The Palestinian economy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank shrank for the first time in a decade in the first half of 2013, the World Bank said, blaming a decline in foreign aid and myriad restrictions imposed by Israel.
The Class of 2012 will graduate this May with the unique distinction of having begun college when the economy first nosedived, four years ago.
With the downturn continuing, two of Los Angeles’ wealthiest congregations have welcomed unfamiliar professionals to their regular synagogue staffs: social workers.
Jewish organizations generally don’t react quickly to events unless they involve terror attacks in Israel or blatantly anti-Semitic statements by foreign dictators, but one organization managed to whip out a response to President Obama’s jobs speech—a favorable one, as it happens—less than an hour after the president finished speaking.