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How Benefits Fraud Scam Spread So Widely In Orthodox Town
The numbers in the public benefits fraud scam in the Orthodox enclave of Lakewood, New Jersey, are stunning. Fourteen arrests so far, and counting. More than $2 million in fraudulently obtained government funds. Hundreds of others scrambling to avoid prosecution for similar crimes. Law enforcement sources say that the schemes are both “widespread” and some…
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Iconic LGBTQ Synagogue Told Marchers To Avoid Israel ‘Messaging’ At Pride Parade
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the iconic Manhattan LGBTQ synagogue, instructed marchers joining it June 25 in the New York Pride Parade to avoid wearing clothing or carrying signs relating to the Jewish state or the Palestinians, the Forward has learned. A CBST rabbi asked in an email for the groups to ensure that their marchers…
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Hungary’s Resistance Has A Hip Jewish Address — But For How Long?
Budapest authorities moved on Wednesday to shutter the Aurora Cafe, which has served as a gathering spot for Hungarian opposition activists and nongovernmental human rights advocates. Authorities cited illegal drugs, but management said the government’s real aim is to muzzle opposition voices. In America, “the Resistance,” as some call the activist opposition to President Trump,…
The Latest
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Chicago Theater Critic Ignites Racial Firestorm With Review Of ‘Godot’ Adaptation
Theater critic Hedy Weiss has done it again. Weiss, who’s been reviewing plays and dance performances for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1984, is an old hand at provoking outrage within the city’s arts community, largely by inserting controversial political opinions —to put it gently — into her reviews. In the past, Weiss has suggested racial…
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Socialites Hold Séance To Summon Leonard Bernstein’s Spirit — In His Onetime Pad
Larry and Toby Milstein, two rising young Jewish socialites, held a séance in Leonard Bernstein’s former apartment, attempting to summon the spirit of the deceased composer, according to The New York Times. The ghostly communication took place at The Dakota, the Central Park West building perhaps most famous for being the site of John Lennon’s…
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This Week In Chicago: Gay Pride On The March!
It’s Pride Weekend in America, and Chicago is no exception. Festivities begin Thursday night and continue through Sunday; a list of official Chicago Pride events appears here, though there are many, many more elsewhere. The parade kicks off Sunday at noon from the intersection of Montrose, Broadway and Halsted in Uptown and continues to Diversey…
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Winning Her Poignant Battle To Become Jewish Storyteller — In Shadow Of Cancer
For several years, Phyllis Binik-Thomas dreamt of becoming a storyteller, or maggid, to take her commitment intergenerational Jewish communication to another level. She wasn’t going to let cancer prevent her from reaching that goal. As beaming family and friends gathered in her Cincinnati living room, Binik-Thomas was ordained as a maggid educator on Tuesday afternoon…
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Sebastian Gorka Was Dumped By FBI For Anti-Islam Diatribes — While Working For Trump Campaign
Sebastian Gorka, President Trump’s controversial counterterrorism adviser, worked for the FBI as an independent contractor lecturing on terrorism while also being paid by the Trump presidential campaign in 2016. But according to a report posted today by The Daily Beast, the FBI terminated its contract with Gorka because Gorka’s lectures were rife with sweeping diatribes…
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Bitter Rift Over Israel Hits LGBTQ Jews Hard After Controversial Protest At Celebrate Israel Parade
In just a few seconds, five people brought the Celebrate Israel parade to a standstill. A block shy of the June 4 parade’s dispersal point on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, five undercover protesters broke ranks with the LGBTQ contingent and formed a picket line in front of it. One of the protesters unplugged the pedicab-mounted…
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Will Amar’e Stoudemire Return To Israel For Another Season — Or Retire As Champ?
Amar’e Stoudemire is back in America for the summer after leading his Israeli basketball club to victory in last week’s national championship. Now he’s considering three options: to retire, return to the NBA — or return next year to the Holy Land to play another season. “To play and win a championship my first year…
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5 Questions For Nevada Senate Candidate Jacky Rosen
Jacky Rosen is now in the news. The first-term Nevada congresswoman, who until entering politics served as a synagogue president, is now poised to run for the state’s senate seat opening in 2018. Rosen, according to reports has responded positively to requests from Democratic leaders to challenge incumbent Republican Dean Heller, in hope that a…
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In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: היסטאָריקערין וויווי לאַקס באַשרײַבט געשיכטע פֿון לאָנדאָנער ייִדישער פּרעסעVIDEO: Historian Vivi Laks tells history of the London Yiddish Press
שבֿע צוקער פֿירט דעם שמועס מיט וויווי לאַקס און ביידע לייענען פֿאָר עטלעכע פֿעליעטאָנען פֿון יענע צײַטן.
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Fast Forward Holocaust survivor event features a Rob Reiner video address — recorded just weeks before his death
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