“Lost Futures: Journeys into the Jewish Diaspora” is an exhibition of photographs by Chrystie Sherman. Some 25 images document her recent travels to once-thriving Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union, Central Asia, India, Cuba and North Africa. The stories of these communities’ struggles to survive in the face of poverty, discrimination and emigration are…
Crash Victims Plan Suit Relatives of passengers on the Libyan jetliner shot down by Israeli fighters in 1973 say they intend to demand financial compensation from Israel equivalent to the sums Libya has agreed to pay the families of the Lockerbie disaster, according to an Egyptian report quoted in the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot. The…
The Marc Chagall retrospective currently at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art includes some of the artist’s most arresting pieces, from the flying lovers in “Above the Town” to the “White Crucifixion” (Jesus is wearing a tallis!) to Moses leading his people in “The Crossing of the Red Sea.” And yet the most commanding…
JERUSALEM — When members of Congress returned to their offices this week and were asked what they did on their summer vacation, a record number had a shared answer: I went to Israel. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, made headlines for a strongly pro-Israel speech he gave to the Knesset at the…
‘Bombay — Forty-five people were killed and at least 135 were wounded Monday by the explosion of two bombs placed in a pair of taxis in the heart of India’s commercial capital, the police said.” That’s from a front-page New York Times report on August 26. Further on we are told: “At the scene of…
KEDUMIM — A new neighborhood in this northern West Bank settlement was dedicated in a festive ceremony this week, in what Peace Now activists said was a deliberate display by the government to show that the road map is dead. “They know exactly what is the meaning of this ceremony,” said Mossi Raz, a former…
The apocryphal Hebrew book, Ecclesiasticus, is attributed to the sage Ben Sira who, it is said, was so wise that he refused to be born and held a considerable debate with various rabbinic authorities from within the womb before finally consenting to emerge from it. As soon as he entered this world, he began spouting…
JERUSALEM — The Jerusalem Magistrates Court this week extended detention orders for three men, including two settlers and a soldier, suspected of involvement in a Jewish terrorist network that authorities believe carried out a series of attacks against Arab targets in recent years. At least seven Palestinians have been killed and 19 wounded in attacks…
Last week, America marked the 40th anniversary of the historic March on Washington, an event that should not only be remembered for the accomplishments of the time, but also as a milestone in the great civil rights alliance between blacks and Jews. For years, the black and Jewish communities in the United States have worked…
Even as the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs cast a pall over world security, an upcoming meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency will discuss the “threat” of Israel’s nuclear capability. The IAEA’s board of governors is expected to meet September 8 to debate a much-awaited report on Tehran’s nuclear forays, but the Vienna-based…
If you’ve spent the past year on gambling and gluttony, it’s time to look busy. Elul, the last month of the Jewish calendar and the month of repentance, is upon us. For the next few weeks, it’s nothing but atonement, apologies and self-reproach. Oh, it’s going to be fun all right. If you’re having trouble…
