Yearly Archives 2019

‘Christmas With Your Jewish Boyfriend’: A Jewish jazz guitarist recorded a dozen famous Christmas songs written by Jews

Peter Curtis is a music professor at Riverside City College in Southern California. (Courtesy of Curtis)

NEW YORK (JTA) — A few years ago, Southern California-based jazz guitarist Peter Curtis was rehearsing for a Christmas concert that involved a choir, but he needed to find a song to play by himself for a solo interlude. Curtis is Jewish and was far from a Christmas song… Read more »

When will ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ deal with Midge’s privilege?

Midge Maisel, played by Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan, does her stand-up routine in season 3 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." (Amazon Prime)

Critics have long called out “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” co-creator Amy Sherman-Palladino for the lack of diversity in her shows about pushy, fast-talking white ladies. This outcry probably motivated Sherman-Palladino to set “Maisel” in the 1950s, when its sheer whiteness could be blamed on historical accuracy.… Read more »

Makers of Krispy Kreme giving tens of millions to Holocaust survivors and education

Gideon Taylor of the Claims Conference speaks as Israeli President Reuven Rivlin look on in Jerusalem in 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

(JTA) — A major German industry family will donate tens of millions of dollars to support Holocaust survivors and former forced laborers in the Nazi era. In addition to one-time donations to the Claims Conference and individual laborers, the Reimann family’s JAB firm has created a foundation designed to… Read more »

Jersey City shooter called Jews ‘Nazis’ in social media posts

(JTA) — One of the Jersey City kosher store shooters made derogatory comments about Jews in social media posts, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL on Tuesday said it had uncovered a Facebook page that it says belonged to David Anderson, one of the two shooters who killed… Read more »

My daughter survived an anti-Semitic terror attack last year. Here’s what I want the Jersey City survivors to know.

Shira and Amichai Ish Ran hold a news conference at the Shaarei Tzedek hospital a week after being injured in a West Bank terror attack, Dec. 16, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90)

BEIT EL, West Bank (JTA) — I watched the news of the terrible Jersey City shooting last week with both horror and a sense of deja vu. Sadly, violent attacks against Jews, wherever we live, have become all too common. We can no longer assume our communal spaces and houses… Read more »

Boris Johnson defeats Jeremy Corbyn by large margin in British elections

Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves a polling station after voting in the general elections in London, Dec. 12, 2019. (Yunus Dalgic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

LONDON (JTA) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has defeated Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party by a large margin in Britain’s general elections on Thursday, exit polls indicate. The Conservatives received 368 seats out of 650 according to the polls by BBC, ITV and Sky News, with Labour lagging… Read more »

Victims of Jersey City shooting remembered as generous, helpful and courageous

Hasidim, government officials and police officers stand in front of the K'hal Adas Greenville synagogue next door to JC Kosher Supermarket in Jersey City, N.J., the site of a deadly shooting, Dec. 11, 2019. (Laura E. Adkins/JTA)

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (JTA) — One opened a grocery store that became a hub for a growing community. Another was a young student who stood out for his charitable work. Another was an exemplary cop who tried to make the streets safer. Another was a worker who was always… Read more »

Jersey City shooting: Officials still unsure of motive

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (JTA) — Officials say they can not yet name a definitive motive for the shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey. “We know there is significant speculation about the shooters’ motive,” New Jersey Attorney General Gubrir Grewal said at a news conference on… Read more »

Israel will hold unprecedented third election in under a year

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Maybe the third time will be the charm. Israel will hold an unprecedented third election in less than a year after lawmakers failed to form a government coalition by Wednesday night. The date of the next election is set for March 10. That makes it fall… Read more »

Ronald Lauder is funding a $25 million campaign against anti-Semitism in US politics

(JTA) — Billionaire philanthropist Ronald Lauder is funding a $25 million campaign against political candidates in the United States who support or normalize anti-Semitism. Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, announced the new campaign, called the Anti-Semitism Accountability Project, or ASAP, on Monday. The effort will include… Read more »

Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky named 2020 Genesis Prize recipient

NEW YORK (JTA) — The Genesis Prize Foundation has announced that Natan Sharansky, a Jewish refusenik, prolific leader in the Soviet Jewry emigration movement and former Israeli politician, will be awarded the 2020 Genesis Prize. The Genesis Prize, dubbed the “Jewish Nobel,” was started in 2013 and is financed through… Read more »

Netanyahu says he and Mike Pompeo talked about annexing the Jordan Valley

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he discussed annexing the Jordan Valley with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when they met in Portugal, but the State Department has denied the claim. On Thursday, a day after meeting Pompeo in Lisbon, Netanyahu told reporters that they… Read more »

When it comes to hiring a lawyer, a little homework goes a long way

There are scores of reasons and occasions that may require legal advice or action. When it’s time to find an attorney, making a choice can seem complicated. Take methodical steps to research, seek recommendations, and prepare before you make a selection. Specialty The law is complex and changes rapidly.… Read more »