The Presbyterian church is on the brink of approving a long-debated measure to divest church funds from three companies that do business with Israel. The move, opposed by mainstream Jewish groups, was overwhelmingly approved by a vote of 36 to 11 by a committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) on July 3. The church’s general…
When I heard that it was Title IX’s 40th anniversary, my first thought was that it would best be commemorated by some great female athlete who could rhapsodize about her experience breaking the, er, net ceiling. But then I realized that while this landmark legislation, which guaranteed women equal access to athletic and academic opportunities…
“The Kosher Burrito — that’s me,” Los Angeles City Council member Eric Garcetti exclaimed with a toothy grin. Noshing on chocolate chip rugelach, Garcetti invoked the landmark fusion fast-food joint known for its signature pastrami taco dish to underline the mixed heritage that he hopes will help propel him to City Hall as L.A.’s first…
For the British Jewish community, the most memorable moment of the London Olympics may be a somber one. On Aug. 6, several hundred people are expected to attend a commemoration for the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics. “From conversations across the community, the key thing people…
The high dam mounted against the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel has sprung its first significant leak ? and for opponents of the BDS movement, as it is known, the timing could not be worse. In its general assembly, taking place between June 30 and July 7, the largest Presbyterian denomination in…
Three and a half years later, victims of Bernard Madoff?s massive financial fraud are still waiting to get back their money. Billions already recovered are tied up in litigation, and despite recent advances, there?s no resolution in sight. Attorneys came a few steps closer to digging out of the financial chasm Madoff left behind when,…
A beauty pageant for Holocaust survivors was held in Haifa, Israel, and featured female survivors walking down a red carpet and sharing details of their travails during World War II. Fourteen women, aged 74 to 97, participated according to news reports. Romanian native Hava Hershkovitz, 79, was crowned the winner. Organizers called the event a…
Imagine a country where Jews are prevented from serving as lawyers, where men must swear on the New Testament to enter public office and where people are denied the vote because of their faith. Welcome to America during the late 1700s, when a republic was forged in the heat of revolutionary ideas such as liberty…
In this week?s podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis talks with Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman, opinion editor Gal Beckerman and Forward fellow Naomi Zeveloff about the recent announcement that TIAA-CREF, which manages pensions and retirement funds, has sold $72 million worth of stock in the construction equipment firm Caterpillar which has been connected to Palestinian housing demolitions….
The decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of nearly all of President Barack Obama?s health reform plan is very good news for those tens of millions of Americans who due to poverty or preexisting illnesses had no access to health insurance. The court decision is purely a legal one ? pronouncing the…
The U.S. Supreme Court voted to uphold President Obama?s landmark Affordable Care Act in a 5-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts voting in the majority. The Court upheld the most controversial provision of the law that required all American citizens to purchase health insurance or face a tax penalty. The court struck a provision…
