No one noticed Matisyahu when he climbed onstage at a downtown Manhattan concert venue in early January, drinking a cup of tea under dark red lights. It wasn’t until the onetime Hasidic reggae superstar took off his fleece cap, revealing a velvet yarmulke, that fans connected the gaunt, stubble-faced man with the yeshiva boy who…
A Tribute To Adrienne Cooper — Beloved Yiddishist, Activist and Musical Star “God’s bank vault is filled with tears shed for loss,” Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky said to a crowd of 900 at the January 1 memorial for Adrienne Cooper, held at the New York City congregation Ansche Chesed. Cooper, who died December 25 at age…
An Orthodox Jewish charity known for its omnipresent radio jingles has lost a federal lawsuit over $300,000 in scholarships that were allegedly promised to Jewish day school students. A federal jury found in favor of the school on January 12 for the full amount demanded. A charity closely affiliated with Kars4Kids, which runs a high-profile…
A Delaware judge has ordered hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt to return $500,000 in profits earned from trades made using confidential information. The order by Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster does not constitute a criminal charge against Steinhardt, a major Jewish philanthropist, and it is not a fine. But Laster ordered Steinhardt…
About two weeks before she died, Debbie Friedman stood with Rabbi Joy Levitt at the piano in Levitt’s Manhattan apartment, and she shared with her friend a melody that the legendary singer and composer would never have the chance to record. It was a new version of “Shalom Aleichem,” the hymn traditionally sung Friday evenings…
Since Alabama’s football team won the national championship, most of the credit has gone to head coach Nick Saban. But what about Robert Levin? Pediatrician by day, Levin has been Alabama’s band announcer – better known as the “Voice of the Million Dollar Band” – for 21 seasons. So he’s been around for three national…
Hundreds of demonstrators hit the streets of the Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi on Tuesday afternoon, protesting what they call the discrimination of Ethiopian immigrants. According to Ethiopian residents of Kiryat Malachi, housing committees in the city have been refusing to sell them apartments. The protest was not only attended by Ethiopian immigrants, but by…
Every Polish town and village had its own Holocaust. That’s what Zuzanna Radzik wants Polish children to learn. Her task is not easy. Although Polish children are taught about the Holocaust, they don’t learn what happened in their own towns. The killing did not just happen in the death camps that they are taught about,…
As New York draws new congressional lines, Gary Ackerman, an influential House voice on Middle East issues, is at risk of losing his seat to redistricting. New York’s byzantine redistricting process is months away from completion. What is clear is that before New Yorkers go to the polls in November, the state will have two…
Jacob (Jack) Lew, an Orthodox Jew, will be taking over as the White House Chief of Staff, a position considered to be closest to the President’s ear. Lew’s appointment was announced Monday, shortly after news broke that the current chief of staff William Daley is stepping down. Lew currently serves as director of the Office…
Veteran Israeli journalist Yair Lapid has left his job as a television news anchor to enter politics. It is expected that Lapid, who made the announcement Sunday, will form his own independent party with a liberal bent. Lapid left his job at Israel’s Channel 2, with no election on the horizon, just days before the…
