WASHINGTON — With Congress battling over a bill that would strongly influence the future of the school vouchers debate nationwide, Jewish groups on both sides are jumping into the fray. Orthodox Jewish organizations are rallying behind a measure passed by the House of Representatives last week that would bring vouchers to the District of Columbia….
Jonathan Abrams is young, successful and Jewish. He is also single — but as long as he’s got an Internet connection, he’s never alone. Abrams, 33, is the founder and CEO of Friendster.com, an online vehicle for meeting friends and prospective mates. Since its March beta launch — that’s cyberspeak for “trial run” — the…
Even as the White House promises to make the creation of manufacturing jobs a top priority, an independent government bank run by presidential appointees is refusing to guarantee a $35 million loan that could save a famed company with 1,200 employees in New England. Legendary Malden Mills owner Aaron Feuerstein’s chances of regaining control of…
WASHINGTON — A welfare-reform bill endorsed by the Bush administration and working its way through the Republican-controlled Congress is drawing fierce opposition from a coalition of Jewish organizations. The Senate Finance Committee approved a version of the bill last week, which would increase work requirements and cut child-care funding for welfare recipients. The House of…
Over the past century, not much has changed in the way American Jews mark the High Holy Days. Then, as now, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur had as much to do with excess, with spending gobs of money on new clothes, lavish meals, elaborate greeting cards and expensive synagogue seats as they did with restraint…
WASHINGTON — The mounting crisis in Israeli-Palestinian relations and Jerusalem’s hardening stance have opened up gaps in the American Jewish communal leadership for the first time in many months, raising questions about the reliability of Israel’s support among its main allies here should it decide to escalate its responses. Threatening Israeli statements about Yasser Arafat…
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration’s decision this week to deduct funds that Israel spends on West Bank construction from American loan guarantees pointed up the cleavages in the foreign policy stances of the top Democratic presidential candidates. Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman and Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt chose to attack Bush from the right on the…
Then God said to Moses: “Your days are approaching death. Call Joshua and stand, both of you, in the Tent of Appointment so that I can give him his charge.” So Moses and Joshua went and stood, both of them, in the Tent of Appointment. — Deuteronomy 31:14 Moses had been thinking of retiring ever…
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…
