American Jewish history goes on trial June 1 in a courtroom battle that could decide the future of the nation’s oldest synagogue. At stake is a set of silver Torah bells known as rimonim, thought to be worth more than $7 million. But according to two warring congregations, the outcome could deeply affect Jewish life…
A pastrami sandwich at the 9th South Deli in Salt Lake City. Photograph by Anthony Weiss (JTA) – Going back to his very first bite of a Reuben more than 50 years ago, Randy Harmsen has always loved deli food. So when he decided to open his own restaurant, the Salt Lake City native followed…
By many measures, Jews have thrived in Rhode Island. Two have been elected to the state’s highest office, including the late Bruce Sundlun (governor from 1991 to 1995), whose resume also included a Purple Heart, a Légion d’Honneur from France and the Prime Minister’s Medal from Israel. Others have launched some of the state’s most…
1) Eighteen thousand and five hundred Jews live in Rhode Island — about 1.75% of the state’s population. 2) The central courtyard at Providence’s Roger Williams National Memorial was donated in 1931 by Jerome Hahn, in memory of his father, Isaac Hahn, the first Jewish citizen to hold elected office in the city. 3) Newport’s…
On December 2, 1763, the first day of Hanukkah, a procession wound through Newport, R.I., carrying three Torah scrolls bound for their new home in a synagogue that would quickly establish its place in American Jewish lore. When the scrolls entered the newly built Touro Synagogue, their arrival was celebrated with music and prayer that…
Within a matter of months, the congregation at Touro Synagogue will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s oldest Jewish house of worship. But the members of Congregation Jeshuat Israel, who have prayed at the Newport, R.I., building for generations, may have to celebrate outside. That’s because an argument over a dazzling pair of silver Torah…
Jewish candidates are involved in some of the meanest, dirtiest races of the 2012 election cycle. There are 435 U.S. House races this fall. Politico picked the ten “nastiest.” Of those, three feature Jewish candidates. Politico doesn’t divulge its criteria for picking the “nastiest” races. But even an unscientific survey by the wonks at the…
The letter has been liberated. We’ve been waiting to write that for a long time, ever since our Paul Berger went on a national search for George Washington’s original, iconic 1790 letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, the one famously promising a new United States government that would give “to bigotry no sanction,…
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