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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings
Sharon Weiss-Greenberg
Fighting for Jewish Feminism During the past year, Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, a public intellectual who writes for the Jewish press, has spoken out against rape in the Orthodox community, as well as the need for women to assume leadership roles in American Orthodox Judaism. The mainstream press also seeks her expertise: For a Washington Post story…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Isaac Mizrahi
He Has Become a Jew of Stature, By Design Once teased by the other boys in his modern Orthodox Brooklyn day school, Isaac Mizrahi became a person of standing in the community this year, when the Jewish Museum dedicated an exhibit to the fashion designer’s work over the decades. Including costumes he created for several…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Yael Lempert
Architect of Israel’s $38 billion Package With America On September 14, years of Yael Lempert’s arduous work came to fruition. On behalf of the Obama administration, she completed negotiations for a 10-year, $38 billion Memorandum of Understanding with Israel. The agreement, signed at the State Department, ends years of negotiations and provides Israel with the…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Shmuly Yanklowitz
A Rabbi Leading by Example In 2016, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz addressed the largest humanitarian crisis in recent memory: the conflict in Syria and the resulting displacement and death of unfathomable numbers of people. A co-founder of Jews for Human Rights in Syria, Yanklowitz has advocated for a more welcoming attitude toward Syrian refugees, both in…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Natalie Portman
Black Swan Actress Comes of Age as a Director Israeli-American Natalie Portman, 35, has long been a darling of screens small and large. She’s also been a major Jewish icon, publicly celebrating her identity as a member of the tribe. This year, her exploration of what it means to be a Jew, as well as…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Jona Rechnitz
An Elf Caught in a Scandal With the New York Mayor One Christmas Day a couple of years ago, two Orthodox businessmen in elf costumes delivered gifts to the home of a high-ranking official in the New York City police department: a video game system for his son, and jewelry for his wife. Prosecutors say…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Thomas Frieden
The Man To Take on Zika As New York City’s health commissioner during the Bloomberg administration, Dr. Thomas Frieden imposed a controversial smoking ban in workplaces citywide that’s been credited with helping to reduce smoking among New York adults from 21.6% to 16.9%. To fight cardiovascular disease, he produced regulations eliminating trans fat from all…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Aly Raisman
Captain of America’s Olympic Gymnasts Aly Raisman tumbled into victory this August after helping Team USA nab an Olympic gold medal in women’s gymnastics. The 22-year-old Massachusetts native also took home two silver medals of her own, pulling in second for her floor routine and all-around floor competition. With six medals to her name, Raisman…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Geza Rohrig
Plaudits Flood in for Son of Saul Actor Géza Röhrig, 49, a Hungarian-born Hasidic Jew and star of “Son of Saul,” rocketed to fame this year after winning acclaim for his performance in the film, which scored the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. As we soon learned, the man was as remarkable as…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Bob Dylan
Most Likely He’ll Go His Way (To Sweden, for a Nobel Prize) As of press time, there was one thing that nearly everybody in America knew and another that only one person did. What everybody knew was that the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to an American-born Jewish singer-songwriter, memoirist, poet and occasional…
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A Year of Curses and Many Blessings Abbi Jacobson
The Book Writing Broad of Broad City This season, “Broad City” took comic aim at Birthright in the episode “Jews on a Plane.” The show’s creators, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, starred in a two-episode arc that featured their characters going on a free trip called “Birthmark.” “We’re going to Israel,” Jacobson, 32, herself a…
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