Rabbi Charles Simon There’s a lot to celebrate in the Conservative movement, despite the news about our shrinking numbers. Our rabbis are finding new ways to connect with congregants. Our movement remains committed to kashrut, daily prayer, Shabbat and holiday observance. Our synagogues have become energetic, vibrant places that welcome people of… Read more »
Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center, and Abraham Tenne, retired Israel Water Authority director of desalination, tour a desalination facility in Hadera, Israel. (Cody Sheehy)
I just returned from an exciting visit to Israel, my 10th since 2010. Each time I visit the region I learn new things about their efforts to manage water resources. At the WATEC 2015 conference in Tel Aviv, where I was an invited speaker, I had the opportunity to… Read more »
The supervision over UNRWA schools, where 42% of Arab children in Jerusalem are educated, is loose, at best. Center for Near East Policy Research Director David Bedein has taken UNRWA schools on as a pet project. For years, the Education Ministry had been claiming that the UNRWA schools were… Read more »
Quiet contemplation of the menorah can be rewarding. (Flickr Commons)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — There’s a popular Chanukah song recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, “Light One Candle.” Its chorus insists we “don’t let the light go out” — but I’ve been thinking that maybe we should. Not that I want to leave all those Maccabee children stumbling in the… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) – Nonprofit organizations are preparing for a new but remarkably successful philanthropy holiday, #GivingTuesday, which this year falls on Dec. 1. Organizations are busy crafting special campaigns, creating new online giving portals and planning fundraisers for the holiday, which began in 2012 on the Tuesday after… Read more »
Rabbi Tsipi Gabai blessing newly named transgender teen Tom Sosnik at Tehiyah Day School in El Cerrito, Calif., March 13, 2015. (Misha Bruk)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — On Nov. 5, delegates to the Union for Reform Judaism’s 73rd biennial convention unanimously adopted a resolution on the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals. It was a moment of great pride and celebration, tempered by the knowledge that just two days earlier — and… Read more »
Daniel S. Mariaschin (Courtesy B'nai B'rith International) JTA) — The international outrage over the barbaric terrorist attacks in Paris is absolutely on target. But the absence of an outcry over the weeks of attacks against Jews in Israel — stabbings, shootings and car rammings are among the most common tactics — is equally outrageous. More than… Read more »
CHICAGO (JTA) – At a campaign event in Virginia late last month, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders invoked his Judaism in response to a question about Islamophobia in the media. The exchange drew widespread attention, in part because Sanders has mostly avoided discussion of how his religion informs his… Read more »
Parisians outside the Bataclan concert hall after the terrorist attacks, Nov. 13, 2015. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
PARIS (JTA) — My son and I met in Paris on Friday morning, walked the charming streets of the City of Light, visited the Picasso and Pompidou museums, then went to synagogue at the MJLF (Mouvement Juif Libéral de France), one of the most vibrant Reform synagogues in Paris.… Read more »
Jonathan Greenblatt
Editor’s note: This opinion piece was written on Nov. 12, one day before the horrific attacks in Paris that have left more than 120 people dead and scores wounded. NEW YORK (JTA) — I have visited Europe many times, but last week I looked at it through a new… Read more »
Participants in the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism’s centennial celebration in Baltimore in 2013. (Mike Diamond Photography)
NEW YORK (JTA) – When delegates to the biennial convention of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism meet next week near Chicago, they will be seeking a way forward for a movement challenged by numerical decline but holding steady in Jewish engagement. These are the main overall trends that emerge… Read more »
Abby W. Schacter PITTSBURGH (JTA) — The conventional profile of American Jews is that they tend to be highly educated and work in professions like medicine, finance, law and the academy. Jews, of course, “value education,” as the trope about the “People of the Book” goes. And American Jews, since they… Read more »
Pim Valkenberg (JTA) — Fifty years ago, on Oct. 28, 1965, Pope Paul VI and the bishops of the Second Vatican Council promulgated the declaration Nostra Aetate on the relationship between the Catholic Church and other religions. In the decades since, the document has done much to foster dialogue between Catholics… Read more »
I recently attended the Bernie Sanders rally here in Tucson at Reid Park. Although I am a strong Hillary Clinton supporter, I wanted to see in person why a 74-year-old Jewish Socialist candidate is inspiring so much passion nationally among progressives and independents. As I was finding a space… Read more »
Rachel Fishheimer is the director of education at the Jerusalem facility of ALEH, an Israeli network of treatment facilities for children with severe disabilities. (Courtesy: Rachel Fishheimer)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Just the other day, I overheard someone saying that they had a wonderful interaction with the “Down syndrome employee” at their local cafe. Though it happened to have been a sweet story, I cringed. It also got me thinking about the limitations of our campaigns promoting… Read more »
Palestinians are on the wrong track and will not get off it until the outside world demands better of them. News comes every year or two of a campaign of violence spurred by Palestinian political and religious leaders spreading wild-eyed conspiracy theories (the favorite: Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem is… Read more »
Former President Bill Clinton meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York, Nov. 8, 2010. (Avi Ohayon/GPO via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — By now it should be obvious how absurd it is to call President Barack Obama Israel’s “best friend” ever, as Thomas Friedman of The New York Times has claimed. A Blame Israel Firster, Obama won’t use his moral authority to try stopping the instigators of this… Read more »
Young Jews planting trees in Israel in honor of Tu b'Shvat, the festival marking the new year for trees. (Omer Miron/Flash90)
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA) — “Hey, Rabbi,” the bat mitzvah candidate said, “can I tell you about my mitzvah project? I’m raising money to help people join our synagogue if they can’t afford it.” I was impressed. And moved. And shocked. Why shocked? Many religious schools require that bar/bat mitzvah… Read more »
The Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Last week, I opened The New York Times to Rick Gladstone’s article, “Historical Certainty Proves Elusive at Jerusalem’s Holiest Place,” happy that the newspaper of record would explain to its audience the historical context of this embattled piece of real estate. As I read on, I… Read more »
Students of varying ages learning the stories of Israeli and Palestinian youth. (Lisa Hempstead)
(JTA) — As the new school year gets underway, Jewish educators are making decisions regarding how best to teach about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most begin with the premise that Jewish students should learn to support Israel and defend its government. Throughout the year, their lesson plans will… Read more »
