A potential donor browsing promotional material for the Zionist Organization of America would see a strong organization that has 50,000 members, 36 regional offices and three programs in Israel. But these numbers appear to be exaggerated. The number of dues-paying members is overstated by almost 40,000, and two of the three Israel programs no longer…
An Illinois anti-discrimination task force has found itself in disarray after one of its commissioners refused to distance herself from comments made by the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan, leading a number of the commission’s Jewish members to resign in protest. Five Jewish members of the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, including the…
The country’s only open, national Jewish elections ended with the Reform movement on top yet again, and the Orthodox sneaking past the Conservative movement for a second-place finish. The elections, which ended March 6, were held to determine the composition of the 145-person American delegation to the World Zionist Congress, which is held every four…
The top lawmaking body of Conservative Judaism has postponed a vote on whether to overturn the movement’s ban on same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay clergy. The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, a 25-member panel of rabbis and lay leaders, held a two-day summit in Maryland this week to consider four separate…
WASHINGTON — Forty-one Democratic members of Congress wrote President Bush March 2 to express their alarm at the Dubai World Ports deal, on the grounds that allowing the United Arab Emirates-owned company could damage Israel’s security. “We write to express our deep concerns regarding your Administration’s decision to allow Dubai Ports World (DP World), a…
WASHINGTON — Israeli interests in the West Bank and Gaza could be hurt by a bill being pressed by the pro-Israel lobby that would restrict American assistance to the Palestinians, several Israeli officials and representatives of international aid organizations told the Forward. In an attempt to isolate any Palestinian government led by the terrorist organization…
We love Purim, but we have to admit that it’s a recipe for disaster. A population not known for its ability to hold its liquor is commanded to fast all day, then drink so much they can’t distinguish between “Blessed Be Mordecai” and “Cursed Be Haman.” This results, all too predictably, in another tradition: the…
When Susan Weidman Schneider and her family left New York for Washington, D.C., eight years ago, she found herself dizzied by the chaos of the move. Then the doorbell rang. “My friend and rabbi, Avis Miller, was there with a daffodil and a package of mishloach manot for Purim,” she recalled. “It was enormously sweet…
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…
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…
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…
