Mollie Darmon, left, and Allie Lichterman, seniors at Frankel Jewish Academy in suburban Detroit, using their iPads in class. (Frankel Jewish Academy) WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (JTA) — Toward the end of his life, Apple’s visionary leader, Steve Jobs, was visited by another computer innovator, Microsoft’s Bill Gates. The conversation turned to the future of education. As related in Walter Isaacson’s recent biography of Jobs, both men agreed that computers had made surprisingly… Read more »
PARK CITY, Utah (JTA) – Call it the Sundance Synaplex. This week, crowds of people will be flocking several times a day to Temple Har Shalom in this picturesque ski town, but they won’t be coming for Shacharit, Mincha or Maariv services. Instead, for 10 days the synagogue is… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Barack Obama won’t show up on the vote tallies after polls close in Florida’s Republican primary on Jan. 31, but the president’s supporters already are waging a fight for the Sunshine State. Democrats are rolling out a campaign to rival any of the GOP candidates, with… Read more »
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords hugs Daniel Hernandez, the former congressional intern who helped save her life, at a private gathering Jan. 23. (Facebook.com) U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was wounded in an assassination attempt on Jan. 8, 2011, announced Sunday that she would resign from Congress. In a dramatic two-minute video posted on her congressional website, Giffords said she will step down as she continues her recovery. “I have more work… Read more »
Filipinos light Chanukah candles in their home in South Tel Aviv on Nov. 24, 2010 in advance of the Jewish holiday. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90/JTA) TEL AVIV (JTA) — With eyes closed, it would have been difficult to guess that the female voice with the amazing range singing a Hebrew classic was a shy-looking, 11-year-old Filipina. But there was Kathleen Eligado performing Miri Aloni’s “Ballad of Hedva and Shlomik” before a prime-time television audience… Read more »
A swastika spray-painted on a window of Temple Beth Israel in Hackensack, N.J., Dec. 10, 2011. (ADL) NEW YORK (JTA) — As Jews in some northern New Jersey communities made their way to synagogue last Shabbat, the scene was slightly different from the typical day of rest. Extra police cars were on patrol near synagogues. At Bnei Yeshurun in Teaneck, a new buzzer system had been… Read more »
Charlotte (Levitt) Londer, 83, died Dec. 29, 2011. Born and raised in Minnepolis, Minn., Mrs. Londer lived in Phoenix and Tucson for more than 40 years. Mrs. Londer was preceded in death by her sister, Ann Shapiro. Survivors include her husband of 64 years, Robert Londer; children, Thomas A.… Read more »
Mildred (Millie) Koval Gerowitz, 84, died Dec. 24, 2011. Born in Rochester, N.Y., Mrs. Gerowitz became a fulltime resident of Tucson in 1987. She was a lifetime member of Hadassah and belonged to Congregation Anshei Israel Sisterhood, where she volunteered in the gift shop and preschool. She volunteered at… Read more »
A son, ISAAC DAVID CHUSID, was born Dec. 12, 2011 to Alexandra and Aaron Chusid of Rockville, Md. Grandparents are Joan and the late Michael Weinberg of Tucson, Charki Dunn of Buffalo Grove, Ill., and Michael Chusid and Sandra Goodman of Los Angeles, Calif.… Read more »
REBEKKAH DIAMOND, a science teacher at Canyon Del Oro High School, was chosen to participate in the National Science Teachers Association yearlong fellowship program. One of three teachers chosen from Arizona, Diamond will receive an NSTA membership package, online mentoring, the opportunity to participate in web-based professional development seminars… Read more »
Yair Lapid, alongtime television anchor, is quitting journalism to enter politics. (Yair Lapid's official Facebook page) JERUSALEM (JTA) — One of the big open questions after Israel’s social protests last summer was whether or not the one-time mass movement would be able to translate its newfound clout into lasting political power. During the weeks of protests and for months afterward, none of Israel’s political parties… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The decision by Israel and the United States to delay a massive joint anti-missile exercise set off a frenzy of speculation as to what the move says about relations between the two allies amid mounting tensions with Iran. U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed to JTA over… Read more »
JTA’s new “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost friends and relatives. BALTIMORE (JTA) — Even after seven decades, Peter Nurnberger’s most basic biographical facts remain elusive. The Slovakian doesn’t know his birth date, his natural parents’ fate or whether they had any other children. Peter’s adoptive parents… Read more »
Alex Dunai, second from right, has become a leading purveyor of Jewish heritage tourism in Ukraine. (Alex Weisler) LVIV, Ukraine (JTA) — Alex Dunai is not Jewish. But over 15 years of leading Jewish tourists searching for their roots in Ukraine, he’s built up a serviceable knowledge of Yiddish — though sometimes he has to make things up. “I make up sayings — you have highway roads, we… Read more »
Gustav Zoltay, left, the director of the Federation o Hungarian Jewish communities, and Peter Feldmajor, its president, at the founding of the new Hungarian Jewish Congress. (Szabolcs Panyi) BUDAPEST (JTA) — A whistle-blowing rabbi and a reform-minded lay leader are at the forefront of new efforts to shake up Hungary’s entrenched Jewish establishment. Late last year, Rabbi Zoltan Radnoti reportedly alerted authorities to complaints of embezzlement and tax fraud in the operation of Budapest’s main Jewish cemetery on Kozma… Read more »
Reporter Alex Weisler, second from right, and his mother, second from left, unite with lost relatives in Ukraine. (Alex Weisler) LVIV, Ukraine (JTA) — The more I thought about it, the more it began to seem like a reasonable choice: I would roam around Europe for six months, visiting Jewish museums, talking to youth groups and covering various community happenings. I would travel from vibrant London to the post-Communist… Read more »
(Forward) — About two weeks before she died, Debbie Friedman stood with Rabbi Joy Levitt at the piano in Levitt’s Manhattan apartment, and she shared with her friend a melody that the legendary singer and composer would never have the chance to record. It was a new version of… Read more »
Nica Rothschild and Thelonius Monk, from 'The Jazz Baroness’ Hannah Rothschild never quite solves the mystery that comprises the heart of “The Jazz Baroness.” But her seductive documentary about the profound friendship between her British great-aunt Nica and bebop pianist extraordinaire Thelonius Monk provides so many bits of pleasure along the way that we don’t particularly mind. Made… Read more »
The memorial stone to be dedicated Jan. 29 reads ‘Remembering the Victims of the Holocaust’ Beth Shalom Temple Center of Green Valley will host a free community gathering in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 10 a.m. in the chapel of Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery, 18751 S. La Canada Dr. The program will feature historical perspectives, readings, poetry,… Read more »
Rabbi Shalom Hammer Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging will host Rabbi Shalom Hammer, who will speak on “Finding Inner Peace,” on Friday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. The presentation will include a video about Alice Herz-Sommer, the oldest living Holocaust survivor. Hammer will explore Jewish perspectives on maintaining a positive emotional… Read more »
