JERUSALEM — In addition to strengthening Yasser Arafat and isolating Israel diplomatically, last week’s in-principle decision by the Israeli security cabinet to “get rid” of the Palestinian leader appears to have damaged Prime Minister Sharon’s already shaky domestic political standing. The decision, announced last week after a pair of suicide bombings that left 15 people…
JERUSALEM — Nine of the 12 men arrested on suspicion of links to a Jewish terrorist cell were released from custody last week. Sources involved in the investigation say the police and the Shin Bet General Security Service failed to prove the suspects’ involvement in terrorist activities. “The mountain has turned into a molehill,” said…
My wife and I received the following wedding invitation from a family member: The wonderful couple is not registered and would prefer cash in lieu of gifts. Must we comply? — Confused by cash-only chutzpah Your confusion is understandable; the invitation is too vague. How are you to know without further clarification what your money…
The only Jewish nursing home in St. Louis is being slammed by critics who say its new $60 million facility is too expensive for lower- and middle-class Jews and warn that the project is busting the institution’s budget. The daily private-pay rate for a skilled-nursing bed at the Jewish Center for Aged in St. Louis…
JERUSALEM — The rabbinical court that was to hear testimony from American-born Rabbi Matis Weinberg regarding accusations of alleged molestation of yeshiva students has dismissed the case because of a lack of witnesses to recent alleged impropriety. Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, head of the three-rabbi beit din, or rabbinic tribunal, told the Forward that there was…
Tattooed on Marvin Moskowitz’s right forearm are a skull, a knife, a dove and — in red, white and blue ink — a small Star of David paired with the words “Never Again.” The irony of a tattoo tribute to Holocaust victims is not lost on Marvin. Still, he considers it a fitting memorial. “People…
TORONTO — A group of wealthy Jewish donors is trying to seize control of Canadian Jewry’s major advocacy organizations, offering a big increase in funding while seeking to impose a less confrontational approach to their lobbying efforts on Israel and other Jewish issues. The behind-closed-doors maneuver has alarmed some elected community leaders. Allied with UIA…
JERUSALEM — Two Likud Knesset members are set to be indicted for double voting, marking the first time that such action has been taken against legislators relating to activities conducted inside the Israeli parliament building. Likud lawmakers Michael Gorlovsky and Yechiel Hazan will be indicted shortly on charges that they voted twice — for themselves…
On August 12, 1952, the most famous Jewish writers in the Soviet Union were “liquidated” by order of Stalin. There was no reason other than the fact that they were Jewish and enjoyed fame. To memorialize these “martyrs,” the Forverts devoted its page on “Pearls of Yiddish Poetry” to excerpts of their works. What follows…
Conservative rabbis are struggling to answer a key question raised by the results of the recently released National Jewish Population Survey 2000-01: How, after decades of predominance, did they lose their claim to heading the nation’s largest synagogue movement. The $6 million survey, commissioned by the United Jewish Communities, found that only 33% of all…
KIEV — When Rabbi Azrael Haikin of Brussels was elected earlier this month to be Ukraine’s new chief rabbi, many saw it as a positive sign of Jewish renewal in a former Soviet republic. “This decision, without doubt, represents a milestone in the history of the rebirth of Jewish life in Ukraine,” said a statement…
