A garden path can combine different materials for visual interest. (Jacqueline Soule) Destination is defined as “a set point for the end of a journey.” But we are also reminded that, “Whereever you go, there you are,” suggesting that sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. One place where both of these sayings can be equally true is in… Read more »
“Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West” by Harriet Rochlin was recently republished by the Authors Guild and iUniverse. The book, which covers 13 Western states, was called “Social history at its best, entertaining, engaging, and filled with little known information about famous and not-so-famous Jewish pioneers,”… Read more »
Tucsonan Nora Sevy enjoys PJ Library books (Courtesy Libby Quinn) The PJ Library program in Southern Arizona is expanding and will now be available for all families raising Jewish children through 8 years of age. When the program launched in Southern Arizona in 2009 it was available for families raising Jewish children from 6 months through 6 years of… Read more »
This photo collage was inspired by the word ‘Echad’ in the Shema prayer. (Jenni Steinberg Pagano) First of all, let’s get one thing straight. Buying “Real Art” is a great thing. Supporting artists whose work you love is an important part of creating a home that satisfies your soul. I encourage you to buy other people’s creations. But sometimes that isn’t the best solution. Perhaps… Read more »
(JTA) — Sure, the news from the city of Detroit seems endlessly grim: bankruptcy, crime and so for But the metro area, whose northwest suburbs host a panoply of Jewish amenities, is the most affordable place in the United States to raise a “committed Jewish family,” at least according… Read more »
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meets with European Parliament President Martin Schulz in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Feb. 10, 2014. (Issam Rimawi/Flash 90) (JTA) — When Israeli police found thousands of contraband cell phones in the car of senior Palestinian Authority official Rawhi Fattouh, he was promptly removed from office — for about two months. A consultant to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Fattouh was reinstated in May 2008 after his driver, a… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — On Twitter, pro-Palestinian activists dubbed it “DivestApalooza.” Student governments at three Southern California public universities all voted on divestment resolutions targeting Israel in a single day. The April 23 votes were part of a surge in student governments at American universities voting on divestment resolutions.… Read more »
Members of the Philadelphia-based "Butterfly Project" perform in Terezin, the very place where the characters they portrayed had been imprisoned during the Holocaust. (Londa Salamon Photography/www.londaphotography.com) PRAGUE (JEWISH EXPONENT) — When the applause faded, the 32 young actors remained on stage in silence. Some of them hugged. They looked at each other, their faces filled with amazement and disbelief — the circle was complete. The Philadelphia-based troupe had brought the words of Terezín’s children back… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Secretary of State John Kerry in Jerusalem on March 31, 2014. (Amos Ben Gershom/Israel Government Press Office/FLASH90) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Now that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have screeched to a halt, U.S. officials are apportioning blame, and a big share is going to Israel. In an interview with Nahum Barnea, a veteran diplomatic affairs writer for the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot, anonymous members of the U.S. negotiating team… Read more »
Haredi Orthodox men studying toward professional degrees at Kemach, a Jerusalem-based organization that guides haredim through study programs and job placement. (Kemach) TEL AVIV (JTA) — When Moshe Friedman turned 31, he made what was for him a radical decision: He left school and launched a start-up. Plenty of Israelis jump from graduate school to the high-tech sector, but for Friedman the leap was longer. A descendant of rabbis, he had… Read more »
One of the professional hazards of columnists today is the temptation to borrow from the wealth of materials available on the Internet without giving proper credit to their authors. I guess that if Moses came down from Mount Sinai today, he would add an 11th commandment: Thou shall not… Read more »
J Street's president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, addresses his group's 2013 national conference in Washington. (Courtesy of J Street) (JTA) — The vote is over, but the debate rages on over the recent rejection of J Street’s application to join the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Depending on where you stand, the 22-17 vote rejecting the application was either about J Street’s own missteps or… Read more »
A Palestinian man walks front of a mural calling for the return of Palestinian refugees on May 14, 2011 in Rafah in southern Gaza during a gathering to mark the 63rd anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba, or the "catastrophe" of Israel's founding. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90) JERUSALEM (JTA) — The State of Israel is celebrating its 66th birthday. For Israelis, Jews around the world and all supporters of Israel, this is a joyous occasion. By and large, even Israelis who are critical of some of their country’s policies nevertheless celebrate its remarkable accomplishments and contributions… Read more »
Australian protesters rallying against Dutch politician Geert Wilders in Sydney, Feb. 22, 2013. (Brendon Thomas/Getty Images) THE HAGUE, Netherlands (JTA) — Standing in front of a giant flag, a politician asks his excited followers whether their country should have greater or fewer Moroccans. When they are done chanting “fewer,” the speaker, Geert Wilders of the far-right Dutch Party for Freedom, promises his listeners that he… Read more »
More than 5,000 Israelis are on a list of people restricted from marrying based on prohibitions in traditional Jewish law. (Ekaterina Lin/Shutterstock) JERUSALEM (JTA) — When she decided to split up from her husband, she went before an Orthodox rabbinical court and, after two perfunctory hearings and little discussion, received a religious writ of divorce. It was only months later that the woman learned that the court had flagged her as… Read more »
Might the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team someday be lifting the nBA championship trophy, as its players and others did here after winning the 2012 Israeli Basketball Super League title? (Flash 90) BALTIMORE (JTA) – Maccabi Tel Aviv reportedly is heading back to the United States this fall for its first exhibition games against NBA teams in five years – but greater developments appear to be in the works for the iconic franchise and Israeli basketball. For one, how about NBA… Read more »
Youth from Ioannina's Greek community, in traditional dress, hold candles to be lit in memory of more than 500 children who were deported to Auschwitz. (Gavin Rabinowitz) IOANNINA, Greece (JTA) — When the Jews of Ioannina gathered in their whitewashed-stone synagogue over the weekend, it was to commemorate 70 years since the Nazis destroyed their community. But the March 30 gathering also served to highlight a source of present-day sadness: the withering of the unique 2,300… Read more »
PUERTO IGUAZU, Argentina (JTA) — The youthful group of 60 drew their chairs around tables strewn with jars of markers and the occasional Rubik’s Cube, nearby chalkboards at the ready for jotting down big ideas. The conference hall was suffused with a can-do vibe that wouldn’t have seemed out… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — J Street wasn’t welcomed under the umbrella, but it hasn’t been left out alone in the rain. J Street’s failed effort to join the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations showed that many in the Jewish community still regard the dovish Israel policy group… Read more »
Bebe Fischer, Ina Shivack, Hilary Lyons, Billie Maas (Patrick J. McArdle) Arizona Onstage Productions is holdinga contest for two monologues to be performed in “25 Questions for a Jewish Mother,” by Kate Moira Ryan and Judy Gold, which will run for three weekends beginning May 9at the Temple of Music and Art Cabaret Theater. Email your essay, “My best memory… Read more »
