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‘I live in the moment’: Meet the pilot who thwarted Leila Khaled’s hijacking in 1970 — and her recent university speech
The only pilot to have ever foiled the hi-jacking of a plane mid-air is today 89-years-old with a voracious appetite for books and his weekly regimen of Pilates and Chi-Gong, alongside daily walks through the citrus orchards of the Israeli village where he has lived since he was a baby. Uri Bar-Lev has not flown…
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Meet Judi Franco, a snarky radio host who scorns masks. Also, a Syrian-Jewish grandma.
As COVID-19 cases hit the 14 million mark nationwide, notable mask skeptics like several Republican governors are being won over. Not Judi Franco, though. The adored New Jersey radio host, who’s also a grandmother and an observant Syrian Jew, still doesn’t “believe” they prevent the virus. That’s why she spent a recent flight to Florida…
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The owner of my favorite bagel shop is… Biden’s new COVID-19 czar?
When I saw the news that Jeff Zients had been named as President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 “czar” I couldn’t help but wonder what this would mean for my favorite bagel shop in D.C. Zients, who made his fortune in corporate management, served as an economic advisor to President Barack Obama and helped fix the healthcare.gov…
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A high-school student is leading an effort to preserve Vermont’s oldest Jewish cemetery
(JTA) — EAST POULTNEY, Vt. (Bennington Banner via JTA) — The autumn leaves crunched underfoot as Netanel Crispe walked uphill toward the northwest corner of the small cemetery. He stopped and examined a toppled headstone. “The last time I was here this was standing up,” he said, regarding the weathered, gray stone. “At least it…
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Betsy DeVos loved religious education — what will happen to Jewish schools under Biden?
Under President Donald Trump, Orthodox Jews, who have long sought government funding for one of their highest priorities, their schools, loved what they heard from the administration. Education Secretary Betsy Devos, a mega-donor to conservative education reform efforts, championed private and religious schools at every turn, and federal lawmakers paid them renewed attention. “School choice…
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The U.S. and Iran both want to revive the nuclear deal. So why the saber-rattling from Iran?
President-elect Joe Biden said Wednesday that he wants to revive the nuclear deal with Iran passed during the Obama administration, when he was vice-president. Yet the same day Biden said he wanted to revive the deal, the Iranian parliament passed a law demanding that he, well, revive the deal. In other words, they demanded angrily…
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Wanted: Rabbi. Ten gallon hat optional.
When Cheyenne, Wyoming’s only synagogue began its nationwide search for a religious leader to replace its beloved rabbi, Larry Moldo, who passed away last year, some of the applications that came in were…interesting. In addition to the 22 or so resumes from qualified rabbis, rabbinical students and cantors, came resumes from a forklift operator, a…
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COVID-19 is causing Jewish leaders to decline the White House Hanukkah party invite — with regrets
The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on the White House’s annual Hanukkah party. “I’m not going. I’m not traveling. I’m 82 years old,” said Harvard Law Professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz, who has been an unofficial advisor to Trump and attended last year’s party. “I would go, if not for the virus.” Jewish leaders have…
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Toughest Job in Israel? The Challenges Facing Biden’s Future Ambassador
Under the rosiest of circumstances, the job of U.S. ambassador to Israel is no walk in the park. Living up to high expectations on both sides for a warm and solid alliance with “no sunlight” between the two nations – despite decades-long policy differences – is a tricky tightrope that ambassadors have walked with varying…
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Jewish astronaut Jessica Meir wants to be the first woman on the moon
Since astronaut Jessica Meir returned to Earth in April from the International Space Station, she — like all of us — has spent a lot of time indoors and cooped up. While many of us have spent our confinement dreaming of future trips, Meir is working on her own travel plans to a singular destination:…
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In Sacramento, Proud Boys take to the streets, and they’re angry
Members and allies of the far-right group the Proud Boys, some wearing bulletproof vests and armed with knives, marched through the streets of Sacramento on Saturday in a show of force, blasting loud music and chanting while attempting to provoke counterprotesters. The day of political demonstrations began in the morning and stretched late into the…
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