A leading Republican senator is blasting the French government for its efforts to impose a ban on the wearing of religious symbols or garments in public schools. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the Senate’s third-ranking Republican, told the Forward that the French decision was “very dangerous.” “This is further evidence of the postmodern culture in Europe,”…
Five years ago, veteran comic book artist Joe Kubert visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. He expected to be moved, but since he and his parents had escaped from Poland before the Nazi genocide began, he assumed his emotional reaction would be relatively contained. Then, he saw something that struck him…
WASHINGTON — The capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will lead to an intensification of White House efforts to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, diplomatic sources say. Hussein’s capture, administration officials told Israeli and Arab diplomats this week, is likely to create a changed atmosphere in the Middle East that should translate into progress…
What if the power of the written word could bring a superhero to life? Well, it has — almost — with the release this month of “The Amazing Adventures of The Escapist.” Like the Golem of Prague, who was animated by the scribbled name of God, the Escapist has leapt from the pages of Michael…
From recent news reports, the American economy might appear to be in great shape. The estimated rate of growth in GDP in the third quarter was a very strong 8.2%, and the Dow Jones climbed back above 10,000 last week. The economic recovery now seems genuine. Furthermore, forecasts are for growth to continue strong, in…
The Hebrew Hammer isn’t the only Jew in a frock coat and a black hat meting out justice this winter. In fact, next to the Weiss brothers, lieutenants in San Francisco’s turn-of-the-century Jewish mob, the Hammer looks like a bit of a nebbish. The brothers are the heroes of “Market Street,” the first story arc…
The capture of Saddam Hussein is pointing up one of the great ironies facing Democrats when they mull their party’s foreign policy: President Bush has stolen it. Bush’s prosecution of the Iraq war — like his “No Child Left Behind” educational program and his Medicare prescription drug plan — seeks to beat Democrats by joining…
Talk about Aishes Chayil. The time has come to usher in a very different sort of Shabbat Queen — literally, “Shabbas Queen,” a new superhero who wields a golden wand with a Star of David affixed at the top that gives her the power to lift heavy objects and fly, apparently unencumbered by her full-length…
MONTREAL — Irwin Cotler, the outspokenly pro-Israel legal scholar sometimes known as Canada’s Alan Dershowitz, has been promoted from a backbench member of Parliament to the high-profile posts of justice minister and attorney-general in the new Cabinet announced last week by Paul Martin, Canada’s new prime minister. Martin, a millionaire businessman and former finance minister,…
Should the holiday we are celebrating this week be spelled “Hanukah,” “Chanukah,” “Hanukkah” or “Chanukkah?” You’ll find all four versions in the dictionaries, with “Hanukkah” being the preferred form nowadays. I myself prefer “Hanukah” with a single “k,” but I certainly think that either “Hanukah” or “Hanukkah” is a lot better than “Chanukah.” True, neither…
‘At my age this shouldn’t be happening,” acknowledged Felix Fibich, the 86-year-old Yiddish dance star. Fibich is still in disbelief over his own upcoming schedule: From December 23 to 29, he will give daily dance workshops for six days in a row as one of the master artists presented at KlezKamp, the 19th Annual Yiddish…
