Paul Ryan’s arrival on the Republican presidential ticket is changing the subject among Florida Jews — and that could be good news for President Obama. For months, Republicans have worked to win Jews in the key swing state with their critique of Obama’s perceived less-than-robust support of Israel. But Mitt Romney’s selection of Ryan turns…
Trained by life in surmounting grief, Marika Weinberger focuses on the silver lining in the recent decision in Budapest not to try Hungarian war criminal Laszlo Csatary in connection with the murder of her nine uncles in 1941. “At least now I won’t need to testify and relive the pain,” Weinberger, 84, told JTA in…
Two Israeli men were indicted for plotting to send women to seduce a New York City rabbi and blackmail him with photos of the encounter. The men, in their mid-30s from central Israel, were charged Monday in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court with conspiracy to commit a crime and attempted extortion under threat. The Jerusalem…
Julia Child, who would have celebrated her 100th birthday on August 15, is perhaps not the most obvious contender for a Jewish food icon. A broad-shouldered, aristocratic New Englander who spent years in France with her diplomat husband, Paul Cushing Child, she introduced mid-20th-century Americans to French cuisine (and to the notion that cooking should…
New York City could face mass resistance in the ultra-Orthodox community to proposed regulation of Jewish circumcision rites that involve the oral suctioning of blood from genital wounds, say advocates for that community. The city’s Board of Health is set to vote on a proposal that would require parents to sign a consent form before…
About 20 Roman Jews protested outside the apartment building of convicted Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke over his freedom of movement. Monday’s demonstrators staged a brief silent protest in front of the building where the former SS officer, who is 99, is serving a life sentence under house arrest for his role in the World…
Nevada regulators are investigating whether casino powerhouse Las Vegas Sands Corp broke bribery laws through its dealings in mainland China, adding to a growing number of inquiries into the empire of Sheldon Adelson. The Nevada Gaming Control Board’s probe, disclosed by two sources familiar with the matter, comes on top of reviews by the U.S….
Below are diseases that are often screened for in Jewish couples who are planning to have children because of an elevated risk of carrying a recessive mutation. Researchers so far have identified many more genetic diseases affecting those of Ashkenazi heritage than those of Sephardic descent. Ashkenazi Disorders • Bloom’s Syndrome Bloom’s syndrome is a…
A campaign to drive designated terror organizations off social media platforms is proving effective on some fronts in preventing Hezbollah from reaching out to members and supporters through the Web. Several key social media sites, including Facebook, agreed recently to delete accounts and applications belonging to the Lebanon-based group and its TV station, Al-Manar, which…
‘In the 1980s, when I would mention that I sold hummus, people thought it was something for gardening, something to help with the roses,” said Abraham’s Natural Foods founder and owner, Louis Fellman “Nobody knew what it was.” Cut to 2008, when Adam Sandler brought his slapstick love of hummus to the film “You Don’t…
Bel Kaufman Is Too Busy To Grow Old “I have stepped into the future,” 101-year old Bel Kaufman told me July 31, over lunch at Demarchelier, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Taking off her “80-year old Puccis” — oversized multicolored sunglasses by Italian designer Emilio Pucci — Kaufman mentioned that her two novels, “Up the…
