PHILADELPHIA (JTA) – Visiting Israel the past few winters to see his daughter and her family led to an unexpected job for Jerry Narron, a devout Christian and a baseball lifer: a coaching position for Israel’s team in the next World Baseball Classic. In 2013, Callie Mitchell had just… Read more »
Posts By April Bauer
All over the map: Where dozens of local Jewish groups stand on the Iran deal
(JTA) — Across the United States, Jewish community groups have appeared unsure about exactly how to respond to the Iran nuclear deal. Consider Massachusetts. Three groups in the state last month attempted to coordinate a single statement on the Iran nuclear deal now under consideration by Congress. The underlying… Read more »
A tally of how Jewish lawmakers are voting on the Iran deal
(JTA) — There are 28 Jewish members of Congress: 26 Democrats, one independent who caucuses with the Democrats and one Republican. Nine of them are senators and 19 are representatives. Nine back the Iran deal, seven oppose it and 12 are undecided. The positions of Jewish lawmakers are being watched as Congress decides… Read more »
Here’s why Hamas and Israel may be secretly negotiating
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TEL AVIV (JTA) — After more than a decade of failed diplomacy, Israel could be close to signing a major agreement with the Palestinians. They’re just not the Palestinians you thought. After years of vowing not to negotiate with Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, Israel may be finalizing… Read more »
Meet the ‘RaBBi-Q’ — Kansas City’s kosher BBQ star
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LEAWOOD, Kan. (JTA) — Mendel Segal wears two particular titles that each reflect a devotion to tradition, imply an unending pursuit of precision and command immediate respect. One is rabbi. The other is pitmaster. The 33-year-old Orthodox rabbi (and follower of the late Lubavitcher rebbe) is readying to oversee… Read more »
10 years after Gaza disengagement, hundreds still without permanent homes
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NITZAN B, Israel (JTA) — Ask Aviel Eliaz and Itzik Wazana about their evacuation from Gaza 10 years ago this month and both will tell you it’s like a tree. For Eliaz, it’s an olive tree sitting in a large pot in his front yard. He planted the tree… Read more »
Iran debate devolves with charges of ‘dual loyalty’ and ‘dog whistles’
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The dredging up of the dual loyalty charge — that lawmakers who reject the Iran nuclear agreement and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is lobbying against it, are more closely aligned with Israel than the United States — illustrates just how tense the debate over the… Read more »
NPR’s Nina Totenberg reclaims dad’s stolen violin, now worth millions
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(JTA) — Jewish violin virtuoso Roman Totenberg enjoyed a long life, making it to the ripe old age of 101. But that wasn’t quite long enough to be reunited with the prized instrument that was stolen from him in 1980. The FBI officially announced Thursday that it had recovered Totenberg’s… Read more »
When it comes to Jewish ties, no GOP candidate trumps Trump
NEW YORK (JTA) — Among the expansive field of 2016 Republican presidential candidates on display in the party’s first debates, Donald Trump may be the most closely connected to the Jewish people. Trump is from New York, works in professions saturated with Jews and long has been a vocal supporter of… Read more »
Off the path: Ex-Hasid’s memoirs shine a spotlight on Faigy Mayer’s world
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(JTA) — In recent years, a spate of memoirs have been written by those who have left haredi Orthodox Judaism. Titles that have had mainstream publishing success include books by Shulem Deen (“All Who Go Do Not Return”), Deborah Feldman (“Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots”) and Leah… Read more »
For French Jews, resort town of Deauville doubles as a safe haven
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DEAUVILLE, France (JTA) – This seaside community situated 125 miles west of Paris boasts windswept beaches, turquoise-water marinas, a grand casino, a race track and an Olympic-size swimming pool. Deauville, spanning 2.2 square miles, also has five kosher restaurants, three main synagogues and more than 20 smaller Jewish congregations.… Read more »
In Jennifer Weiner’s hit novels, it’s a (Jewish) woman’s world
(Washington Jewish Week via JTA) — Jennifer Weiner wasn’t funny during our telephone interview, and she never once asked me about my weight. Could the author of a dozen very popular — pardon the phrase — “chick lit” novels not be the embodiment of the characters in her clearly… Read more »
What it means to be a Jewish family in rural Maine
(Kveller via JTA) — For many Jewish parents, the challenges they face raising their children include choosing between Jewish and public schools, planning bar and bat mitzvahs, and staying sane while planning big Shabbat dinners. But for parents raising Jewish children in rural areas like me, without a cohesive community… Read more »
The surprising Jewish history of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
(Jewniverse via JTA) — Jews from Denmark first arrived on the white beaches of what is now St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands — a tiny speck off the coast of Puerto Rico — in the mid-17th century. These were descendants of a Jewish population that had fled Spain for… Read more »
Hebrew National serving up bacon in summer ad campaign
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NEW YORK (JTA) – It may be America’s most iconic kosher brand, famous for its hot dogs that in the words of its unforgettable ad slogan, “answer to a higher authority.” So consumers might be confused to find videos on Hebrew National’s homepage suggesting they grill up their kosher… Read more »
Op-Ed: Israel must confront the fundamentalists within
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JERUSALEM (JTA) — This past month, as our attention was focused on watching the developing Iran deal, the situation in Israel has taken a deeply troubling turn. First, a woman wearing a kippah was detained by the police for attempting to worship at the Western Wall. Then David Azoulay,… Read more »
A year after Gaza war, border communities are growing
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TEL AVIV (JTA) — Few communities were as battered during last summer’s conflict between Israel and Hamas as Nahal Oz, a kibbutz of some 350 people located just a mile from the Gaza border. At one point in the fighting, 40 missiles landed on the community in a single… Read more »
Jerusalem Pride Parade murder sparks calls for change to laws — and pushback, too
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TEL AVIV (JTA) — The murder of a 16-year old girl at Jerusalem’s gay pride parade has sparked calls for LGBT-rights legislation — as well as pushback from those who oppose it. Shira Banki died Sunday after being stabbed while marching in the parade on Thursday night. Five others were wounded… Read more »
For first time in 100 years, outsider tapped to lead Looksteins’ N.Y. synagogue
NEW YORK (JTA) – For the first time in about a century, a rabbi from outside the Lookstein family will lead New York’s storied Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun. The Orthodox synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side voted last week to hire as its new senior rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, who for… Read more »
Get your kosher dogs at Dodger Stadium!
(JTA) — The Los Angeles Dodgers may never achieve the lore of their brethren in Brooklyn, but now at least they’ve brought a bit of Brooklyn to the West Coast — in the form of hot dogs. Earlier this week, Dodger Stadium opened its first kosher hot dog stand,… Read more »