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Israel News WATCH: On Judaism’s Holiest Day, Some Pray — Others Bike on Car-Free Highways
On Yom Kippur in Israel, the streets are silent. There are no buses, taxis or even private cars, as drivers respect local custom and keep off the road on Judaism’s holiest day. For bikers in Israel, it’s a holiday of a different kind. While devout Israelis are fasting or praying, secular Israelis take to the…
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News Will French Chief Rabbi’s Death Heal Split Over Gays?
Joseph Sitruk, the former chief rabbi of France who died in September, was a towering figure to his country’s Jewish community. Serving for two decades — between 1987 and 2008 — in the top clerical post, the Tunisian-born Sitruk gained a reputation for his charisma, friendliness to Orthodox and Sephardic teachings and engagement with the…
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News Jason Kander’s Got Broadway in His Blood — and He’s Running for Senate From Missouri
The United States Senate has lots of outsized Jewish personalities, from Al Franken to Chuck Schumer to Bernie Sanders. If the polls in Missouri’s Senate race keep narrowing, their ranks might grow next January with the addition of Jason Kander, the young Democratic challenger who’s running close to Republican incumbent Roy Blunt. The Real Clear…
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News A Jewish Exodus from France? Not So Fast
After a wave of terror attacks, and a spike in anti-Semitic hate-crimes, French Jews were said to be fleeing en masse for Israel. But figures released this week by the Jewish People’s Policy Institute indicate the exodus isn’t exactly what it’s cracked up to be. According to the research organization, 5,000 French Jews will make…
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News Sid Blumenthal, an Unhappy Bibi and 3 Other Jewish Moments From the Presidential Debate
After months of anticipation, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump met Monday night in the first of three presidential debates. Stretching for 90 minutes, the spectacle lived up to the hype, and felt at times more like a boxing match than a civic event. Here’s five Jewish snap-shots from a night to remember: Return of Sid…
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News Jewish Neocons Tweet Shade, Schadenfreude at Trump’s Debate Performance
It was a night of huffing and puffing, snorting and smarting, hectoring and interrupting for Donald Trump at the first presidential debate at Hofstra University. The media consensus — even the right-leaning Fox News — held that Hillary Clinton won. Jewish conservatives, many of them Never-Trumpers, signaled their agreement in a series of derisive tweets….
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The Schmooze The Six Jewiest Moments From This Season of ‘Transparent’
Transparent’s third season dropped last week, and we are kvelling. As Maura (Jeffrey Tambor) continues to transition, the family deals with dramatic changes and reversals. But there’s one constant in this installment: the Pfeffermans are as Jewish as ever. Here’s a run-down of this season’s best Jewish moments. 1. Elizah’s Crisis As the season opens,…
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News 5 Jewish Things About the MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grants
If there’s a Jewish gene for smarts, the list of MacArthur Fellows might be proof positive. American Jews have been heavily represented among recipients of the “Genius Grants,” the $625,000 annual prizes given to the nation’s most promising artists, scholars, and writers. It’s no different this year, as laurels go to the composer Julia Wolfe…
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Opinion Trump wants prayer in schools. The Bible tells us how dangerous that is
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Culture A Jewish snowman movie would have made a lot more sense than Netflix’s ‘Hot Frosty’
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Fast Forward Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat, launches bid for New Jersey governor
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