When Amy Markon set out to find a cheaper source of kosher meat for her family, the mother of four had no idea what she was in for. Since moving to St. Paul, Minn., seven years ago, Markon had grown increasingly bothered by her limited choices when it came to buying kosher beef. The woman,…
As Democrats debate the proper role of faith in public life, liberal religious activists and organizations in Massachusetts are mobilizing to ensure that a new state health plan is offered to residents at a low cost. From Seventh-day Adventists praying in a former Jewish synagogue in Roxbury to members of Boston’s gleaming Temple Israel, the…
Last week, in the small German city of Neumarkt, the curtain went up on an improbable musical about the life and death of a young Jewish woman who was deported and killed by the Nazis. The production was unlikely in part because of the Broadway format chosen for a Holocaust tale. But more than this,…
Leading up to last weekend’s Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, talk swirled in the United States and Europe over how best to confront Russia’s perceived slide toward authoritarianism. In the end, the United States and its allies opted not to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin openly about his consolidation of power and crackdown…
National Vouchers Pushed Republicans in Congress proposed a national school-voucher program. The $100 million program proposed Tuesday would pay for low-income students in weak public schools to attend private or religious schools. The money would go for tuition and for private tutoring. Politically conservative and Orthodox Jews support vouchers, saying they increase school choice and…
Last week, in the small German city of Neumarkt, the curtain went up on an improbable musical about the life and death of a young Jewish woman who was deported and killed by the Nazis. The production was unlikely in part because of the Broadway format chosen for a Holocaust tale. But more than this,…
TORONTO — With an Orthodox Jew at their helm, two dozen recent graduates of the Guardian Angels training program — resplendent in their trademark red berets and red satin bomber jackets — last week launched the first Canadian chapter of the New York-based law-and-order group. Lou Hoffer, a former Toronto cop and security consultant, first…
After years of lobbying for embryonic stem-cell research, Jewish activists braced themselves this week for President Bush’s promised veto of a bill that would have provided federal funding for the research. “I’m disappointed,” said Marla Gilson, the director of the Washington Action Office of Hadassah, the country’s largest Jewish membership organization. “In some ways, this…
The mayor of Umm El Fahm, Sheikh Hashem, interrupted our interview to take a call. He spoke in Hebrew, asking about the safety of the children of the person on the other end of the phone line. Afterward, he explained that the mayors of Arab villages were meeting tomorrow with Jewish regional councils to discuss…
One of the honorees at the June 7 USO of Metropolitan New York luncheon at the Pierre Hotel was philanthropist Francine LeFrak, an award-winning theatrical and television producer whose productions have earned Tonys, Emmys, Peabody Awards and more. Introduced by MSNBC anchor Rita Cosby, LeFrak paid homage to her father, “Sam LeFrak, who built affordable…
It’s a well-known stereotype: Jewish cooking is overly sweet and dripping with fat — a cholesterol-raising nightmare. In his newly published “The Healthy Jewish Cookbook,” health guru Michael van Straten seeks to discredit the misleading statement that “all Jewish food is ‘a heart attack on a plate.’” The author of more than 30 other health-related…
