BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Presbyterian Church (USA) appears to be stopping its push to divest from Israel. Two years ago the church angered Jewish organizations when delegates to its general assembly passed a resolution calling for divestment from Israel. At this year’s Presbyterian parley in Birmingham, a church committee agreed June 17 to ask the…
WASHINGTON — American Jewish organizations are strongly criticizing the document guiding national unity talks between Hamas and Fatah officials. Echoing Israel’s position, Jewish organizations say that the “document of national reconciliation” stakes out a series of positions that could end up undermining Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Known as the “prisoners’ document,” the proposed agreement was drafted last…
As Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Olmert wages a diplomatic campaign to shore up international support for his proposed “realignment” plan, leaders of the Orthodox Union in the United States are warning that he could face a storm of protest if he fails to address their concerns. In an op-ed published last week in the Israeli…
BRUSSELS — A fight is erupting over an upstart Chabad-dominated rabbinical organization that critics say is waging an intense political struggle to become the main Jewish representative to the European Union. Critics say that the Center of European Rabbis, a fairly new organization that is associated with the Chabad Lubavitch movement, is attempting to supplant…
TORONTO — Barry Sherman is often cheered as one of Canadian Jewry’s most successful businessmen and most generous donors to charitable causes. But this month, his largess has put him at the center of a campaign finance scandal. The controversy involves about $100,000 of political contributions from Sherman — the 64-year-old founder and chair of…
Reader Hillel Bick queries, “Could you please comment on the derivation of the Yiddish expression ‘Do ligt der hunt bagrobn’”? Literally this means, “That’s where the dog lies buried.” Its actual sense, however, is something like, “That’s what lies behind it” or, “So that’s it.” Generally speaking, it’s an expression used more for negative situations…
I didn’t grow up eating kosher, but my wife did. Occasionally we’ll be watching television and a Pizza Hut ad will pop up, and she’ll say to me, “Do you ever miss bacon-pineapple pizza?” Truthfully, I don’t. There’s a story in the Talmud saying that for every forbidden food, God provided a permitted food that…
Two key national bodies of Conservative Judaism have created a task force to investigate and respond to complaints of substandard working conditions at the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse, first described in a Forward investigation. Separately, initial steps have been taken by national bodies of Orthodox Judaism to examine the validity of the allegations and explore…
‘Eat your dinner!” Joan Rivers exhorted the black-tie crowd at the May 23 National Osteoporosis Foundation’s Silhouette Ball, held at The Waldorf-Astoria. “The fatter you are, the less likely you are to have osteoporosis,” said NOF designated ambassador Rivers, who once joshed about her bones “clicking like dolphins.” Despite the comedic nature of Rivers’s remark,…
With Senator Joseph Lieberman facing an increasingly tight primary fight, pro-Israel interest groups are stepping up their support for the former vice presidential candidate. Lieberman will face Ned Lamont — a Greenwich, Conn., multimillionaire backed by party liberals unhappy with Lieberman’s support for the Iraq War and perceived coziness with Republicans — in Connecticut’s August…
On his 40th yahrzeit, Yiddish poet Aaron Glants-Leyeles was featured in the section of the Forverts dedicated to Pearls of Yiddish Poetry. One of his passions was America. What follows is one of his poems about the country, transliterated by our colleague Goldie Gold and translated into English by Gus Tyler. Tsu Amerike Kh’hob lib…
