All our Jewish lives, we have been told that when a close relative — parent, sibling, spouse, child — dies, we are to come to the synagogue to recite Kaddish. Kaddish is not a prayer about death, but a doxology, a prayer of praise to God. So, even in our grief, we are to stand…
Arab groups are threatening to quit the country’s largest anti-war coalition unless it does more to support the Palestinian cause, but Jewish members say that such a move would lead them to break ranks. Several Arab and Muslim groups announced last week that they would drop out of United for Peace and Justice, a leading…
WASHINGTON — A top Middle East scholar is suspending his ties with the United States Institute of Peace to protest the recent appointment of Daniel Pipes to the board of the federally funded think tank, sparking fears of a wider boycott. Former presidential adviser William Quandt told the Forward that he is suspending work on…
Our steady readers must, by now, be well acquainted with the ever-punning and provocative poet Stanley Siegelman. His pieces on a Jewish president, Senator Hillary Clinton’s confessions, dog bar mitzvahs and the Supreme Court decision on gays have left their indelible mark as cutting commentaries on the follies of our times. This time, his subject…
A feud between Israel’s prime minister and Diaspora Jewish charities over the use of Israeli hunger as a fundraising tool blew up in the prime minister’s face last week, following publication of an American-backed study showing that hunger not only exists but is widespread in Israel. The study, which was leaked to the Israeli press…
WASHINGTON — It did not result in any decision, but just getting another day in court was a victory of sorts for Jonathan Pollard. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for spying for Israel, Pollard had tried to get a new hearing for years, arguing that his former counsel was inept and that the government…
The August 22 cocktail party celebrating the Stella Adler Studio of Acting was held at the Bridgehampton home of Barbara and John (Bunky) Hearst overlooking the Hampton hills, a setting that reminded one guest of Kentucky. At the event, hosted by Adler Studio alum Roy Scheider, its chairman, and his wife, Brenda Seimer, the winners…
The former top American professional of an international Holocaust restitution commission has been disbarred. The move comes one year after the official, Neal Sher, former chief of staff in the Washington office of the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, was investigated by the commission for allegedly misappropriating funds for personal use. The investigation…
PARIS — France’s new ambassador has yet to arrive in Tel Aviv, but already he has succeeded in antagonizing Israel’s political establishment and France’s Jewish community. Gerard Araud was sharing his views on his new posting with Foreign Ministry colleagues last week over crudités and cocktails when he failed to notice an Israeli journalist carefully…
How long are relatives expected to give gifts to grown children? I have a nephew, 26, and a niece, 23, to whom I have given gifts on every birthday and major holiday. They have never acknowledged my gifts. What is correct now that they are adults? — Unacknowledged auntie Any obligation you may have felt…
Happy 750th birthday, Vilnius, many happy returns of the day, and thanks for letting everyone share it all with you. Thanks for that memorable summer fest, that near-infinite parade glutting your newly refurbished main drag, Gedimino Prospekt (with a nice McDonald’s, complete with walk-through window); thanks for those three-plus hours of good-natured nationalistic/peasant nonsense, the…
