Yad Vashem, Israel’s center for Holocaust research, has opened an investigation into revoking the title of “Righteous Among the Nations” from a Belgian official credited with saving hundreds of lives during the Holocaust. Robert de Foy, former head of the Belgian security services, was named a “Righteous Gentile” in 1975 for his part in the…
Sheldon Adelson has reportedly given $5 million to an independent political action committee that is supporting Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. The Washington Post said the money was designed to keep Gingrich competitive through the upcoming South Carolina primary. Adelson, who owns casinos and media interests in Israel, pledged $20 million to Winning Our Future,…
I think about food — pretty much all the time. As a food writer, I have the absurd fortune of getting paid to craft stories that inspire others to think about food. And at home, I fall into the cliché of people who begin plotting dinner before the morning coffee gets cold. So perhaps it’s…
In this week’s podcast, host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by Forward opinion editor Gal Beckerman and Washington correspondent Nathan Guttman to discuss the fallout from the Iowa caucuses and the outlook for Republican presidential candidates in New Hampshire and beyond. Then, staff writer Paul Berger stops by to discuss his story about a Belgian man…
The Muslim Brotherhood assured the United States it would not break Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, according to the U.S. State Department. A State Department spokesperson said Thursday that the Islamist political party had offered assurances it would not break Egypt’s 1979 accord with Israel, despite statements to the contrary by a party leader. “We…
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, a Man of Wit, Widsom and Jokes, Feted by New York Board of Rabbis On December 19, the New York Board of Rabbis hosted a “Vodka & Latke” celebration at the New York City Fire Museum in honor of Rabbi Joseph Potasnik’s “special birthday,” later revealed to be his 65th. Among the…
It was a beginning right out of a sitcom: I was the ultimate WASP, fresh from a stint in the buttoned-down corridors of Time Inc. when I went to work for Omus Hirshbein, director of performing arts at the 92nd Street Y, on October 3, 1983. I was equal parts eager and nervous: As far…
Lawmaker Danny Danon pauses during an interview to scribble an important note to himself. A question about a derogatory portrayal of him in the left-leaning daily newspaper Haaretz gave him an idea: “I must remember to use this article in my campaign.” In the piece in question, columnist Gideon Levy wrote that Danon “will be…
Whether for catching balls, protecting hands or knocking your opponent’s block off, gloves have played many roles in American sports and culture — and Jews have been a big part of practically all of them. Jewish ingenuity outfitted Hall of Famer Hank (The Hebrew Hammer) Greenberg with a revolutionary baseball mitt, made the boxing glove…
Rick Santorum, who shocked the political world by coming within a whisker of winning the Iowa Republican caucuses, has long touted his pro-Israel and anti-Iran policies on the campaign trail. But Santorum still faces a tough road ahead as he fights to prove he belongs on the national stage. His ultraconservative ideology, which includes an…
The legendary Yiddish musician and music teacher Adrienne Cooper, who died December 25 at age 65, was remembered at a New Year’s Day memorial service on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Jon Kalish reports from the event, and speaks with Cooper’s friends and colleagues about the life, career, character of the woman who, as fellow musician…
