comes from Rabbi Philip Bentley of Agudas Israel Congregation in Hendersonville, N.C. Rabbi Bentley has sent me the following photocopy of some writing in Hebrew characters, with a signature in English at the bottom: Accompanying this photocopy is a note: [note: photo removed] “A non-Jew in the town where I serve as…
Known as the pioneer of “environmental portraiture,” renowned photographer Arnold Newman, who died in June, was not fond of the title. “Forget about labeling me as one thing or another,” Newman said in an interview with PDN Gallery and Kodak Professional’s Legends Online Series. “I’m interested in what motivates individuals, what they do with their…
The Maccabi Games are back. In mid-August, some 5,000 Jewish teenage athletes from around the globe will gather in three North American cities to compete, forge friendships and develop Jewish values. Not to be confused with the quadrennial World Maccabiah Games for adult athletes in Israel, the JCC Maccabi Games are an annual event for…
When I recited the Sh’ma as a child, the words evoked another world. It was my rabbit hole, my looking glass, my wardrobe. When I said the Sh’ma, I pictured the large block Hebrew letters as the ultimate portal to God. Sh’ma Yisrael. Hear O Israel. That was Moses’ rallying cry to the Israelites. But…
The World Jewish Congress announced that it was dropping a controversial lawsuit against one of its former leaders after encountering growing opposition to the legal fight from affiliates across the globe. Just last week, the WJC’s Australian affiliate resigned from the New York-based organization because of opposition to the libel lawsuit against Isi Leibler, a…
Jews in the Woods is not one of the lost tribes camping out in Appalachia. It doesn’t even take place in the woods. It is, however, a remarkable grass-roots, ever-changing community of college students and immediate post-college graduates who come together twice a year for a “full and uncompromising embrace of Shabbat,” in the words…
SAN MATEO, Calif. — Like many of his fellow Democrats, Rep. Tom Lantos was upset over Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s condemnation of Israel last week. But rather than join some Democrats in boycotting Maliki’s July 26 speech to Congress, Lantos logged his objection in person — during a breakfast that he co-sponsored for the…
SEATTLE — The suspect in last week’s deadly shooting at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle is being described by friends and by law enforcement officials as a disturbed young man who acted alone. According to police reports, Naveed Haq, a 30-year-old American citizen of Pakistani origin, burst into the federation building, identified himself as…
Pamela Waechter was just settling into her new role as top fund-raiser at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. She had spent eight years working her way up through the ranks of her city’s central Jewish charity, starting as an outreach coordinator before serving both as a director of the women’s division and a special…
When rock star Courtney Love was looking to resurrect her tarnished public image and regain custody of her daughter, Frances Bean, she turned to Hollywood spin master Alan Nierob — the same publicist who is now aiming to save Mel Gibson following his latest gaffe. And if the Anti-Defamation League’s willingness to meet with Gibson…
The book on Mel Gibson was reopened this week, and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy James Mee began the latest entry. It was Mee who, in early hours of July 28, pulled over a drunken Gibson as the actor-director was speeding along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif. And it was Mee who penned…
