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Cape Town’s Jewish History on Display
British sailor Sir Francis Drake described this city on South Africa’s southwestern coast as “the fairest Cape in the whole circumference of the earth.” Latter-day travelers seem to agree. In 2012 alone, Cape Town was named the second-best city in the world by readers of Conde Nast Traveller, the favorite city worldwide in the London…
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Jewish Congress Prepares To Meet in Hungary Amid Claims of Anti-Semitism
The World Jewish Congress’s upcoming quadrennial assembly, scheduled for May 5 in Budapest, Hungary, promises to be a complicated affair. It arrives just one month after WJC President Ronald Lauder’s public condemnation of his host country’s prime minister for presiding over “a xenophobic and increasingly anti-Semitic country.” In fact, Lauder says proudly, this is precisely…
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Are You There, Hashem? It’s Me, Judy.
I was 11 years old when I was decided that I was never going to wear a bra. It was right in the middle of the sixth grade, and my life had turned into a bewildering mess. You see, up until then, my world had two kinds of people in it: children and adults. But…
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Southern Jews a Dying Breed as Small-Town Communities Dwindle Fast
Bert Rosenbush Jr. enjoys a bittersweet form of celebrity in his hometown of Demopolis, Ala.: He’s the last living Jew there. It’s a form of prominence he shares with Phil Cohen of Lexington, Miss. In Natchez, Miss., Jerold Krause is one of just a dozen Jews left. And Selma, Ala., a town that was central…
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Can $1 Million Genesis Prize Inspire Jews Year After Year?
Russian oligarchs, right-wing Israeli politicians and American Jewish communal professionals have a plan to get young Jews interested in being Jewish. Called the Genesis Prize, the plan involves giving $1 million each year to an exceptional Jewish person, then presenting him or her as an inspiration to Jews everywhere. Prize organizers have hired former Hillel…
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Israeli Fighter Plane Shoots Down Drone From Lebanon
An Israeli fighter plane shot down a drone from Lebanon over the Mediterranean sea on Thursday as it was approaching the Israeli coast, the military said. “I view with great gravity this attempt to violate our border. We will continue to do what is necessary to defend the security of Israel’s citizens,” Israeli Prime Minister…
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Women Win Landmark Court Decision on Western Wall Prayer
Images of police detaining women for public worship at the Western Wall could be a thing of the past, after an important ruling today by the Jerusalem District Court. A judge considered the main grounds that police cite for detaining members of Women of the Wall, the interdenominational feminist group that gathers monthly for prayers…
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Will Marathon Bombings Derail Immigration Reform?
Jewish activists are worried that shock waves from the Boston Marathon terrorist attack could delay Congressional action on a long-sought immigration reform package — and endanger a provision on asylum. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society has been urging lawmakers to include a provision in the reform legislation that would extend filing deadlines for immigrants seeking…
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Four, Fifteen, Fifty-Eight
One of the fundamental roles of a national government is to protect its citizens. The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution reflects that obligation when it describes power coming from “we the people” to a central authority that would “insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of…
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François Jacob, French Nobel-Winning Jewish Scientist, Dies at 92
The French Jewish biologist François Jacob, who died April 19 at age 92, braved imminent death to arrive at explanations of the essence of life. He was awarded the 1965 Nobel Prize in medicine, along with his co-workers Jacques Monod and André Lwoff, for a discovery that explained how, by using DNA and RNA, cells…
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How Carob on Lag B’Omer Taught Jews To Be Cynical
Soon it will be Lag B’Omer, or didn’t you know? If you’re like me, you didn’t. Not a clue. After all, this is not a front-of-the-pack holiday. (“Lag” is right there in the name.) But it’s a holiday with a very cool history and one enduring quirk. Historywise, it celebrates a pause in a plague….
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