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Opinion End Orthodox Monopoly on Jewish Marriage in Israel
After 65 years, the State of Israel is a thriving democracy of which we can all be very proud in many areas. But it is a democracy that continues to face many obstacles to preserving its Jewish and democratic character. One obstacle that is of particular concern to non-Orthodox Jews is the absence of any…
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Food Save My Nutella Ice Cream — Please!
Many years ago, while I was working as a counselor at Beth Tfiloh day camp in the Baltimore suburbs, my favorite camper took a trip to Israel. She came back with the best present a 15-year-old counselor could ever ask for: a jar of chocolate spread. At the time, I’d never encountered such a thing….
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Opinion No ‘Israeli ABBA’ — Again
A Romanian opera singer dressed like Dracula and wailing falsetto. Dancers in a Perspex boxes and drummers dosed in baby oil. Moustachioed Greeks dancing and singing about the joys of free alcohol. A Russian plea for world peace in three minutes with a key change. In case you missed it, that was the Eurovision Song…
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Fast Forward Jewish Groups Pitch In To Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims
Jewish groups are joining the effort to help those displaced by the tornado in suburban Oklahoma City. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, announced Tuesday that his organization will collect donations and distribute them to the American Red Cross and others on the ground in Oklahoma. “We are numb with grief,…
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News Jewish Leaders Speak Out on Anti-Gay Murder in Greenwich Village
Jewish LGBT leaders are joining the chorus of condemnation around the West Village murder of a gay man over the weekend by a convicted felon who spouted homophobic slurs before pulling the trigger on his 32-year-old victim. Just steps from the historic Stonewall Inn, widely considered the birthplace of the modern gay-rights movement, Elliott Morales…
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Israel News Helping Syria War Victims Poses Special Challenges for Jews and Israelis
When Moti Kahana first approached a local synagogue in New Jersey, asking to come and speak about the plight of Syrian refugees, the response was skeptical. “Are you sure about this?” he was asked. “Who is it we’re going to help there?” But, as the enthusiastic Israeli-born American Jew tells the story, reaction quickly changed…
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Opinion Researchers Feud Over Jewish Genes
Are Jews genetically homogenous? Though it’s certainly been a loaded question historically, the quandary has been the domain of scientists for a number of years now, all of whom have pretty much come up with the same answer: yes. But that was before Eran Elhaik entered the picture. An Israeli molecular geneticist, Elhaik is interested,…
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The Schmooze Irish and Jewish Humor on Display at Robert Briscoe Awards
At the May 13 Emerald Isle Immigration Center’s 2013 Annual Robert Briscoe Award Ceremony at Manhattan’s 21 Club honoring Robert Astrowsky, assistant secretary of the United Federation of Teachers and Edward Grebow, president and CEO of Amalgamated Bank, EIIC chair Brian O’Dwyer told the assemblage: “At a bad time in Belfast, in a dark alley,…
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News Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s selection as JTS commencement speaker roils graduating class
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Culture An Israeli genocide scholar looks to Israel’s history to understand ‘what went wrong’
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News Protesters picket Manhattan synagogue over Israel real estate sale, testing Mamdani and new law
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Holy Ground A Jewish farmer broke ground on a synagogue in an Illinois cornfield. His neighbors showed up to help.
In Case You Missed It
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Opinion I discovered anti-Zionism at the University of Michigan. I’m glad it lives on there
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Opinion An alarming new battleground in campus fights over Israel
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Looking Forward My artist grandmother nearly made aliyah. I don’t know what she’d think of Israel today
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Holy Ground A Jewish farmer broke ground on a synagogue in an Illinois cornfield. His neighbors showed up to help.