(JTA) — Political turmoil, terror attacks and natural disasters around the world: 2017 had plenty of people feeling down, for good reason. But there were also notable moments of light. As this year draws to a close, here are seven of the more heartwarming stories of this year. An Orthodox Jew builds bridges with his…
A Hanukkah fire that started with a lit menorah sparked a raging blaze that killed a loving mother and three young children early Monday morning — plunging Brooklyn’s Syrian Orthodox community into mourning for the second time in as many years. The victims were identified as Aliza Azan, 39, and her children: Moshe, 11; Yitzah,…
NEW YORK (JTA) — On Thursday, The New York Times announced that its publisher, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., 66, is stepping down at the end of the year and will be succeeded by his son, 37-year-old Arthur Gregg (A.G.) Sulzberger. The familial exchange of power wasn’t unexpected. The younger Sulzberger is the sixth member of…
At the annual convention of one Jewish youth group, students whisper about a legendary achievement called “the sweep.” It’s part of a make-out competition called the “points system” that has been played at each of North America’s four major liberal Jewish youth movements at various times over the past three decades. Under the rules of…
When Kayla Moore said that she and husband Roy Moore, lately defeated but un-conceded in Alabama’s special senate election, had a Jewish lawyer, I was intrigued. As a Jewish New Jersey transplant who graduated from high school and college in Alabama, and who still lives here, I found myself surprisingly eager to suspend my disbelief….
At the largest gathering of Reform Jews in the country earlier this month, Joe Buchanan stuck out in the crowd. Thousands of Jews had gathered in Boston for four days of worship and learning. But Buchanan was the only Jewish cowboy. In a black felted hat and a patterned handkerchief tied around his wrist, Buchanan,…
The family of Canadian-Jewish billionaire couple Barry and Honey Sherman, found dead at their home in Toronto on Friday, have slammed the police for allegedly circulating rumors that their death was a murder-suicide. In a statement, the family rejected the account – attributed to “police sources” in the local media – that Barry Sherman may…
Standing beneath the charred remains of their synagogue, members of Brooklyn’s Hebrew Israelite community mourned the destruction of their historic house of worship. B’nai Adah Kol Beth Israel was gutted by an accidental fire last month and the building now stands vacant and boarded up. There are gaping holes in the roof, with beams poking…
On the first night of Hanukkah, Alabama’s Jews said the Shehecheyanu, the 2,000-year-old prayer of generalized thanksgiving that’s almost always appropriate: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this moment.” Then they were presented with another miracle, on top of…
The Republican-led Federal Communications Commission has voted to reverse the policy of net neutrality which guarantees equal access to the web. Here’s how the Forward in 2010 profiled the Jewish leader of the FCC who spearheaded the policy in the first place. How should the United States regulate the Internet? The answer to this question…
Taking the stage at the Zionist Organization of America gala, Rep. Lee Zeldin sounded thrilled to introduce the keynote speaker: Steve Bannon. He showered praise on the head of Breitbart News for standing up for Israel against the Palestinians, concluding with a decisive statement that Bannon, accused of turning Breitbart into a platform for the…
