On the border of Tel Aviv and Jaffa are the ruins of an old house overlooking the beach and the Mediterranean Sea, with an anomalous black cube rising from its remnants. This is the Etzel House, also known as the Museum of Jaffa’s Liberators. It is dedicated to fighters of the museum’s eponymous organization, better…
Half a year after the Orthodox Union banned women from serving as clergy at members’ synagogues, at least four of its congregations are continuing to flout the rule. Now, advocates worry that the O.U.’s board could vote to expel those synagogues at its meeting next Wednesday, the first gathering of the board since it passed…
The first time I met the Palestinian human rights defender Issa Amro, it was just a few weeks after a terrorist attack in Jerusalem that had left three rabbis dead. “I feel sorry, really,” Amro told me, an open palm against his chest and a look of pain on his face. “I feel that civilians…
On a recent sunny morning, a friend of mine was scrolling through her Instagram, when she received a DM (direct message for you non-Instagram folks) from a modest Jewish fashion blogger. “Hey, I love your creations,” the message went. “Would love to collab and feature you on my page.” The fashion blogger wanted my friend,…
Two prominent public relations operatives are calling for the firing of the newly installed head of Manhattan’s Center for Jewish History over his links to left-wing advocacy groups that are critical of Israel and the occupation. The operatives, Ronn Torossian and Hank Sheinkopf, published a column Tuesday condemning David Myers, the academic tapped in recent…
There can be an almost archeological element to discussing the work and career of Jerry Lewis. The legendary Jewish-American filmmaker, who died on August 20, lived and worked through a period of immense transformation in American culture – one that he helped to create – such that it can be difficult for contemporary audiences to…
When Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992, it tore part of the roof off Bet Shira Congregation in Miami, leaving the synagogue flooded for days. It took two weeks before electricity was restored, and two months until activity in the Conservative congregation could be resumed. Andrew was a Category 5 hurricane, just like Hurricane Irma,…
By Dan Epstein Swimming lessons at the “Y” were the worst. For reasons I can no longer recall — but which probably had at least something to do with my stubborn resistance to taking any sort of extra-curricular instruction in anything that I wasn’t already deeply interested in — I got a late start on…
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