The sfinj hails from North Africa. (Wikimedia Commons)
TEL AVIV (JTA) – The sufganiyah is the plump, shining star of Hanukkah in Israel. During the holiday season, the famed jelly doughnut poses in the windows of cafés and bakeries across the country. It sparkles with oil and sugar, and shows just enough filling to keep fans… Read more »
Protesters burn a poster of President Donald Trump in front of the Damascus Gate at the entrance to Jerusalem's Old City, Dec. 11, 2017. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
JERUSALEM (JTA) – Amid the global controversy over President Donald Trump’s recognition last week of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state, Israeli and Palestinian leaders actually found rare consensus: They agreed that the development was a win for Israel and a loss for the Palestinians. To be… Read more »
Children participate in a Yom Kippur event at the Palo Alto JCC, October 2017. (Ilyanne Photographic Art)
PALO ALTO, Calif. (JTA) — With a foot in the tech world and another in Jewish culture, the JCC in Palo Alto has transformed itself into a hub for local Israeli expatriates. Located on a sprawling 8.5-acre campus, the place known formally as the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center… Read more »
Activists in front of the White House protest President Donald Trump's decision to decertify the Iran deal, Oct. 12, 2017. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Two months ago, President Donald Trump triggered a deadline about to come due on the Iran nuclear deal by decertifying Iran’s compliance. That meant Congress had 60 days to reimpose sanctions. Sixty days later — on Dec. 12 — Congress is not about to reimpose… Read more »
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, addresses delegates at its 2017 biennial in Boston, Dec. 7, 2017. (Courtesy of the Union for Reform Judaism)
BOSTON (JTA) – President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel became an unexpected agenda item as 6,000 members of the Reform movement from across North America gathered here for their four-day convention. Addressing the Union for Reform Judaism’s 2017 biennial on Friday, Sen. Elizabeth… Read more »
Sen. Al Franken at a Capitol Hill committee hearing on hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, Nov. 14, 2017. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
(JTA) — It’s a shame Al Franken has to go, Minnesota Jews say. But he has to go. That’s the feeling Minnesota Jewish leaders expressed a day after the Democratic senator announced he would resign his seat in the coming weeks following a string of sexual harassment allegations… Read more »
Uzi Sharabi sells baked goods at the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, Dec. 6, 2017. (Andrew Tobin)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — President Donald Trump’s official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital may have sent shock waves across the Middle East. But here, in the epicenter of a city where fewer than a million people work, eat, pray and shop, the first day’s reaction was muted. The municipality… Read more »
(JTA) — Sen. Al Franken announced he will resign from Congress in the wake of calls for him to step down following accusations of sexual misconduct by several women. Franken said late Thursday morning in a speech on the Senate floor that he would resign “in the coming weeks.”… Read more »
President Emmanuel Macron of France at an EU meeting in Brussels, Oct. 19, 2017. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Following President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and pledge to move the U.S. Embassy there, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Jews all over the world “expect the rest of the world to follow suit.” If that’s true, they may be in… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 15, 2017. (Andrew Harrer/Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In announcing U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President Donald Trump spoke loud and clear — except when he didn’t. That’s not to say that Israel and many of its supporters weren’t thrilled with what many called the “long overdue” acknowledgement by the United States… Read more »
(JTA) — At least seven women in the Senate Democratic caucus, including potential 2020 presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, called on Sen. Al Franken to resign hours after a seventh woman came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct. Following the calls for his resignation, Franken’s office… Read more »
(JTA) — Jewish groups expressed both disappointment and pleasure at the expected announcement by President Donald Trump that the United States will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The Reform Jewish movement, the largest in the United States, called Wednesday’s announcement “ill-timed but expected.” The announcement, said Union for Reform… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 15, 2017. (Andrew Harrer/Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but emphasized that he was not pre-empting negotiations over the final status of the city. “It is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Trump said in a televised address from the… Read more »
Rabbi Slomo Koves, right, and a participant at Chabad Hungary's 2015 Hanukkah on Ice event take selfies at Budapest's City Park Ice Rink, Dec. 6, 2015. (Courtesy of EMIH)
BUDAPEST (JTA) — The outdoor ice skating rink — the largest in Central Europe — in Budapest’s city center has been part and parcel of Hungary’s Christmas tradition for nearly 150 years. Stretching across 3.5 acres between Heroes’ Square and Vajdahunyad Castle, the Budapest City Park Ice Rink… Read more »
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks as other Republican leaders in the Senate, from left to right, Orrin Hatch, John Thune and John Cornyn, look on, Nov. 28, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Staring at a massive defeat, Jewish groups dealing with social safety net issues are looking at the tax plan about to reach its final stages in Congress and hoping they can snatch a few small victories. The hope is that lawmakers in reconciling the bills… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — As President Donald Trump prepares to address the issue of Jerusalem in a White House speech, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem instructed U.S. officials not to travel to the Old City or West Bank in the face of reports that there will be protests. Sarah Huckabee… Read more »
President Donald Trump speaks at the Rotunda of the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, Dec. 4, 2017. (George Frey/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would be an act of “naked aggression” that would cause the United States to lose “its mediating role” in the Middle East, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation said. The statement by the group, representing 57 countries, came as President Donald Trump… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but will not open an embassy there for years and will reassure the Palestinians that the recognition does not impinge on their claims to the city. It’s likely to be years before an embassy opens in Jerusalem,… Read more »
Gregg Garfin, Ph.D. Climate change is happening in the Southwestern United States and across the globe, and Judaism gives us an incentive to address environmental problems, says Gregg Garfin, Ph.D., university director of the Southwest Climate Science Center at the University of Arizona. Garfin presented “The Changing Climate of Arizona and the… Read more »
Susan Claassen
Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy will present an event for Lion of Judah and Pomegranate members, “Jewish Arts & Culture: From the Historical to the Hysterical with Susan Claassen,” on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 4:30-6:30 p.m. at a private home. Claassen is celebrating her 43rd year with Invisible… Read more »
