Tagged HEADLINES

Amid identity crisis, Conservative Jews pay for rebranding

More than 200 members of United Synagogue Youth came to the opening session of the conference of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in Schaumburg, Ill., Nov. 15, 2013. (Courtesy of USCJ)

NEWS ANALYSIS SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (JTA) – Conservative Judaism is at a crossroads. The movement’s constituents increasingly are leading lives at odds with the core values and rules of Conservative Judaism, especially when it comes to intermarriage. The number of Conservative Jews has shrunk by one-third over the last 25 years. And even some… Read more »

Aly Raisman has her eyes on Rio

Aly Raisman competing in the floor exercise at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, Oct. 24, 2015. (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

GLASGOW, Scotland (JTA) — Once the music started playing — not the “Hava Nagila” tune that made her the Jewish poster child of the London Games, but something equally folksy — Aly Raisman tumbled right out of bounds. On her first bit of gymnastics at her comeback World Championships here… Read more »

Rare numbing disease that plagues Jews has diagnosis, but no cure

David Epstein, left, and his brother, Howard Epstein, both have APBD, which is more prevalent among Ashkenazi Jews than in the general public. (Courtesy of David Epstein)

SILVER SPRING, Md. (Washington Jewish Week via JTA) — David Epstein went to his doctor in 1997 to see why he was going to the bathroom so frequently and what was causing his fingers to go numb. Years of doctor visits, medical testing and prescription medications led nowhere. Meanwhile,… Read more »

What if the Nazis had won? Amazon’s new drama answers that question — slowly

American Nazi official Obergruppenfürer John Smith (Rufus Sewell) in "The Man in The High Castle." (Courtesy of Amazon Studios)

(JTA) — Admittedly, “The Man in the High Castle,” the new original series from Amazon Prime, is in a tough spot. Many TV fans are wondering if the much-hyped drama can live up to the standard set by its Emmy-award winning Amazon predecessor, “Transparent.” “High Castle” is based on — but… Read more »

Texting, road rage among dangers discussed at teen ethics of driving class

Teen drivers are involved in more crashes than any other demographic, primarily due to poor decision making, Officer William Honomichl of the Tucson Police Department Traffic Division told a group of about 35 teens and parents on Nov. 1 at Congregation Or Chadash. “You’re Driving Me Nuts,” a driver’s… Read more »

Dinner talk on Syrian conflict to cap Israel symposium

Itamar Rabinovich

Political and social ideological conflicts among Arab nations have fostered continued instability in the Middle East. Israel’s 1948 founding as a Jewish state, and the only democracy in the region, forever changed the landscape and interaction among regional interests. The University of Arizona will host “Israel in the Changing… Read more »

JCF seeks Israel Discovery Fund applications

The Jewish Community Foundation is seeking applications from nonprofit organizations in Southern Arizona for a grant from the JCF Israel Discovery Fund, made possible by the Shaol & Evelyn Pozez Endowment Fund and the Beren Family Scholarship Fund. The purpose of the JCF Israel Discovery Fund is to send… Read more »

Tucson gets PJ Our Way book program for ages 9-11

“Penina Levine Is a Potato Pancake” is one of the PJ Our Way selections for November.

The PJ Library program in Southern Arizona is expanding to include kids ages 9-11 with PJ Our Way. Offering free, age-appropriate monthly books with Jewish content, PJ Our Way puts kids in control of their book choices via a protected, regulated website, pjourway.org. Kids can also contribute book reviews,… Read more »

It’s past time to rise up against gun violence

Rabbi Stephanie Aaron

The bumper sticker on the car in front of me read “my loved one was murdered.” I automatically fill in “by gun violence.” I know the statistics. I want to jump out of my car and say to this person, “I am so sorry.” We are weeping in my… Read more »

Giving thanks for a fight-free Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at the author's house. Just because the meal is largely a secular one for Jews, don't assume our adherence to tradition is given the day off. (Edmon J. Rodman)

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — As my family — and families across the country — begin preparations for the Thanksgiving feast, I started to wonder what kind of family tsuris could rend this day of plenty, pilgrims and, well, pigskin, asunder. Even in this season of presidential candidate debates, I… Read more »

French-Israelis, reeling from attacks, relieved to be out

Hundreds of Israelis attend a rally at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv in solidarity with Paris, Nov. 14, 2015. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

  TEL AVIV (JTA) — It was 2 a.m. when Illana Attali’s friend’s screams woke her. Her friend had just heard about the series of coordinated terror attacks on Paris — a wave of violence that would kill at least 129 people on Friday. A Paris native who moved to Tel… Read more »

In wealthy Paris hamlet, some Jews reconsider their future

A wedding at the Synagogue des Tournelles in Paris on Nov. 15, 2015, two days after a wave of terror gripped the city. (Alain Azria)

PARIS (JTA) — Babette and Sasha Bergman lead what many would consider a charmed life. Both Jewish high-tech professionals in their 30s — they met while working at Google’s European headquarters in Ireland — the Bergmans settled in this capital city shortly ahead of the birth of their now 4-year-old daughter, Daniella. On weekends, they enjoy entertaining friends in… Read more »

How to make a turkey-shaped challah for Thanksgiving

(The Nosher via JTA) — Thanksgivukkah has come and gone, but over here at The Nosher we think it’s always fun to bring Jewish dishes into our holiday celebrations. Kugel for Thanksgiving? Absolutely. Leftover turkey soup with matzah balls? You bet. And so we wanted to combine one of… Read more »

Teaming up, Welch’s and Manischewitz challenge kosher grape juice monopoly

Bottles of Welch's/Manischewitz grape juice at Kosherfest in Secaucus, N.J. (Uriel Heilman)

SECAUCUS, N.J. (JTA) — Welch’s is coming to seder this year. For decades, America’s kosher grape juice market has been dominated by Kedem, whose sweet libations come in concord, blush, white, peach, diet and a variety of sparkling flavors. But with U.S. sales flat when it comes to non-kosher… Read more »

What to know about Jonathan Pollard’s upcoming release

Israelis calling for the release of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard during President Obama’s visit to Jerusalem, March 19, 2013. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) – Jonathan Pollard, the American spy for Israel sentenced to life in prison in 1987, is due to be released on parole on Saturday, 30 years after his arrest. The former U.S. Navy analyst’s exit from a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina (where he reportedly befriended… Read more »

Op-Ed: Terror is terror

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 »

Is EU discriminating against Israel by labeling settlement goods?

A demonstration in Madrid in support of Western Sahara's self-determination, Nov. 11, 2006. (Wikimedia Commons)

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — To Israel and many of its supporters, the new European Union regulations requiring separate labeling for settlement goods are discriminatory measures reminiscent of Europe’s long history of institutionalized anti-Semitism. In a harshly-worded statement Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that by ignoring other territorial disputes around the world, the EU… Read more »

How the world’s longest-running Chabad house survives in Morocco

Photos of King Hassan II and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson adorn the wall of the Chabad facility in Casablanca. (Ben Sales)

CASABLANCA, Morocco (JTA) — Raizel Raskin’s office feels like a cluttered museum of Moroccan Jewish heritage. A photo from an old Jewish summer camp lays on the table. Another, of a rabbi meeting Moroccan dignitaries, hangs on the wall. Outside the door is a bookshelf filled with Hasidic tracts… Read more »

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