Tagged FRONT

For these Israeli startups, design is just as important as technology

At the Jerusalem-based Lightricks, a producer of image and video editing apps, the company has integrated design elements at all levels of product development, with a tech lead and a design lead working on every product the company makes. (Courtesy of Lightricks)
June 12, 2019 / Ben Harris

Last year, a group of students at Jerusalem’s renowned Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design set to work imagining the future. Their specific goal was to envision the next generation of wearable devices for the blind. Working in collaboration with the technology company Orcam, a Jerusalem-based producer of devices… Read more »

David Friedman gave Netanyahu half a nod for West Bank annexation. What happens next?

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks at the AIPAC policy conference in Washington, D.C., March 26, 2019. (Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
June 12, 2019 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said Israel “has the right to retain” some of the West Bank. Palestinians fumed, Jewish settlers rejoiced, and the punditocracy predicted gloom and doom. What was it exactly that Friedman said in a New York Times interview. And what… Read more »

When young Israelis move to Germany or Austria, it’s a hard pill for their families to swallow

Dan Peled, center, with his father, Gidi, and grandmother Lea. Peled is a main subject of "Back to the Fatherland," a documentary on Israelis moving back to Germany and Austria. (First Run Features)
June 12, 2019 / Curt Schleier, JTA

(JTA) — On the surface, Gil Levanon and Kat Rohrer seem unlikely friends. Levanon is an Israeli, the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor. Rohrer, an Austrian, is the granddaughter of an avowed Nazi officer. If their friendship seems a little odd, their collaboration on the documentary “Back to the… Read more »

Jews abroad support a Cambodian man’s commitment to his fellow orphans

Arun Sothea runs an orphanage in Cambodia with the help of Jewish charities. Here he is shown dispensing supplies to girls in his village of Phum Thom. (Courtesy of Sothea)
June 10, 2019 / Charles Dunst, JTA

PHUM THOM, Cambodia (JTA) — Arun Sothea is a slight, soft-spoken man. He speaks both casually and simply when discussing the horrors of his past — as well the triumphs of his present — both of which have taken place in his childhood home of Phum Thom. The Khmer… Read more »

The controversy over the DC Dyke March, Jewish stars and Israel, explained

Rae Gaines, Sarah Beth Alcabes, Jill Raney and a fourth participant in the DC Dyke March (right to left) are members of IfNotNow, a leftist Jewish group critical of Israel. (Courtesy of IfNotNow DC)
June 9, 2019 / Ben Sales, JTA

(JTA) — Is an LGBTQ parade banning flags with Jewish stars? Yes. Not really. Kind of. The D.C. Dyke March, a social justice-focused parade for, in its words, “queer liberation” happening Friday, announced that it is not welcoming any “nationalist symbols.” That includes Israeli flags and American flags, the… Read more »

Who is Avigdor Liberman, and why did he force new elections in Israel?

Avigdor Liberman, center, holds a press conference following the dissolving of the Israeli parliament, in Tel Aviv, May 30, 2019. (Flash90)
June 7, 2019 / Sam Sokol, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — So just who is Avigdor Liberman, the man who single-handedly forced Israelis to go to the polls for an unprecedented second time in a year? And is he really the champion of secular right-wing Zionism that he would have voters believe? Last month, less than two… Read more »

7 Jewish fun facts about the 2019 Women’s World Cup

HARRISON, NJ - MAY 26: The full roster for the United States Women's National Team that is heading to France for the 2019 World Cup just after the International Friendly match the U.S. Women's National Team and Mexico as part of the Send Off Series prior to the FIFA Women's World Cup at Red Bull Arena on May 26 2019 in Harrison, NJ,USA. The United States won the match with a score of 3 to 0. USA. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
June 7, 2019 / Emily Burack, JTA

(JTA) — There aren’t any Jewish players that we know of at this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, which runs from June 7 to July 7 in France. The top-ranked U.S. team is looking to win its second Cup in a row and fourth all time. But there are… Read more »

This medical school is putting a uniquely Jewish spin on doctor training

New York Medical College's curriculum draws on Jewish ethics and its campus offers certain accommodations for religious Jews, but the college also has attracted a large number of minority students and has daily Muslim prayer services. (Courtesy of NYMC)
June 7, 2019 / Ben Harris, JTA

For her final project in a course on the history of medicine, first-year medical student Raeesa Hossain joined with four fellow students from New York Medical College to interview a Holocaust survivor deported to Auschwitz as a child. The survivor told the students how his experience during the war… Read more »

It’s time for a Torah emoji, and this organization is working to make it happen

Sefaria is letting the public vote on which emoji possibility they prefer. The organization will submit the winning image for consideration as a real emoji. (Sefaria)
June 7, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Designing a new emoji is not simple. Sefaria, the online free Jewish library, has found this out in recent months. The organization wanted to reach more and younger people, to get them to use the resources on its website. They thought that a Torah emoji would… Read more »

Volkswagen’s CEO says he has an obligation to fight anti-Semitism

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess signs a guest book at Auschwitz, where the company runs an educational program for apprentices, Nov. 30, 2018. (Courtesy of Volkswagen)
June 7, 2019 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Herbert Diess believes he has a special obligation to combat the rise of the far right in Europe because the company he leads was once quite literally its engine. “Volkswagen has because of its history, and our history in the Second World War, we have an… Read more »

I attended an Orthodox anti-vaccine rally. Here’s what I saw.

Rabbi Hillel Handler, an Orthodox anti-vaccination leader, speaks via projection screen to an anti-vaccination rally in Brooklyn at a Jewish wedding hall, June 4, 2019. (Ben Sales)
June 7, 2019 / Ben Sales, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — The weirdest part of an Orthodox anti-vaccine conference here was probably when the emcee, a rabbi wearing a black hat and white beard, quoted the Gospel of Luke. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” he cried, reciting the Gospels nearly verbatim.… Read more »

Why you should be grilling like an Israeli this summer

(iStock)
June 7, 2019 / Rachel Ringler, JTA

This story originally appeared on The Nosher. Israelis love their barbecue. They do it on the beach. They do it on their hikes. They grill whenever and wherever possible — empty parking lot? Let’s do it! When that smoky aroma fills the air, you know a celebratory meal is… Read more »

CAI to energize youth, family education program

Congregation Anshei Israel's B'Yachad students will participate in experiential activities with Nichole Chorney, cantorial soloist.
May 31, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

Congregation Anshei Israel is revamping its youth and family education models, tearing down silos, and merging them into a new program, aptly called B’Yachad (together). This new name builds on the synagogue’s tagline and vision: “Living Y/Our Judaism Together.” Religious school programs evolved post-World War II in America’s suburban… Read more »

Southern Arizona racer to vie for gold at Maccabi Pan Am Games in Mexico

David Tannenbaum at the 2018 Three Bears time trial in Eloy, Arizona. [Sam Almesfer)
May 31, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

David Tannenbaum has proven that riding a bicycle is indeed “like riding a bicycle.” After 23 years out of the saddle, Tannenbaum entered the 2014 annual Cochise County Cycling Classic in Douglas, Arizona, and pedaled 27 miles to second place in one hour and 20 minutes. He’s been riding… Read more »

Concert to honor Temple Emanu-El’s Hochberg
May 31, 2019 /
Marjorie Hochberg

Temple Emanu-El will present a concert, “Celebrating 20 Years of Song,” on Thursday, June 13, in honor of Cantorial Soloist Marjorie Hochberg’s 20 years of service to the synagogue community. Hochberg will sing some of her favorite theater and opera solos, and musical guests will present Jewish favorites as… Read more »

Lovingkindness-driven initiatives established by JCF/JFSA joint grants

Jewish Family & Children’s Services Program Manager Elise Bajohr, left, demonstrates home-based assessment of an individual’s needs. (Courtesy Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona)
May 31, 2019 / Maya Horowitz, Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona

Sara’s options began to feel limited when, at the age of 72, she met with a series of major life obstacles. Beset with memory challenges, a recent cancer diagnosis, and an urgent need to move out of her apartment due to repairs, she didn’t know where she could turn.… Read more »

Outstanding community volunteers recognized
May 31, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor
Neil Markowitz

This is part one of a series on the Jewish agency volunteers who received 2019 Special Recognition Awards at the Jewish Community Awards celebration held May 9 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The evening also included the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s annual meeting. Neil Markowitz, Jewish Community… Read more »

Jews for Justice plan summer community concert
May 31, 2019 /
Bat Florence Portugal

Tucson Jews for Justice will present a “Tucson Jewish Summer Arts Festival — A Night of Music, Laughs and Light” on Saturday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish History Museum, 564 S. Stone Ave. Tony Zinman, a Tucson Jews for Justice co-founder, explains that the evening was… Read more »