The sight of Hasidic singing sensation Mordechai Ben David singing his smash hit “Mashiach” live aboard a luxury cruise ship in Alaska is an incongruous one. And yet, the song’s redemptive hope is somehow a fitting anthem for exploring the state that promotes itself as America’s final frontier. The majestic wildlife, virgin forests and pristine…
In an effort to neutralize the growing popularity of a right-wing Bible textbook for public schools, two major Jewish organizations are backing an alternative study guide. But some liberal watchdogs warn that the alternative textbook also could lead teachers to violate the separation of church and state. The new textbook, “The Bible and Its Influence,”…
The best Hanukkah gift is a book. Some people may think the best Hanukkah gift is Disney Princess Lip Gloss Necklace and/or a pony, but these people are not old enough to have folding money. Now, I could tell you about my favorite picture books published this year. But who cares what I think? The…
WASHINGTON — Al Qaeda operatives are establishing a base in Gaza for launching attacks against Israel and neighboring pro-American Arab regimes, current and former Israeli security officials say. Officials in Jerusalem and Washington are following this development with concern, Israeli and American sources said. They see the move as part of Al Qaeda’s long-term plan…
On a recent Saturday afternoon, I hopped off a downtown bus and onto the sidewalk of East Houston Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, braced against the cold wind and early brunch crowds trolling the area’s crop of relatively new boutique cafés. And then, in the distance, I saw it: Katz’s Delicatessen — its sign…
JERUSALEM — The anti-crime division of Israel’s national police was under pressure to produce answers this week after a Netanya neighborhood was hit by an anti-tank missile apparently aimed at a reputed organized-crime boss. No one was hurt in the December 22 missile attack, which left a large crater in the street outside the home…
You might think Antuan “Tony” Bronshtein would be grateful to Judge Samuel A. Alito, President Bush’s nominee to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court. After all, Bronshtein, a convicted killer and Pennsylvania death row inmate, has a new lease on life, at least temporarily, thanks to Alito’s controversial decision as a…
The dwindling community of Jews in this small prairie city is split into two camps, with only one 81-year-old woman attempting to bridge the gap. Dorathea Polski spends her Friday nights moving between two religious services at St. Joseph’s two synagogues, praying and pushing for the two to finally merge. Polski starts with a 5:30…
OBITUARY Yiddish prose master Ikhil Shraibman died on December 9 in Kishinev, Moldova. He was 93. Shraibman’s life and work were rooted in Bessarabia, a Romanian-speaking section in eastern Moldova that was home to a dynasty of important Yiddish and Hebrew writers. His literary debut was at age 17. When a novel of his, published…
WASHINGTON — Alarmed by growing indications that the Islamist organization Hamas might win the upcoming elections for the Palestinian Authority’s legislative council, the Bush administration and Israel are exploring possible ways to postpone the elections. The elections are currently scheduled for January 25. According to diplomatic sources in Washington, administration officials have discussed possibilities for…
TORONTO—When Canadian Friends of Peace Now awarded columnist Shira Herzog its first annual Journalism Peace Prize last week, it reinforced a remarkable makeover of her image in Canada’s Jewish community. Herzog, who won the award from the Jewish peace group for her monthly columns on the Middle East in the Globe and Mail newspaper, was…
