Consolation is on my mind, doubtless because just the other day I addressed a convention of a truly extraordinary organization called Kavod v’Nichum, Honor and Comfort. They’d gathered in Philadelphia, and because I once wrote some words expressing my awe at their devotion and their decency, they invited me to be with them. They are…
Whenever I think of Senator Frank Lautenberg — who died on June 2 of viral pneumonia — the most indelible memory that surfaces is the August 18, 1996, National Democratic Party fund-raising trifecta for then president Bill Clinton’s 50th birthday. Imagine: First a $1,500 a head ticket to a Sheraton Hotel reception at with a…
Israelis are about to be taxed to death — literally. Israelis are furious at the austerity budget, and thousands took to the streets last night to demonstrate. You may have read about the planned spending cuts or the planned tax increases, but you probably haven’t heard about the cemeteries plan. The government wants to impose…
Sometimes I wish every week was Shiva with its unending support and ongoing hours, and days, of continual storytelling. For when loved ones die, the narratives we share help keep them alive. Shiva is the week before we must dance with reality, when the debate over how long it is supposed to take to reach…
Palestinian riots continued over the weekend in several areas of the West Bank in the wake of the cancer death of a Palestinian prisoner. Palestinians clashed with Israel Defense Forces soldiers Saturday in the Gush Etzion area, also throwing rocks and firebombs at local Jewish settlements. Also on Saturday, Israeli soldiers prevented Palestinians from igniting…
Roger Ebert, America’s most famous film critic, died yesterday at the age of 70. Every celebrity he had ever lauded with praise or declared inapt — cough Rob Schneider —rushed to give his life a thumbs up. Ebert, an avid tweeter himself, would have been proud. Saddened to hear of the passing of Roger Ebert….
British police removed the body of exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky from his mansion near London on Monday before conducting an autopsy that could shed some light on his sudden unexplained death. Once known as the grey cardinal of Kremlin politics, the former billionaire power broker helped Vladimir Putin come to power before fleeing in…
Students at the Ma’or HaTorah yeshiva in Caracas knew something was afoot Tuesday afternoon when bodyguards driving bullet-proof vehicles started showing up unexpectedly at the gate, whisking teenagers from wealthy families to the safety of their homes. “After the second and third came, we realized this was serious,” Aron Misadon, a 16-year-old student at the…
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