President Obama holds a working dinner with (clockwise from left) King Abdullah II of Jordan, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Quartet envoy T… Read More »
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Worries Abound on Labor Front: Will Longtime Group Survive?
Rosalind SpiegelFor more than 70 years, the Jewish Labor Committee has had a presence in Philadelphia. But there’s a real chance that the local office could close up shop before Labor Day of next year, according to the organization’s leader… Read More »
Seeking Forgiveness, With Help From Pros
Edmon J. Rodman Jewish Telegraphic Agency What can Tiger Woods and Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the founder of Toyota motors, teach us about teshuvah? With Selichot — a service of repentance-centered prayers said in preparation for the… Read More »
Sarkozy’s Security Crackdown on Roma Roils the Waters
Devorah Lauter Jewish Telegraphic Agency PARIS This Roma camp in Pantin, which lies north of Paris, received an eviction notice at the end of July as part of the French president’s crackdown on illegal Gypsy shantytowns. [Photo by Devora… Read More »
Is Our Fate Determined on the Day of Atonement?
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman Jewish Telegraphic Agency Lawrence A. HoffmanHigh on the list of Jewish martyr stories still retold — or at least, alluded to — every Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is the terrible medieval tale of Rabbi Amnon of… Read More »
‘Paying to Pray’: Can You Get Around That?
Not a synagogue member? Don’t have High Holiday tickets? Don’t feel like shelling out money for admittance to services? Truth be told, free options locally for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are not very plentiful. But they’re out there if… Read More »
Lawmakers’ Tour of Israel Covers Ground, and Facts on the Ground
From left: Sen. Mike Stack, Sen. Daylin Leach, Rep. Curt Schroder and Sen. Kim Wardin JerusalemWhile in the midst of a campaign two years ago, State Sen. Kim Ward, a freshman Republican lawmaker from Westmoreland County in southwest Pennsy… Read More »
Birthright Brings In First Group From Suriname
Gil Zohar Jewish Exponent Feature JERUSALEM Lea and Alexander Farkash, with son Asher, at the newly restored Zedek ve-Shalom Synagogue A group of young adults from the tiny, 200-member Jewish community in Parimaribo,… Read More »
Briefs
State Department, ADL Slam Rabbi WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Obama administration condemned what it said was incitement by an influential Israeli rabbi. On the eve of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef — a former chief S… Read More »
Rumors Sully Imams’ Visit to View Concentration Camps
Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON A dispute surrounded a trip by a delegation of Muslim leaders, and a U.S. official, to Auschwitz and Dachau.Eight imams bowed in prayer before a sculpture at Dachau vividly representing th… Read More »
So, Why the Shofar?
In the Torah, we are given a commandment that on the first day of the seventh month (Tishrei), “you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts” (Leviticus 23: 24). These loud blasts, or teruah, were understo… Read More »
Holiday’s Second Day: To Be in Shul — or Not to Be
Suzanne Kurtz Jewish Telegraphic Agency WASHINGTON Steven Levine is matter-of-fact about his family’s upcoming plans for Rosh Hashanah. At the dinner table with his wife, Leslie, everyone will share resolutions, round-robin style. He wi… Read More »
Early Rosh Hashanah Means Time for Contemplation Is Now
Such was the case this year as the synagogue continues to reorganize and revamp in light of the impending move by the National Museum of American Jewish … Read More »
Aid Starts to Trickle In to Deluged Pakistan
Jonah Lowenfeld Los Angeles Jewish Journal (Photo by Peter Biro/International Rescue Committee)Nearly a month after pictures of Pakistanis wading through floodwaters began to appear on the pages of newspapers worldwide, aid from Americans… Read More »
Rabbi’s New Digs: ‘Too Perfect to Imagine’
Rabbi Eric Yanoff For Rabbi Eric Yanoff, joining Conservative synagogue Adath Israel in Merion Station wasn’t just about finding a new spiritual home, it was a literal homecoming. The 34-year-old was previously a rabbi at Shaarey Zedek –… Read More »
‘Don’t Know Jack’ — but Maybe You Know Adam?
“Jack” of all trade-offs: Al Pacino (left) and director Barry Levinson take the pulse of a scene, abetted (below) by screenwriter Adam Mazer of Philadelphia. “You’ll be the death of me,” the elderly man whispered. And hoped. D… Read More »
Silly Bandz Craze Suddenly Gets a Little ‘Meshuga’
Rabbi Emily Losben-Ostrov displays her playful creations.Sitting in Moish & Itsy’s Deli-Restaurant in Newtown back in the spring, Rabbi Emily Losben-Ostrov, originally of Bucks County, was having a hard time explaining to her parents, S… Read More »
Not Rocket Science; Well, Perhaps, With Peace Talks, It Is
President Barack Obama with crew from the International Space Station: Getting into orbit seems easy compared to a resolution in the Middle East. Washington It’s a peace conference where nothing is off the table — or on it, for that ma… Read More »
Making Sense of the Donated Dollars
Getting their just deserts: Temple University students build their identity as part of a 10-day Birthright Israel trip, which Federation helps support. When it comes to dollars designated for the Jewish state, is it more important to f… Read More »
Sportin’ Life Nets Honors for Team Philly
Good sports all — but then, what better way to describe the winners of the 2010 JCC Maccabi Games representing Team Philadelphia? From Baltimore to Denver, Philadelphians raced, held court, danced, and did what they do for love on the ten… Read More »
New for Israelis: ‘Explanations of How to Pray’
Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency San Francisco When Israel’s new Masorti prayerbook hit No. 4 on the country’s bestseller list for nonfiction last January, no one was more surprised than members of the country’s still-tiny Cons… Read More »
Conservative ‘Machzor’ Tries for Accessibility and Inspiration
Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency San Francisco This Rosh Hashanah, worshippers in Conservative congregations across North America will find themselves using a new machzor. More than 150,000 copies of the High Holidays prayer… Read More »
It’s Sour Grapes, Say Negev Wine Farmers
Moshe Zohar, who grew these pomegranate trees on his farm in the Negev Desert, is facing eviction from the very same government agencies that granted him the land in the first place. Sue Fishkoff Jewish Telegraphic Agency Beersheva, Is… Read More »
Sestak-Toomey Race: Reflection of U.S. Mood?
As the national focus intensifies on the Pennsylvania Senate race — a polarizing and bare-knuckle contest that many are calling a bellwether for the national mood — several groups are continuing to hammer U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democra… Read More »
Summers of Sweet Surprises, and Hope for the Jewish Future
In the spiritual domain, new experimental prayer groups are springing up, involving Israelis who have been distant from the synagogue . … Read More »
Opinion: Young and in Love — With Israel and Its People
Today, there remain many Jews, heavily invested emotionally and financially in the 62-year-old State of Israel , who hope that the Jewish people can finally … Read More »
Opinion: Where Was All the Commentary to Support an Embattled Israel ?
Show us what someone contends is the Jewish approach to one of these issues, and we’ll show you a Jew with a differing opinion. As the well-known aphorism … Read More »
Op-Ed: Why We Are Steadfast
Michael Oren Michael Oren Israel’s interception of the flotilla attempting to break the Gaza blockade has been the focus of massive international attention — and condemnation. In the melee of interviews, editorials and images, the basi… Read More »
Local Activists Defend a Beleaguered Israel
Roughly 250 people turned out for a pro-Israel rally last week in Center City, near the offices of Israel’s consul general.Photo by Peter Tobia Alarmed by the continuing international outrage directed at Israel following last week’s r… Read More »
Israelis FIght the Flotilla Firestorm
A scene from the video satire “We Con the World,” which mocks the outpouring of condemnation of Israel’s flotilla raid. Two days after last week’s flotilla incident — with Israel weathering a hailstorm of international condemnation -… Read More »
Why and How the Blockade
Following the Israeli navy’s takeover of a Gaza-bound flotilla, Jerusalem is wrestling with tough questions about its blockade of certain items to the Gaza Strip. Jerusalem · Analysis Despite the international outcry following… Read More »
Message to Obama: ‘Not How You Treat Family’
Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of the Orthodox Boca Raton Synagogue in Florida said that he left the meeting still wondering if the administration is on the right … Read More »
‘One Book’ Picks Next Big Thing
After several months of searching, reading and debating, organizers of Philadelphia’s “One Book, One Jewish Community” program have made their selection for 2010-11: By Fire, By Water, by Mitchell James Kaplan. The novel, Kaplan’s first,… Read More »
Choice of Israeli Envoy to Speak Rankles Some at Brandeis
Michael OrenAri Bildner Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK Brandeis has sparked a controversy in the university community with its selection of Israel’s ambassador to Washington as its commencement speaker. Last week’s announcement of M… Read More »
Even in Nepal, Linking One Generation to Next
From left: Jodi Sadoff, cousin of the Bat Mitzvah; Haley; and her parents, Claudia and David Sadoff take part in an age-old ritual.Joan H. Sadoff “I am Woman,” sung by Helen Reddy, was at the top of the charts. Skirts were short, hair and… Read More »
Impact of New Conversion Bill Engenders Vigorous Debate
Uriel Heilman Jewish Telegraphic Agency NEW YORK If Knesset member David Rotem has his way, Israel will enact a new law to make it easier for non-Jewish Israelis to convert to Judaism. This will have the effect of better integrating ten… Read More »
It’s May, and the Heat’s Turned Up, Just in Time for Primary Season
Manan TrivediOn May 18, Pennsylvania voters will decide the political fate of U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, the longest-serving senator in the state’s history and one of the most notable Jewish politicians in the country. But there’s no shortag… Read More »
Do Indirect Peace Talks Have a Shot of Making Some Progress?
Leslie Susser Jewish Telegraphic Agency JERUSALEM Although Israeli and Palestinian leaders are pessimistic about chances of a breakthrough in any U.S.-mediated proximity talks, the Americans hope that the process itself will generate a n… Read More »
On Israel , Reforming a Sentiment
The Philadelphia study also showed a glaring age gap in the level of emotional attachment to Israel — one that concerns supporters of the Jewish state … Read More »
Kyrgyzstan Shul Struck Amid Political Turmoil
Anna Rudnitskaya and Uriel Heilman Jewish Telegraphic Agency A police truck burns in front of the presidential palace in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on the day opposition protesters overthrew the government.MOSCOW As the capital of Kyrgyzstan e… Read More »
In Brief
Report: Hezbollah May Have Scuds JERUSALEM (JTA) — Syria is arming Hezbollah with Scud missiles, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported. Al-Rai Al-Aam cited U.S., Israeli and Western sources, saying that Syria recently shipped Scud missiles to Hez… Read More »
Late Polish President Leaves a Striking Legacy
Dinah Spritzer Jewish Telegraphic Agency Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria Kaczynska, at Yad Vashem in 2006 (Olivier Fitoussi /Flash 90 /JTA)PRAGUE For Jews, Poland’s late president, Lech Kaczynski, was a man of many fi… Read More »
Volunteers Find Israel Means Back to Base-ics
Moishe and Joyce Shor of Telford helped pack duffel bags at an Israeli military base during a recent Volunteers for Israel trip. Jacob Couzens narrowed it down to two options this summer: The 17-year-old could find a job at a place like St… Read More »
The New Russian Revolution?
Longtime Jewish communal leader Gary Erlbaum addresses Russian-speaking young professionals as part of a new program that aims to bolster the Jewish identity of this demographic group in the area.Marianna Salz may have been born in Latvia,… Read More »
Poll: Obama Struggling With Jews, but Not When It Comes to Israel
Ron Kampeas Jewish Telegraphic Agency This question in the American Jewish Committee’s new survey asked: “Do you approve or disapprove of the Obama administration’s handling of the Iran nuclear issue?”WASHINGTON A new survey shows Presid… Read More »
Facility One Step Closer to Merion Relocation
The future site of Stern Hebrew High SchoolBy receiving the approval of the Lower Merion Township Zoning Board, Stern Hebrew High School has cleared perhaps the last major hurdle in its effort to relocate from its current facility in Northe… Read More »
Passover Season Transitions: Childhood to Leading the Service
Jewish transitions are marked in a number of ways. For example, I used to sit at the kids’ table for Passover — you know, that folding card table placed at … Read More »
‘Seeing the Struggles’ With Their Own Eyes
Tatgenhorst said that he was “moved to tears” by his tour of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial, a sentiment shared by Larrabee, who had never before … Read More »
Pinpointing Israel on Campus
” Israel loves coffee, and so do you,” she hollered, doing her best to attract passers-by to the freebies, which included flyers about the Jewish state’s … Read More »
‘ Israel’s Superman,’ and Place in Mossad
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination in Dubai of top Hamas arms smuggler Mahmoud Mabhouh, but the killing is raising questions about … Read More »
Most Recent Skirmish in ‘Goldstone’ Wars Opens New Front
Nongovernmental defenders of Israel continue to demonize Goldstone. Most recently, Alan Dershowitz likened him to a “moser,” a Jewish traitor deemed in some … Read More »
Federation Killer Given Life
Italian Jewish leaders on Sunday welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to Rome’s main synagogue for a visit they said would help strengthen interfaith relations. Read More »
Communal Leader Rips Into Obama Envoy
Jewish Telegraphic Agency Staff WASHINGTON A major Jewish communal leader is criticizing the Obama administration’s top official dealing with anti-Semitism. Alan Solow, a longtime backer of President Barack Obama and chairman of the Conf… Read More »
Critics Query Motive Behind Apology
Former President Jimmy Carter spoke at Brandeis University in January 2007 amid complaints about his book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” Washington Jimmy Carter is asking the Jewish community for forgiveness — and insists that… Read More »
Green Group Sprouts in Synagogue
Germantown Jewish Centre has launched a “Green Mezuzah Havurah,” a new group devoted to sustainability and lessening the carbon footprint of its members. The idea came in part from Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, founder of the Baltimore Jewish E… Read More »
And a Happy New Year — With Old Biases?
Season’s greetings took on a somewhat sour note when I heard a certain salutation amid the jingle bells and paper horns touting a happy new year. “Where’s my husband? He’s at the store, trying to Jew down the owner for a better price.” I… Read More »
Corrections
In the Dec. 24 cover story, ” ‘Emergent’ Trend: Folks Find a Home, Unconventionally,” Riv-Ellen Prell, professor of American studies at the University of Minnesota, was mistakenly identified as director of the university’s Center for Jewish… Read More »
