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How Much Is a Parent Worth? Holocaust Program Says $1,800
The Hungarian government soon will begin paying family members of Holocaust victims $1,800 for each sibling or parent who was murdered, rekindling old debates about “blood money” and the limits of reparations. The Hungarians agreed to the payments during a meeting in Budapest last week with the president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims…
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Bearing Gifts, Restoring the Temple Amid the Ruins Left by Katrina
By some standards, Beth Israel synagogue fared well last summer when Hurricane Katrina swept through Biloxi, Miss. Several of the congregation’s 60 families lost their homes, and about a tenth are leaving town. The temple, a small building on Camellia Street with a curving brick facade, suffered severe roof and water damage. Still, the sanctuary…
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Chabad Outfit To Endorse Military Chaplains
An ultra-Orthodox organization will start endorsing chaplains for the United States military, ending the 88-year-long monopoly on endorsements held by the multi-denominational body that had vetted all previous candidates. The Aleph Institute, an organization linked to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement previously known for helping Jewish prisoners, was approved last month by the Department of Defense to…
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Pro-Israel Activists Block Travel Reform
WASHINGTON — Jewish organizations played a leading role in defeating the effort, launched in response to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, to ban privately funded trips for members of Congress. Advocates of lobbying reform and many members of Congress stepped up their push for a ban on travel paid for by private individuals and organizations…
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Remembering Harold Ostroff, Who Saved Jewish Forward
This week, the Forward family mourns the loss of Harold Ostroff, our longtime general manager and a giant in the worlds of affordable housing and Yiddish culture. In its 109-year history, the Forward has benefited from the work of a few geniuses and many talented, smart, devoted people. Yet, even among them, Harold Ostroff was…
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Embattled Bush Team Gets Boost At Aipac Parley
WASHINGTON — Even as President Bush’s popularity dropped to record lows, his administration was embraced warmly this week by the thousands of delegates at the most influential annual gathering of American Jewish activists. In recent weeks Bush has seen his approval ratings drop to around 35%, leading some analysts to the conclusion that his poll…
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Hasidic Rapper Strives To Stay Atop the Charts
This may be hard for some people to believe, but there was a time when MTV did not feature a Lubavitch Hasid in regular rotation. In just three short years, Matisyahu, also known as the Hasidic reggae superstar, has become a veritable phenomenon of Jewish and American pop culture. In his wake he has left…
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Book of Esther Gets Novel Makeover
Megillat Esther By J.T. Waldman Jewish Publication Society of America, 204 pages, $18. Testament (new Vertigo series) By Douglas Rushkoff, Art and cover by Liam Sharp DC Comics. 32 pages, $2.99 each. * * *| It’s well known that Jews invented the comics. From the glory days of Mad magazine’s Max Gaines; Superman’s creators, Jerry…
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Bias Attacks In France Fuel Concern About Blacks
A string of antisemitic incidents in the aftermath of the torture and murder of a young Jewish vendor is fueling concerns that anti-Jewish feelings are spreading in France’s black community. The incidents — three physical attacks allegedly committed by blacks of Muslim descent — occurred in recent days, following the extradition from Ivory Coast last…
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Haman’s Swaying Power: Purim and the Image of the Gallows
Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence By Elliott Horowitz Princeton University Press, 356 pages, $35. * * *| For most Jews, Purim is simply the most riotous of the Jewish holidays: It’s the innocent, if irreverent, celebration of Jewish survival in the face of an ancient threat of genocide. The rituals of…
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Purim as Queen Esther’s ‘Coming Out’
We don’t tend to think of holidays as occasions into which we grow, but that is, in part, what they are. Thirty years ago, as a child growing up in the shah’s Iran, Purim was just another holiday to me. Later, on my family’s departure from Tehran — when I was just beginning to understand…
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