Olmert Lays Out Plans Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the country would have to unilaterally withdraw from much of the West Bank. In the clearest indication of his plans since taking over as prime minister after Ariel Sharon went into a coma last month, Olmert told Israel’s Channel 2 on Tuesday that…
Jane Civins of Cranston, R.I., sent me a copy of The Baker’s Catalogue, a mail-order business run out of White River Junction, Vt. The company’s many products include “Spreadable N.Y. Chocolate Blackout Schmear” ($6.95 for a 16 oz. can). This catalog also has a recipe for chocolate blackout cake — made, naturally, with the aforementioned…
When the Jews of the first aliya arrived in Palestine at the end of the 19th century they found a natural, unblemished landscape. Fast-forward to today and Israel is, ecologically speaking, a mess. According to environmental activist Rabbi Michael Cohen, “the Dead Sea is disappearing, the level of air pollution is doubling every 10 years,…
Recently, at the New York Jewish Film Festival, I saw a movie called “Be Fruitful and Multiply.” It’s a portrait of four ultra-Orthodox women in Israel and Brooklyn, all talking about the joys and pressures of having huge families. Mostly the joys. One woman, who’s been pregnant or nursing for 25 of the 26 years…
I was in Copenhagen this past October when the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad started to provoke demonstrations in Denmark. While being interviewed by a journalist at Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper that published the caricatures, I was told how intense the debates had been among the editorial staff. The Jyllands-Posten journalist told me about…
When the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, a Viennese art collector who perished in the Dachau concentration camp, began trying to track down their ancestor’s collection of Egon Schiele paintings, they hit what they thought was a stroke of luck: At least two of the pieces seemed to have ended up in collections associated with cosmetics…
At the International Women’s Health Coalition’s January 19 gala dinner, held at Cipriani 42nd Street, board chair Kati Marton said: “We have one foot on the ground in countries such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru… helping women… secure equal rights through grants that we give. Our other foot is in the corridors of power… from…
As Muslim fury mounted this week over a Danish newspaper’s cartoon images of Muhammad, indications were growing that two of America’s and Israel’s most intractable foes — Iran and Syria — were fueling the controversy in an effort to blunt the growing diplomatic coordination between Europe and the United States. Protests erupted across the Muslim…
Regular readers of this column are familiar with Dr. Joan Braman’s translations of English classics into Yiddish. Once more she graces Der Vinkl, with a translation of Leigh Hunt’s “Abou Ben Adhem.” Abou Ben Adhem Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw within the…
WASHINGTON — Israeli and American officials are seeking to boost Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in an attempt to curb the influence of Hamas. But Congress, with the support of Jewish groups, is pushing legislation that could hinder such efforts. With the support of some Arab governments, Washington and Jerusalem are searching for ways to…
JERUSALEM — The crowd at Zion Square was young, extremely young, and surprisingly sparse. A half-hour after the planned start of the demonstration, just a block from the temporary stage with its huge sign reading “Olmert Is Bad for the Jews,” there was still plenty of open pavement separating the big knots of girls in…
אין פֿאַרגלײַך מיט די פֿיזישע פּאַוויליאָנען געשאַפֿן פֿון אָפֿיציעלע לענדער איז דער ייִדישלאַנד־פּאַוויליאָן געבויט אויף אידעעס
