A Hebrew National ad suggesting a recipe, with bacon, for a Hog Wild Stack. (Screenshot: YouTube)
NEW YORK (JTA) – It may be America’s most iconic kosher brand, famous for its hot dogs that in the words of its unforgettable ad slogan, “answer to a higher authority.” So consumers might be confused to find videos on Hebrew National’s homepage suggesting they grill up their kosher… Read more »
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, left, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the Iran nuclear deal, July 29, 2015. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Congress has until mid- to late September to consider whether to reject the nuclear restrictions for the sanctions rollback deal reached by Iran and six major powers on July 14. Some of the debate is over the meaning of certain provisions in the accord. Here’s a breakdown… Read more »
Israelis participating in a memorial service in Jerusalem for Shira Banki, who was fatally wounded in an attack at Jerusalem’s gay pride parade, Aug. 2, 2015. (Garrett Mills/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — This past month, as our attention was focused on watching the developing Iran deal, the situation in Israel has taken a deeply troubling turn. First, a woman wearing a kippah was detained by the police for attempting to worship at the Western Wall. Then David Azoulay,… Read more »
(JTA) — Got questions about the Iran nuclear deal? Too bad, if you were an AIPAC activist at a briefing this week with top Obama administration officials. At the briefing Wednesday, Howard Kohr, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s director, stopped the proceedings before his activists could ask questions. The… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) – For the first time in about a century, a rabbi from outside the Lookstein family will lead New York’s storied Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun. The Orthodox synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side voted last week to hire as its new senior rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, who for… Read more »
(JTA) — The Los Angeles Dodgers may never achieve the lore of their brethren in Brooklyn, but now at least they’ve brought a bit of Brooklyn to the West Coast — in the form of hot dogs. Earlier this week, Dodger Stadium opened its first kosher hot dog stand,… Read more »
(JTA) — It was Friday evening and the cantor, wearing a leopard-print top and gladiator sandals — including one with a with a tambourine affixed to it — greeted the congregants at Shabbat services with a smile. She encouraged them to pick up the percussion instruments left on the… Read more »
President Barack Obama talks with President Hassan Rouhani of Iran during a phone call in the Oval Office, Sept. 27, 2013. (Pete Souza/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In a phone call with supporters on Thursday, President Barack Obama characterized opponents of the Iran deal as being backed by “billionaires” and urged those listening in to win over “squishy” lawmakers considering opposing the deal. Opponents “would be opposed to any deal with Iran,” Obama told… Read more »
Jon Stewart performing as part of Comedy Central’s "Night Of Too Many Stars" at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, Feb. 28, 2015. (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for Comedy Central)
(JTA) – For years it has been written about, and on the night of July 23 it was sealed: Jon Stewart is proud to be Jewish. With just two weeks left before he leaves “The Daily Show” following a 16-year run as host – and well ahead of the… Read more »
Having just returned from several weeks in Israel, I am struck by the fact that a very significant aspect of the Iran debate is receiving very little attention in the American news media: the fact that the mainstream Israeli left is just as strongly opposed to the agreement as… Read more »
Rep. Martha McSally (R.-Ariz.) will be one of more than 40 U.S. lawmakers traveling to Israel next month to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to a Congressional vote on the nuclear deal with Iran. Congress has until Sept. 17 to vote on the agreement the United States and five other countries (known… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak to the American Jewish community and friends of Israel in a live webcast on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015 at 1 pm EDT. Register here to receive the web link for access to the address. Participation is free and open to all. The… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Six marchers were stabbed at Jerusalem’s annual gay pride parade — allegedly by the man who stabbed three people at the parade in 2005. One victim in Thursday’s stabbings was in critical condition and two were in serious condition. The alleged assailant — Yishai Schlissel, a… Read more »
Drip irrigation (Shutterstock)
(Jewniverse via JTA) — On these hottest days of summer – especially when parts of the United States are rationing water – we should thank the late Israeli engineer Simcha Blass for helping farmers figure out how to best harness the water they do have. Blass revolutionized drip irrigation in the early 1930s,… Read more »
In September 2013, I gathered with a group of friends to share feelings and reflections on the suicide death of one our friends, Deb Tambor, who had been struggling with a variety of issues related to leaving the insular Hasidic Jewish world. Next to me sat Faigy Mayer, a… Read more »
Activists demonstrating in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the estimated 20,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent who were stripped of their citizenship and are facing expulsion, June 22, 2015. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Fewer than 800 miles from our shores, a deeply disturbing crisis is unfolding as tens of thousands of citizens of the Dominican Republic face deportation from their country simply because of their heritage. Tragically, people of Haitian descent who were born in the Dominican Republic… Read more »
I recently wrote an article outlining how and why the new well-funded Adelson/Netanyahu/Republican/Evangelical coalition has emerged as the new pro-Israel voice in the U.S. — supplanting the traditional majority of American Jews who are increasingly demonized for expressing honest and heartfelt concerns about the policies and statements of the… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) – Admit it: You might be wrong. Yes, you have a strong view about whether the nuclear deal signed with Iran last week will spell catastrophe for Israel, or whether it’s the best of a range of bad options for dealing with Iran’s apparent pursuit of a nuclear weapon.… Read more »
Editor’s note: If you live in Southern Arizona and apply for the “Under 30 Change-the-World” prize, please contact the AJP and tell us about your project. NEW YORK, July 24 – Calling all young Jewish and Israeli social entrepreneurs: here is your chance to help change the world while competing for… Read more »
Vice President Joe Biden delivering remarks at the Good Jobs Green Jobs National Conference in Washington, D.C., April 13, 2015. This week he beseeched about a thousand Jewish leaders in a phone call on the Iran nuclear deal. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WASHINGTON (JTA) – Vice President Joe Biden had an intimate phone call this week with about a thousand Jewish leaders, beseeching, teaching and preaching the Iran nuclear deal. Biden’s imploring hourlong call on Monday typified how personal the campaign for and against the Iran nuclear deal is becoming. President… Read more »
