The Jewish social service charity FEGS dumped increasingly large sums into a for-profit subsidiary in the years prior to its mysterious downfall in January, the Forward has learned. The AllSector Technology Group, a for-profit corporation owned by FEGS, was meant to earn money for FEGS. Instead, in 2011, FEGS began paying out massive sums to…
A mainstream Jewish community that fractured in the run-up to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is now reuniting for a frantic attempt to derail the nuclear deal the Obama administration is negotiating with Iran. In the weeks prior to the Israeli leader’s address, Netanyahu’s arrangement with Congress’s GOP leadership to assail President Obama’s…
Arriving at the airport in Tabriz, Iran at 2:30 a.m., I covered my head as the travel agency had instructed. I had come as a tourist, planning to travel the country for three weeks. At immigration, my passport and visa were confiscated because I am American. Segregated from other arriving passengers, in the middle of…
The Jewish population of St. Louis rose by 14 percent to 61,000 in the last 20 years, a new study has found. The results of the 2014 St. Louis Jewish Community Study, the first study of Jewish St Louis in 20 years, were released last month. The study also found that there are an estimated…
During the past two years, Dima Zicer has skipped several political rallies opposing the chauvinistic policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Jewish scholar of education from St. Petersburg, Zicer, 55, has limited hope for change in a country that is ranked 148th in the Press Freedom Index and where several of Putin’s critics have…
Last minute attempts by both the Obama administration and the Israeli government accelerated Monday to take the edge off of a vocal and at times ugly weeks-long dispute focused on the speech Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will give to Congress Tuesday morning. In the run-up to his much anticipated address, Netanyahu offered the administration and…
Bill de Blasio seems to be spending a lot of time worrying about Jews in Europe. The New York City mayor has visited two different Upper East Side synagogues in the past month to deliver addresses about attacks on French Jews. He went to Paris for less than 24 hours in January to lay wreaths…
(JTA) — With the clock winding down on a recent game here, Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt was still barking out instructions to his players despite enjoying a late 40-point lead over the Washington Wizards. Things didn’t come quite as easy early this season for the rookie NBA coach and his team, which had great…
The Seesaw is a new kind of advice column in which a broad range of columnists will address the real life issues faced by interfaith couples and families. Read the discussion and vote below for what you think is the best response to this particular quandary. You can email your own questions, which will remain…
This exclusive interview took place the morning of February 3 at the gracious hacienda of Fidel Castro just outside Havana, overlooking the ocean. The idea was initiated by Castro through a signed letter hand-delivered to the offices of the Backward by an officer of the Cuban army. “In the spirit of friendship and brotherhood, I…
Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich, a Republican candidate for governor, died on Thursday in an apparent suicide after he went public with allegations that rivals in the GOP planned to mount an anti-Semitic ‘whisper campaign” about his Jewish heritage. The suicide came minutes after he called the Associated Press to accuse John Hancock, the head…
