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How Do I Tell Him I Want a Bris?
The Seesaw is a new kind of advice column in which a a broad range of columnists will address the real life issues faced by interfaith couples and families. Join the discussion by commenting on this post, sharing it on Facebook or following the Forward on Twitter. And keep the questions coming. You can email…
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Is Vladimir Putin’s Embrace of Jews for Real — or Political Show?
(JTA) — When even Russian policemen had to pass security checks to enter the Sochi Winter Olympics, Rabbi Berel Lazar was waved in without ever showing his ID. Lazar, a Chabad-affiliated chief rabbi of Russia, was invited to the opening ceremony of the games last month by President Vladimir Putin’s office. But since the event…
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Jewish Traveler Cheats Death by Skipping Malaysia Flight on Shabbat
The owner of a travel site claims a Jewish air traveler cheated death when he decided not to fly on Shabbat — and avoided being on board doomed Malaysia Airlines flight 370. The lucky globetrotter changed his mind about booking the flight last Saturday after an observant travel agent refused to book the flight from…
The Latest
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Bitcoin Bites the Dust at Baltimore Shul After MtGox Goes Bust
A small Baltimore synagogue that pioneered use of bitcoin has decided to stop accepting the virtual exchange for donations after a leading exchange collapsed amid reports of seven-figure losses. Congregation Tiferes Yisroel had no relationship with MtGox, which declared bankruptcy over the snafu, and did not lose money when the bitcoin exchange went under. But…
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Is Sephardic Spanish Citizenship ‘Fever’ for Real?
(JTA) — News that Spain is proposing to offer citizenship to the descendants of Jews expelled in the 15th and 16th centuries spread like wildfire in Israel. Within hours of the Spanish government’s announcement last month, the Israeli website Ynet published a list of family names supposedly eligible for citizenship that contained some obviously Ashkenazi…
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Mort Klein Reelected in Landslide as Zionist Organization of America Chief
Mort Klein has been overwhelmingly reelected national president of the ZOA, beating Steven Goldberg, the first election challenger in Klein’s 20 years at the ZOA’s helm. Klein won a landslide victory victory in the election held Sunday afternoon at the ZOA’s national convention in Philadelphia, earning 93% of the vote, or 115 votes, to Goldberg’s…
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How Do I Tell My Russian Host Family I’m a Jew?
When I was 18 years old I lived for six months with a family in the provincial Russian city of Novgorod. It was 1995, just four years after the fall of the Soviet Union, and I was the first Englishman that most people in Novgorod had ever met. My host family and their relatives had…
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The New Head of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Is Anything But
At first glance, it’s an odd choice. Last month, Julius Meinl, a prominent businessman, was elected as the new president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, a regional constituent group of the World Jewish Congress. The EAJC’s member states include Russia, Ukraine and many other members of the former Soviet Union, along with India, Myanmar, Singapore…
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‘Shul on the Beach’ Makes Orthodox Waves in Los Angeles
Did you hear the one about the Orthodox synagogue located between a rehab center and an erotic lingerie shop, steps away from medical marijuana clinics and tattoo parlors, with a dead-on view of a beach where bikini-clad sun worshippers frolic? If you haven’t, it means you’ve never been to the Pacific Jewish Center on the…
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Mort Klein Faces First Challenge as Head of Zionist Organization of America
For 20 years, Mort Klein has served as National President of the Zionist Organization of America, a right-leaning Israel advocacy group with a venerable history. But on Sunday, Klein will face the first election challenge of his presidency when ZOA members meet to vote on granting him another term as Steven Goldberg challenges him for…
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Ukrainian Jews Seek To Emigrate Amid Uncertainty
The Jewish Agency for Israel has seen a spike in Ukrainians looking to immigrate to Israel as turmoil roils their country. Marina Steiman, a Jewish Agency official in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, declined to give numbers, but she said the agency is receiving “more calls then usual.” Steinman, the agency’s director of community relations in…
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