Irving S. Saposnik, a former executive director of Hillel at the University of Wisconsin and one of the pioneer professors who brought the study of American Jewish literature into American higher education, died November 20 after a 13-month struggle with brain cancer. He was 67. Saposnik was still teaching a course, titled “Yiddish Literature in…
Henry Schleiff, chairman and CEO of Court TV Network, was presented with the Torch of Liberty Award at the Anti-Defamation League’s November 6 dinner at the Plaza. “There’s no CEO in our business like Henry Schleiff,” said master of ceremonies Regis Philbin. Time Warner’s chairman and CEO, Richard Parsons, joshed: “Welcome to the 50th anniversary…
CLEVELAND — Despite all the hoopla in Iowa and New Hampshire and the rivers of ink spilled in the national press, the Democratic presidential race has yet to make an impression around these parts. Candidates, preoccupied with earlier primary contests, have paid little attention to Ohio, local operatives say. Elsewhere, former Vermont governor Howard Dean…
A year ago, Jahangir Navidpour, a 58-year-old Jew from the Iranian town of Shiraz, arrived in Vienna, home to the processing center for Iranian refugees heading to America. During the eight months it took for his family of five to be cleared for arrival in the United States, they were stuck living in a tiny…
For 40 days and 40 nights, Jeremy Cowan wended his way around America, spreading the word about “the chosen beer.” On a recent Thursday night, Cowan, the wisecracking owner of the San Francisco-based Shmaltz Brewing Co., was here in Milwaukee; it was night 17 of his Wandering He’Brew Beer Tour. As bowling pins fell, beer…
Six regional lay leaders of the Anti-Defamation League are urging their organization to begin planning for a successor to replace national director Abraham Foxman. In a letter to Foxman and key national officers, six top volunteer leaders of ADL’s Chicago region stated that they are “concerned about the future of the League.” Seeming to echo…
JERUSALEM — The proposed creation of a network of Israeli schools is being hailed by supporters as a move that could revolutionize relations between the religious and secular populations. A Knesset bill calling for the creation of a government-sanctioned educational track is set to be introduced next week by a Labor lawmaker, Rabbi Michael Melchior….
I recently attended a bar mitzvah. As we were entering the sanctuary we were warned that there was a no-talking policy and that anyone who disrupted the service would be asked to leave. I watched as several people were indeed removed from the service. Since when are there bouncers at a synagogue? — Synagogue cum…
SAN FRANCISCO — A balding, middle-aged guy standing alone on a stage describing his financial troubles with two hefty volumes of the U.S. Tax Code as his only props doesn’t sound like a scintillating night at the theater. Yet Josh Kornbluth manages to weave his woes into an engrossing and humorous tale of redemption. “Love…
After exhausting herself last year attaching nearly 400 handmade chocolate roses to a bustier, pastry chef Nicole Kaplan of the tony Eleven Madison Park restaurant decided to fashion an easier ensemble for this year’s sixth annual Chocolate Show at New York’s Manhattan Pavilion. With the help of a glue gun, she fastened hundreds of chocolate…
Mel at 13, with Tallit: While we here at the Forward were busy compiling this year’s list of the 50 most influential members of the American Jewish community, the folks over at Entertainment Weekly were putting together their 14th annual “Power List” of Hollywood movers and shakers. The third spot on our list went to…
