American Jews instinctively understand their deep stake in the national conversation about immigration. While it would be hard to point to any policy consensus, it is clear that many Jews are troubled — even offended — by the anti-immigrant hysteria growing in the blogosphere and by the demagogic exploitation of the issue in the political…
The U.S. government forced Rabbi Gail Diamond to make aliyah. She and her family have a good life in Israel — she teaches at a yeshiva in Jerusalem and her children are happy in school. But she didn’t move to Israel entirely by choice. She had to leave the U.S., and her Massachusetts congregation, when…
University Settlement, the first settlement house in this country, will soon be celebrating its 125th anniversary. Founded in 1886 to serve primarily Jewish immigrants to New York City from Eastern Europe, the Settlement has remained true to its original mission while adapting to the changing Lower East Side. The connection of past and present has…
Jane Ziegelman’s new book “97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement” (Smithsonian Books/HarperCollins) delves into the pantries of the lower East Side in the early 20th century. The book, slated for publication in June, will be released in conjunction with an expansion of the Lower East Side Tenement…
It’s Passover time, and a heady mix of liberation, freedom and matzah fills the air. While we recount the tale of the Children of Israel’s escape from Egypt, a strange inversion of this story unfolds in France. In this nightmare exodus, the Israelite (a non-Jewish klezmer clarinetist) flees Egypt (Moldova) and makes it to the…
If you think Israeli food comprises just hummus, falafel and shawarma you have a lot to learn (and taste). Modern Israeli cuisine is hip, fresh, local and heavily influenced by the loads of immigrants living there. For your convenience, we’ve found two food programs, both happening this week, sure to bring you and your taste…
What do Israelis think about immigrants? A new survey, commissioned by the Immigration and Absorption Ministry, reveals something of a love-hate relationship. The majority of the population — some 73% — thinks that immigration is vital for the state. This is presumably primarily due to what many Israelis consider the need to boost the Jewish…
A packed house of about 200 greeted Forward contributor Ilan Stavans and Pete Hamill Thursday night at the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side for a discussion of Stavans’s new book, “Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing” (Library of America). Stavans, who came to the United States in 1985 from Mexico and teaches…
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