Posts By April Bauer

CLEVELAND (JTA) — An issue of historical concern to American Jews drew waves of applause when Donald Trump Jr. preached about it Tuesday night from the stage of the Republican National Convention. It wasn’t Israel, Iran or the fight against anti-Semitism. It was a call for the government to… Read more »

CLEVELAND (JTA) — Wednesday night’s gripping tale of a dramatic, sudden repudiation of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz by Sheldon Adelson, the major pro-Israel philanthropist and Republican donor, seems a little less consequential in the light of Thursday morning, according to folks who are close with Adelson and his wife, Miriam.… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — What was RBG thinking? U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg launched a broadside against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump over the the last week, calling him unfit for office. She subsequently apologized, but not before voices on the right and left criticized her for seeming to compromise the… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Ever since the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel began picking up steam three years ago, its proponents have brazenly declared the movement’s inevitable triumph. In April, for example, a pro-divestment group at the University of Chicago issued a statement proclaiming that by the school’s… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — If a sweet pulled brisket married a can of baked beans, this dish would be their delicious baby. I love baked beans, right out of the can, all summer long for cookouts and backyard parties. It reminds me of my childhood, not to mention it’s… Read more »

TEL AVIV (JTA) – The founders of an Israeli food tech startup want you to enjoy your meat without the guilt — in fact, without the animal. SuperMeat, which launched in December and began an online crowdfunding campaign Monday, is developing a method for bioengineering “cultured meat” from animal cells.… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Last week, we watched in horror and dismay as violent event after violent event unfolded, each amplifying and recontextualizing the one before it. By Friday morning, July 8, five Dallas police officers were dead, three black men had been killed by the police (including the… Read more »

(JTA) — Investigators may never know with certainty what combination of factors led Micah Xavier Johnson to methodically fire upon police officers in Dallas. Five white officers were killed in the attack, which came during a peaceful rally protesting the shooting deaths of young black men by law enforcement in other cities. Johnson… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – They’re elusive, but show up in the right place at the right time — and you might find one! No, we’re not talking about the latest iteration of Pokemon Go. This is about tracking prominent Jewish GOPers and Jewish organizational representatives attending the Republican National Convention next… Read more »

The “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost friends and relatives. (JTA) – For over six decades, Chaim Schwimmer has thrown a kiddush every Simchat Torah, but it’s not only to celebrate the joyful holiday. The food and the schnapps also mark the anniversary of Schwimmer’s miraculous rescue… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — An exhibit over 20 years old against an iPhone: Docents at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum are increasingly noting the battle with hand-held devices to keep the interest of young people. Now a $20 million gift to help revitalize the Washington, D.C., museum will aim to… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — When the 2015 movie “Freeheld” came out, featuring Steve Carell as the real-life LGBT rights activist Steven Goldstein, Goldstein sang its praises to publication after publication. How did he really feel? “It was painful to watch,” he told JTA last week. “I detested the movie… Read more »

TEL AVIV (JTA) — When Benny Daon entered the Israeli high-tech scene in 1993, the Jewish state was just beginning to earn its reputation as a global hub of cutting-edge technology. He worked his way up the ladder, first at other people’s companies and then as CEO of his… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — I have a neighbor who makes the best cholent in New York, possibly in the tri-state area. (Sorry, Mom!) He makes it with beer, beef cheeks and a host of secret ingredients, and the result is a stew that tastes rich, spicy and almost like it… Read more »

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Mazel tov! That’s perhaps how the big shots in charge of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the first to take place in South America, will toast victories when the competition gets underway Aug. 5. Three of the top officials of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, including… Read more »

(JTA) — Summer is upon us. And that means swimsuits, summer camps, sticky temperatures — and food trucks. True, many of these trendy restaurants-on-wheels are known to ply their wares in the depths of winter. But as the weather warms, everyone from office workers to tourists find themselves beckoned… Read more »

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — As we approach Shavuot, there’s a battle going on in our garden over who — or what — will get our first fruits. In ancient days in Israel, beginning at Shavuot — the holiday that marked the wheat harvest as well as the giving of the Torah on… Read more »

KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) – For the sixth year in a row, the seven synagogues in Krakow’s historic Jewish district, Kazimierz, opened their doors for 7@Nite – or the Night of the Synagogues, a one-night mini-festival aimed at bolstering Jewish pride and promoting Jewish awareness among the public. Each synagogue –… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — My camp duffel bags are 30 years old. This is the first time since 1986 that they will not make the trek with me from Chicago to Wisconsin for a summer filled with outdoor adventure and friendship. As a lifelong camper and now “retired” camp… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — I’m a cheese and dairy fanatic. So for obvious reasons my favorite holiday is Shavuot. This is when spring has sprung and my family makes a whole spread of cheese and dairy-filled foods and desserts. There is always a ton of different cheeses, spreads, breads,… Read more »