News

President Obama, flanked by Nathan Diament, left, and Dr. Simcha Katz of the Orthodox Union, displays the framed reproduction of President George Washington’s letter to the Jewish community of Newport, R.I., that he was given at the conclusion of his Oval Office meeting with Orthodox Jewish leaders.(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Nathan Diament learned two things 22 years ago while watching Barack Obama play pickup basketball at the Harvard Law School gym. “He was a generous passer,” he said of the school’s Law Review editor and the future U.S. president. “He was competitive, but at an appropriate… Read more »

Duhenah Reveaka of Bobruisk, Belarus is among those survivors who rely on Claims Conference funding for aid. (Sarah Levin/JDC)

NEW YORK (JTA) — The first sign that something was amiss at the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany happened to fall on an auspicious date on the Jewish calendar: Nov. 9, 2009, the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Greg Schneider had been at the helm of the Claims Conference,… Read more »

Sheldon Adelson, right, seen here with then-President George W. Bush and Israeli President Shimon Peres at a Jerusalem conference in May 2008, is at the center of controversy over contributions earmarked for Republican candidates. (Nati Shohat /FLASH90/JTA)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sheldon Adelson, whose cash and rhetoric has hit candidates hard this election cycle, just got swiped himself. The National Jewish Democratic Council wants Republicans, including presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney, to stop taking “dirty money” from Adelson because of allegations surrounding his lucrative casino properties in… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Call it the age of “playlist Judaism.” That’s how Rabbi Kerry Olitzky describes engagement in Jewish life for the seemingly ever-increasing group showing up as “other” or “just Jewish” on recent American Jewish identity surveys. “I no longer have to buy the entire package in order… Read more »

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Growing up outside of Chicago, Jillian Schwartz never expected that one day she would be an Israeli citizen. Now the hardest part of her immigrant experience is leaving Tel Aviv — with her roughly 17-feet-long Olympic equipment. “Trying to get out of here with poles… Read more »

Israeli President Shimon Peres, seated second from right, with his country's Olympic delegation for the London Games, July 9, 2012. (Noam Moskowitz/Flash90/JTA)

TEL AVIV (JTA) – Israelis and their Summer Olympics athletes are eyeing the upcoming London Games with excitement and disappointment. The athletes are hoping that for the sixth straight summer Games, at least one of them will come home with a medal. Yet they are well aware that the… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – Proponents of using economic pressure to force Israel out of the West Bank may have lost a key battle this week — by a hair’s breadth — but they have no intention of giving up. That’s the message from backers of a divestment motion at the… Read more »

CHISINAU, Moldova (JTA) — To tour the largely empty Jewish communities of Moldova and its capital, Chisinau — once known by Jews the world over as Kishinev — is not to wonder where did all the Jews go but why there are any remaining. Overgrown cemeteries are all that… Read more »

Chief Justice John Roberts, an appointee of President George W. Bush, surprised many in voting to uphold President Obama's Affordable Care Act. (United States Supreme Court)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — American Jewish groups — with the notable exception of the Republican Jewish Coalition — were largely satisfied with the U.S. Supreme Court’s vote to uphold President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act in a 5-4 vote. Nancy Kaufman, CEO of the National Council for Jewish Women, was “thrilled”… Read more »

A helicopter drops water on the U.S. Air Force Academy as firefighters battle the blaze in Colorado Springs, June 27, 2012. (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

(JTA) — The Sidmans are among the lucky ones: Their Colorado Springs home is still standing, nearly untouched by the flames that left many of their neighbors’ houses in ashes. “I was just sobbing uncontrollably, even though my house was perfect,” Renee Sidman told the Colorado Springs Gazette. For… Read more »

Ankie Spitzer, right, with David Kirschtel, CEO of JCC Rockland, in front of the JCC's recently installed memorial sculpture dedicated to the 11 Israelis who died at the 1972 Munich Olympics. (Marla Cohen)

WEST NYACK, N.Y. (JTA) — The room was splashed in blood, the walls riddled with bullet holes. Ankie Spitzer stood amid the chaos and made a vow. “If this is the place where Andrei spent the last hours of his life, he and his friends, I am not going… Read more »

The Tower Bridge in London, decorated with the five Olympic rings in preparation for the 2012 Summer Games, June 2012. (Iain Farrell via CC)

LONDON (JTA) — For the British Jewish community, the most memorable moment of the London Olympics may be a somber one. On Aug. 6, several hundred people are expected to attend a commemoration for the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics.… Read more »

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, January 13, 2011. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO/JTA)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Mitt Romney’s announced trip to Israel, at the height of his campaign to wrest the presidency from Barack Obama, could be a twofer, drawing closer two critical constituencies: evangelicals and foreign policy hawks. A Romney campaign official confirmed to JTA a New York Times story this… Read more »

Guards carry the coffin of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir from the Knesset on the way to his funeral at Mount Herzl, Israel's national cemetery, July 2, 2012. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90/JTA)

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel’s leaders paid tribute to former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir at his funeral at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl cemetery. An intimate but distinguished crowd sat opposite a military honor guard at the outdoor ceremony on Monday evening. Joining Shamir’s children and grandchildren in attendance were Prime… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Yitzhak Shamir, who served as Israel’s prime minister from 1986 to 1992, has died at the age of 96. Shamir had been living in a nursing home in Tel Aviv and had Alzheimer’s disease for several years. He died Saturday, June 30. “Yitzhak Shamir belonged to… Read more »

Family, friends and Israelis pay their respects to former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir as his coffin is seen displayed at the Israeli parliament prior to his funeral at Mount Herzl, Israel's national cemetery, July 2, 2012. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90/JTA)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — When Yitzhak Shamir was Israel’s prime minister, he liked to point American visitors to a gift he received when he retired as director of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service. It was a depiction of the famed three monkeys: See no evil, hear no evil, speak no… Read more »

Israel's national lacrosse team practices as it prepares for the European Lacrosse Championships, its first tournament. (Israel Lacrosse Facebook Page)

(JTA) — Israel’s national lacrosse team is clinging to a one-goal lead with 20 seconds remaining when the referee blows his whistle — the Wales coach wants a stick check on an Israeli player. The challenge fails, the stick is legal and the Israelis go on to upset heavily… Read more »

Tom Peled, founder of “Bike for the Fight,” with Israeli President Shimon Peres (Courtesy Tom Peled)

Tom Peled has a goal: Livestrong for the Jewish world. The Israeli is finding inspiration in biking champion Lance Armstrong’s cancer awareness organization as he prepares for a 3,000-mile bike trek across the United States to raise money for his own Bike for the Fight to support cancer research… Read more »

Dr. Paul W. Hoffert with the 2009 Spirit program team

Congregation Chofetz Chayim will offer the Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program for two weeks beginning July 25. The program gives men and boys the opportunity to study, yeshiva-style, with five visiting students from the Rabbinical Seminary of America. The program has been named “in memory of our beloved… Read more »

Temple Emanu-El is celebrating Taste of Judaism’s 13th year in Tucson. Led by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon and Rabbi Jason Holtz, Taste of Judaism is a free, interactive three-part series on Jewish spirituality, values and community. It is open to all who want to deepen their knowledge of Jewish… Read more »