NEW YORK (JTA) — Chava, a student at a Chabad seminary, has lived in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn for six years, but it’s only in the past few days that she started carrying pepper spray in her handbag. Her younger brother gave her the deterrent after news… Read more »
National
Lapse in launch of nukes deal gives Iran an edge, some say
WASHINGTON (JTA) — There’s the six-month interim deal on Iran’s nuclear program that trades some sanctions relief for a freeze on Iran’s nuclear program. And then there’s the interim before the interim begins. Little noticed in the wake of the historic pact reached last month by Iran and the… Read more »
New initiative seeking to improve Hebrew literacy among American Jews
NEW YORK (JTA) — For the first 3 1/2 weeks of the summer, one group of 5-year-olds at Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, N.Y., was “very quiet” as the children went about the typical camp activities, according to Amy Skopp Cooper, the camp’s director. But in the fourth week,… Read more »
Reform biennial opening to outsiders in bid to revitalize movement
NEW YORK (JTA) — First there was the Conservative movement’s October biennial conference, billed as “The conversation of the century” and opened up to presenters from outside the movement. Then came the November General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, which featured a “Global Jewish shuk: a… Read more »
Interim deal on Iran splits Congress on new sanctions bill
WASHINGTON (JTA) — They want to brandish a new stick against Iran, but hawks in Congress aren’t going to use it — yet. For all the disappointment they expressed following the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, skeptics in Congress appear to be willing to give the agreement brokered… Read more »
With Iran deal signed, what’s Netanyahu’s next move?
TEL AVIV (JTA) — With an interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear program in place, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu each face formidable challenges ahead. For Obama, the goal will be to move from the interim agreement to a broader and more permanent deal within six… Read more »
For messianic Jews, Bush speech a coup but acceptance elusive
WASHINGTON (JTA) — George W. Bush granted Messianic Jews a brief shining moment in the spotlight last week — and then just as quickly sent them back into the shadows. The Messianic Jewish Bible Institute in Dallas had advertised Bush as the keynote speaker at its annual fundraiser on… Read more »
Why is France taking a harder line on Iran than the United States?
WASHINGTON (JTA) — When reports emerged over the weekend that France’s hard line was responsible for the failure of negotiations over Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, supporters and critics of the diplomatic push resorted to familiar stereotypes. Conservatives scoffed that even the conflict-averse French had outflanked President Obama. Leftists… Read more »
Federations provide emergency relief for Philippines typhoon
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, in partnership with The Jewish Federations of North America, is mobilizing a communal response to the super Typhoon Haiyan, which has wrought widespread destruction in the Philippines. JFNA today opened a mailbox for Federations to support relief efforts by the American Jewish Joint… Read more »
Steadfast opposition to public prayer took small-town litigant to Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The need for a firm barrier between church and state is as clear now for Susan Galloway as it was in grade school, when she was expected to sing carols at the Christmas show. Galloway grew up in McHenry, Ill., a town northwest of Chicago with… Read more »
Whither the Jewish macher? Upstarts increasingly setting Jewish agenda
WASHINGTON (JTA) — On Sept. 27, the conservative political blogger Ken Berwitz was enraged — not by Democratic malfeasance, his favored bugbear, but by the policies of an Oklahoma-based chain of craft stores. Berwitz was bothered not only that Hobby Lobby was keeping Hanukkah tchotchkes off its shelves, but that… Read more »
Jerry Silverman: Not just talk when federations meet in Israel for G.A.
NEW YORK (JTA) – This time, it’s not going to be just talking. There’s going to be listening and debating — and, eventually, action. That’s what Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, says will distinguish this year’s General Assembly, which is slated for Nov. 10-12… Read more »
Madoff, fire and theft: How Jewish nonprofits lost money
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernard Madoff. An unscrupulous contractor. Art that disappeared or was destroyed by fire — it’s not clear which. Bad, bad bookkeepers. And did we mention Bernard Madoff? These were among the causes of “material diversion” of assets — tax-speak for lost funds or property totaling $250,000… Read more »
Brainy Breslow clutch on the hill in Red Sox title bid
(JTA) — When Craig Breslow entered Saturday night’s playoff game against the Detroit Tigers, FOX broadcaster Tim McCarver hailed the Boston Red Sox reliever — a Yale University graduate with a double major in molecular biophysics and biochemistry — as the smartest player in Major League Baseball. But with… Read more »
Adam Grossman’s dream job: Packing Fenway Park
(JTA) — You’d think Adam Grossman has a pretty easy job. After all, with the Boston Red Sox owning one of the most iconic brands in professional sports and gunning for their third World Series title in the past decade, how hard could it be to put fans in… Read more »
Yellen’s rise to Fed chief gains more attention for gender than faith
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Janet Yellen is soft-spoken, tough, methodological, flexible — and Jewish. President Obama’s announcement last week that he had tapped Yellen, 67, to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve made news in part because she would be the first woman in the top spot.… Read more »
Obama administration warns: Gov’t shutdown undermining Iran sanctions
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Is the U.S. government shutdown undermining the sanctions that helped bring Iran to Geneva this week for talks aimed at ending the standoff over its nuclear program? Top administration officials have been emphatically making the case that it is. Wendy Sherman, the third-ranked official at the… Read more »
Amid negative trends in Pew study, many Jewish funders see validation
If you’re pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into Jewish identity building, what do you do when a survey comes along showing that the number of U.S. Jews engaging with Jewish life and religion is plummeting? That’s the question facing major funders of American Jewish life following the release… Read more »
Mashup: Jewish leaders respond to Pew survey
NEW YORK (JTA) — What would happen if some of the biggest players in American Jewish life sat down and debated the implications of the new Pew Research Center’s survey of U.S. Jewry? After last week’s landmark study, I talked to nine Jewish philanthropists and organizational leaders about the… Read more »
From Iran sanctions to yoga time, federal shutdown casts long shadow over Jewish D.C.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Meals on Wheels may disappear, Iran sanctions are at risk and yoga is filling in the gaps. This is what the federal government shutdown looks like in Jewish Washington. While national Jewish organizations are sorting through the essential services that the impasse may cut, regional Jewish… Read more »