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…
TEL AVIV — After holding its collective breath for two long hours this past Sunday night, waiting for news of Ariel Sharon’s health, Israel appeared to shrug off the prime minister’s mild stroke as a passing incident and returned to normal. Beneath the nonchalance, however, was a palpable uncertainty. The stroke reminded Israelis that Sharon…
Why is it that in the English language there are so many popular books about Yiddish as opposed to, say, French, Portuguese, Turkish or Hindi? And why is it that these books are invariably humorous in tone, as if Yiddish were somehow an intrinsically cute or hilarious language? For instance, log on to Amazon’s Web…
The latest buzz at Tot Shabbat — and isn’t there always a grape juice-induced buzz? — is about a video that’s equal parts Baby Einstein, Jewish camp sing-along and JCC preschool fare. “OyBaby,” a half-hour of gentle Jewish songs, giddy kiddies, cheerful puppets and Hebrew vocabulary, has been quietly finding its way into the playrooms…
If there’s anything that illustrates Israel’s growing culinary sophistication, it’s the recent transformation of the Hanukkah soufgania — or jelly doughnut. Traditionally injected with strawberry jelly and dusted with powdered sugar, the soufgania has experienced an upgrade. Doughnuts are now available with fillings ranging from chocolate truffle to halvah. And their popularity is growing. “We…
TEL AVIV — Early this past Monday morning, as the first voters made their way to the polls to vote in the Likud leadership primary, party front-runner Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Addressing reporters afterward, Netanyahu said he “prayed for the health of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,” who had suffered a mild…
Hanukkah is a holiday of stories, and “Hanukkah Lights,” a new collection from National Public Radio, offers a sampling as warm and sweet as a mug of fair-trade hot chocolate. Over the years, NPR’s “Hanukkah Lights” program, featuring modern-day Hanukkah tales read aloud, has presented selections by such literary luminaries as Elie Wiesel, Mark Helprin…
The Hanukkah menorah, valued by American Jews as a symbol of religious freedom, is becoming a rallying point for Christian activists seeking to put images of Jesus into the public square. In several recent cases, Christians have pointed to the erection of public menorahs as justifying their demand to put nativity displays on public property….
“We can’t ignore the fact that murder was done by human beings who had children and families like us,” declared Elyezer Shkedy, commander of the Israeli Air Force. Shkedy was the guest speaker at the November 20 American & International Societies for Yad Vashem dinner. “Israel was built by survivors and Jews kicked out of…
WASHINGTON — Two former employees of the nation’s main pro-Israel lobby, who are facing trial for allegedly receiving classified information and relaying it to foreign diplomats and the press, are considering lawsuits against the lobbying powerhouse. Steve Rosen, former director of foreign policy at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and Keith Weissman, Aipac’s former…
As Christmas cheer settles over the nation, making its inescapable presence felt everywhere, America’s Jews typically respond in any number of tried and true ways. Some sheepishly admit to enjoying the whole nine yards, from the strains of Handel’s “Messiah” to the sights of gaily bedecked Christmas trees, and succumb to Christmas’s considerable charms. Others…
