Rabbi Karol Sidon stepped down as Prague's chief rabbi amid reports about his love life. (Petr Balajka/Prague Jewish Community) PRAGUE (JTA) — When the novel “Altschul’s Method” hit the shelves in Czech bookstores this March, it was hailed as a brilliant political and psychological thriller combining elements of science fiction, alternate history and Jewish mysticism. But it became a true literary sensation when it was revealed a week… Read more »
Mikal Smith, left, and other Cultural Leadership participants visiting the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala. (Courtesy Cultural Leadership) (JTA) — On the evening of Aug. 12, after two consecutive nights of clashes between police and protesters in Ferguson, Mo., Mikal Smith rose to address a community meeting in the neighboring city of Florissant. In front of Gov. Jay Nixon, Obama administration officials and community leaders, Smith spoke… Read more »
(MyJewishLearning.com) — I’m advocating a new angle on Heshbon Nefesh, “soul’s accounting,” that we do in preparation to the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This soul work begins with the ancient Greek dictum “know thyself”? Or, to put it more rabbinically, “know before whom you stand?”… Read more »
The Kosovo Jewish community's president, Votim Demiri with his daughter Ines, a foreign ministry official, in Prizren. (Ron Kampeas/JTA) PRISTINA, Kosovo (JTA) – Boxing Club Prishtina is a squat building on a narrow street around the corner from the parliament in the heart of Kosovo’s capital city. Around the corner, a popular Italian restaurant draws the young Western Europeans and Americans in button-down shirts and open-toed heels who… Read more »
A Palestinian child amid the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip, Aug. 18, 2014. (Emad Nasser/Flash90) TEL AVIV (JTA) — The United Nations probe into the Gaza conflict hasn’t even begun, but Israel already is convinced that it won’t end well. In a resolution adopted by a vote of 29-1 with 17 abstentions, the U.N. Human Rights Council moved last month to establish a commission… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — When it comes to Hasidic characters in movies, film consultant Elli Meyer believes that the real deal trumps a random actor in costume. But that approach isn’t without its challenges. Meyer, a New York-based Lubavitcher Hasid, recounted one occasion when he was hired to cast… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — In II Samuel, Chapter 1, when David learns of the death of Abner, he proclaims to his soldiers and all of Israel, “You well know that a prince, a great man in Israel, has died this day.” When I learned of the death of my… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — With the new school year nearly upon us, Jewish educational leaders are scrambling to prepare their teachers to discuss this summer’s Gaza War. The most pressing challenge is to design age-appropriate conversations: At which grade level might classroom discussions include potentially frightening topics, such as… Read more »
Palestinian militants of the Al-Nasser Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, display their skills at their graduation ceremony in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Sept. 27, 2013. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90) TEL AVIV (JTA) — After four weeks of a punishing Israel air and ground campaign that left nearly 2,000 dead and much of Gaza in ruins, Hamas has lived to see another day. For Israel, that might not be the worst thing. That’s because for all of Hamas’ violent… Read more »
Heather Booth protesting for voter rights in Mississippi during the 1964 Freedom Summer. (Wallace Roberts) (JTA) — At the Freedom Summer anniversary conference in Jackson, Miss., the activists who registered black voters and taught in Freedom Schools under the threat of violence 50 years ago stood up to introduce themselves. It took three hours to hear what they did in the Magnolia State back… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — In Larry David’s fake real-life world on the HBO sitcom “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” he is tapped by Mel Brooks to take over the Zero Mostel-Nathan Lane role of Max Bialystock in the megahit Broadway adaptation of “The Producers.” Just as Max and accountant Leo Bloom… Read more »
(JTA) — It is now open season for those who would like a chunk of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s change and think they have a big idea up their sleeves. On Tuesday, the Genesis Prize Foundation announced the launch of the Genesis Generation Challenge, a competition offering 10 awards of… Read more »
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, left, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, meets with Jews who fled eastern Ukraine, July 2014. (Olivier Fitoussi) (JTA) — Each time he dispatches a car into Lugansk, Rabbi Shalom Gopin readies himself for hours of anxious anticipation. The scene of brutal urban warfare between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists, this eastern Ukrainian city now has no regular power supply, running water or cell phone reception. Mortar… Read more »
Lacey Schwartz's film 'Little White Lie' tells of her discovery in adulthood that her father was black. SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — When Lacey Schwartz celebrated her Bat Mitzvah more than two decades ago in her hometown of Woodstock, N.Y., a synagogue-goer turned to her and said, “It’s so nice to have an Ethiopian Jew in our midst.” Never mind that Schwartz, a striking 37-year-old with long… Read more »
On our recent trip to Israel with Temple Emanu-El my husband and I made a special trip to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. Special is indeed an understatement. Our mission was to deliver the adorable therapy dolls lovingly made by the women of Hadassah Southern Arizona, as well… Read more »
An Iron Dome missile defense battery near the southern Israeli town of Ashdod. Each interceptor missile cost Israel $50,000. (David Buimovitch/Flash 90) TEL AVIV (JTA) — After the missiles have stopped, after the troops have come home, even after most of the wounded are out of the hospital, Israelis will still be feeling the burden of Operation Protective Edge — this time in their pockets. With the recent expiration of a… Read more »
Howard "Howie" Salmon Howard “Howie” Malcolm Salmon, 52, died Aug. 7, 2014, after a two-year battle with brain cancer. Born in Rochester, N.Y., Mr. Salmon was a well-known artist in the Tucson community. “He was instrumental in the development of the Jewish Arts Alliance in 2002. In fact, he was the only… Read more »
The relationship between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen here after Obama's arrival in Israel on March 20, 2013, has been marked by reports of tensions. (Pete Souza/White House) WASHINGTON (JTA) – President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are not the best of friends — that seems pretty clear by now. But following reports during the Gaza conflict of cut-off phone calls, tough talk of “demands” and eavesdropping, it may be time for them to figure… Read more »
“Right now, the peace talks are based on only one thing, only on peace talks. It makes no sense at this point to talk about the most contractible issue. It’s Jerusalem or bust, or right of return or bust. That has led to failure and is likely to lead… Read more »
Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs and his wife, Bluma, by the glass window of their home damaged in an attack on July 17, 2014. (Cnaan Liphshiz) AMERSFOORT, The Netherlands (JTA) — After the latest attack on his home, Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs sat down on his couch, picked up the phone and made three calls. A chief rabbi of the Netherlands, Jacobs first phoned police and a Jewish community leader to tell them that late on… Read more »
