(JTA) — Police in the city of Uman in Ukraine arrested an Israeli man they suspect of defacing a large crucifix as payback for the desecration of a synagogue last month. The suspect, Netanel Shimon, is said to have dismantled on Dec. 31 the Jesus icon from a crucifix that locals in 2013 set up…
Survivors and families make their way to lay candles at the Birkenau Memorial during the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz./Getty Images Oswiecim, the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau and of the commemoration of the 1945 liberation of the camps, is typical of Polish cities in at least one respect: many Jews once…
Last week, Sarah Silverman made an appearance on comedian W. Kamau Bell’s talk show, “Totally Biased.” As usual, she was wonderful. But in between quips about the James Franco roast, and how she is actually genuinely hurt by jokes about her age, one couldn’t help but zoom in on the very unusual piece of jewelry…
The recent placing of a crucifix near the Uman grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov was an act of “clear provocation,” Rabbi Yaakov Bleich, chief rabbi of Ukraine, said. “Ukraine is not a Jewish country and Ukrainian Jews respect Christian symbols like crosses,” Bleich told the Jewish Ukrainian news site Еvreiskiy.kiev.ua. “However, the cross raised…
A cross near the gravesite of a Jewish sage in Uman, Ukraine, was defaced with a Hebrew inscription — a move that could stoke sectarian tensions in the Hasidic pilgrimage site. Hebrew graffiti was discovered Aug. 12 on a cross opposite the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the 18th century founder of the Breslov…
We’ve noted the recent trend of non-Jewish celebrities and public figures wearing Jewish jewelry. Remember Sarah Palin’s big Magen David pendant and Elijah Wood’s ring inscribed with a quote from Pirkei Avot? Now the Shmooze wonders why Jewish actress Rachel Weisz has started the reverse trend by wearing a cross — and one that costs…
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