Tagged HEADLINES

Once a dream, paid parental leave now a reality at 100 Jewish groups — and counting

Jews United for Justice offers paid parental leave for its employees and is a lead partner in the push to implement paid leave legislation in Washington, D.C. (Anya van Wagtendonk)

NEW YORK (JTA) — It’s a Sunday in 2010, and in one hand I’m texting with a colleague about work. In the other I hold a pee stick, waiting for the results of my home pregnancy test to appear. As I press send, I realize that parenthood isn’t the… Read more »

Christian organization to challenge UNESCO on classification of Jewish holy sites

Christians march in the international Jerusalem March in 2015. (Hillel Maeir)

(TPS) – Last week, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved a resolution in which it listed Rachel’s Tomb, located just south of Jerusalem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, as Islamic sites. The resolution not only stirred up a firestorm of protests from many in… Read more »

An Israeli, American, and Palestinian to launch a ‘peace’ game app

The Bandura Games co-founders: Justin Hefter, Ammoun Dissi, and Etay Furman (Courtesy Bandura Games)

SAN FRANCISCO (Tazpit) – Bandura Games, a computer gaming company based in San Francisco, California, is set to launch a new mobile game app that would bridge gaps, build connections and create empathy between people from different sides of conflict zones. Initially interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Justin Hefter,… Read more »

How a Holocaust legacy helped launch the Kind bar brand

Daniel Lubetzky, CEO and founder of Kind Snacks, with members of his team at the company's New York City headquarters. (Poon Watchara-Amhaiwan)

NEW YORK (JTA) — In many respects, the Manhattan headquarters of Kind Snacks — the purveyors of the omnipresent fruit and nut bars found everywhere from health-food stores to office-supply emporiums — are pretty much what you’d expect: Scads of casually dressed millennials mill about sleek, brightly colored rooms adorned… Read more »

Ethics of driving course to give teens Jewish perspective

“You’re Driving Me Nuts,” a program on the ethics of driving for teens, will take place Sunday, Nov. 1 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Congregation Or Chadash. “Every year we see too many accidents and other issues related to teens and driving, some stemming from lack of… Read more »

Israel Public Diplomacy Forum to give talks on Mideast

A delegation from the Israel Public Diplomacy Forum will present a series of free discussions in Tucson Nov. 3-4. IPD Forum is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization established to advance international understanding of Israel and the Middle East. On Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m., “Shifting Alliances in the… Read more »

Rabinovich, Susser to head experts at UA Israel conference

Itamar Rabinovich

In the wake of the “Arab Spring,” the Middle East has been rocked by national conflicts, sectarian civil wars and economic challenges. Iran’s nuclear program has increased political tensions and threatens to further destabilize the region. As Shiite Iran and its proxies battle for regional hegemony against their Sunni… Read more »

Bet Shalom scholar to examine anti-Semitism, ethics

Rabbi Elijah Schochet

Rabbi Elijah Schochet will be Congregation Bet Shalom’s scholar-in-residence Oct. 23 and 24. He will speak on “The Value of a Jewish Life,” exploring both superficial and deep reasons behind anti-Semitism, at the Shabbat evening service on Friday, Oct. 23 at 5:30 p.m. At the Oct. 24 Shabbat service… Read more »

ATC staging Pulitzer winner on race, identity

Allison Jean White and Elijah Alexander in Arizona Theatre Company’s ‘Disgraced.’ (Tim Fuller)

Arizona Theater Company’s production of “Disgraced,” Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a successful Muslim-American lawyer whose dinner guests’ discussion of race and identity explodes into chaos, plays at the Temple of Music and Art through Nov. 7. I n“Disgraced,” corporate lawyer Amir Kapoor is happy, in love and… Read more »

Buzz Aldrin comes to Israel

Buzz Aldrin arriving at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., Jan. 17, 2014. (Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israelis seeking an escape from this week’s daily terror attacks couldn’t fly to the moon, but they had a chance to hear from someone who did — Buzz Aldrin. In Israel’s terror-riven capital, the Israel Space Agency — the country’s version of NASA — is hosting this year’s… Read more »

Marlee Matlin reveling in unique ‘Spring Awakening’ revival

Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin stars in the Deaf West Theater's production of "Spring Awakening" on Broadway. (Joan Marcus)

(JTA) — When the rock musical “Spring Awakening” premiered on Broadway, it was a critical darling and financial success. It won almost every major award possible, including eight Tonys, four Drama Desk Awards and even a Grammy. So perhaps it’s not so surprising that it’s been revived on Broadway,… Read more »

BLOG Why Ivanka Trump is her dad’s first lady

Ivanka Trump speaking at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., Oct. 14, 2015. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune/Time Inc)

(JTA) — Ivanka is to Donald Trump as Lisa is to Homer Simpson: brainy, composed and unflinchingly loyal to her outrageous and unpredictable father. At least that’s the portrait painted in a Politico article published Thursday. The article explores the relationship between the Republican presidential front-runner and the daughter who… Read more »

FIRST PERSON What the Klinghoffers taught me — and the world

Ilsa and Lisa Klinghoffer tell their story at the Center for Jewish History in New York City, Oct. 8, 2015. (American Jewish Historical Society at the Center for Jewish History)

NEW YORK (JTA) – I first met Leon Klinghoffer’s daughters in 2004, shortly after my father and stepmother were murdered in a robbery. Back then I was a TMI machine, telling my story not only to friends but also to anyone in my line of vision. One Shabbat, after going to the… Read more »

Blog: Larry David is spot-on as Bernie Sanders on ‘SNL’

Larry David appearing as presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on "Saturday Night Live," Oct. 17, 2015. (YouTube)

(JTA) — “What’s the deal with emails, anyway?” Sounds like a line on a “Seinfeld” episode (or Modern Seinfeld, anyway). But last night we heard it on the “Saturday Night Live” spoof of the first Democratic debate. The speaker was Bernie Sanders’ doppelganger, “Seinfeld” creator Larry David. David is a… Read more »

Amid GOP disarray, Jews in DC search memories and Rolodexes

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 22: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (L) speaks while flanked by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) during a news conference at GOP headquarters on Capitol Hill July 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. The GOP leaders spoke on various topics before Congress. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) – “Do I know this person?” has been a common refrain in the Washington offices of national Jewish organizations since Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, resigned as House speaker last month and his chosen successor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the majority leader, flamed out last week. Every day sees a new… Read more »