Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth, won one of the world’s largest prizes, the $1.5 million Templeton Prize, which recognizes individuals for contributions to life’s spiritual dimensions, announced the John Templeton Foundation today. During his service as chief rabbi from 1991 to 2013, Sacks…
Prominent Jewish Republican leaders and activists show little sign of being able to unify publicly in responding to Donald Trump’s emergence as their party’s presidential front-runner — even after Trump’s failure to condemn dedicated anti-Semites and racists and his declaration that he would be “neutral” on Israel. With Trump’s triumph in the March 1 Super…
The Anti-Defamation League has announced its own new effort to oppose the boycott of Israeli goods, joining a plethora of Jewish groups that have launched similar efforts in recent months. Calling efforts to boycott, divestment from and sanction Israel an “attack on Israel and the Jewish people,” the ADL said on February 29 that it…
(JTA) — Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, former chief rabbi of Jerusalem’s Old City, is no fan of Reform and Conservative Judaism. In a letter sent Thursday to Israel’s chief rabbis, the haredi Orthodox Nebenzahl calls the movements “heretical religions.” They are “uprooting the religion and hurting everything holy to us,” he writes. “Their war against the…
Over the weekend, Iran held its first parliamentary election since the nuclear deal and it looks like reformists are coming out on top. The election showed wide support for moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani said in a tweet on Friday, “#IranElections2016 symbol of Iran’s political independence. Govt reassures the safekeeping of nation’s vote &…
A Palestinian human rights activist’s tour of Chicago-area college campuses ended on a sour note this week, after he was heckled and threatened by students and anti-Israel protestors. Bassem Eid, an East Jerusalem Palestinian who is the founder and director the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, cancelled his planned lecture at Northwestern University Hillel after…
Though she’s pregnant with her second child, Chelsea Clinton, the former first daughter, has taken center stage in the current election cycle, campaigning for her mother frequently during this primary season. So has the former president, and would-be first first husband, Bill Clinton. But one member of the Clinton clan has been notably absent, even…
Levi Sanders is so far away from the political limelight that until his father began to gain momentum in his presidential bid, the press couldn’t even figure out the identity of his mother. The only biological son of Jewish presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, Levi (pronounced LEH-vee, as in the biblical tribe name) has recently made…
On Monday, February 29, five women from the ancient Chinese Jewish community of Kaifeng plan to make aliyah with the help of the nonprofit organization Shavei Israel. After studying Hebrew and Judaics over the past few years, the five are excited to assimilate into Jewish culture after moving to Israel. Li Jing, one of the…
After appearing only as an extra in the nine previous engagements, Israel took center stage at the Republican debate Houston on Thursday night. Cast for the first time in a leading role, Israel served as a litmus test to ascertain the devotion of the GOP candidates to cherished conservative principles but mainly as a baseball…
Rabbi Adele Plotkin wants the mayor of Chino Valley, Arizona to stop praying — at town council meetings. Plotkin, 66, of Congregation Beit Torah, contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona about Mayor Chris Marley’s practice of reciting a prayer in the name of Jesus to open the meetings. “It’s where you are that…
