Tagged HEADLINES

WASHINGTON (JTA) — What happens when the rabbi who delivered the invocation at your nomination inveighs against you? Three controversies in quick succession have earned President Obama opprobrium from some of his most steadfast liberal supporters, including Rabbi David Saperstein, who directs the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center. The… Read more »

Abdellah Boutadghart, right, of the Moroccan embassy in Senegal, and Rabbi Eliezer Di Martino of Lisbon at the main cemetery in Praia for the burial of a Cape Verde resident, May 2, 2013. (Cnaan Liphshiz)

PRAIA, Cape Verde (JTA) — A Portuguese rabbi and a Moroccan diplomat stood shoulder to shoulder in a Catholic cemetery here while 200 mourners howled in grief as they buried a resident of this island off the western coast of Africa. The foreigners had come to Cape Verde’s main… Read more »

"Hava Nagila (The Movie)" portrays the classic Jewish tune as a porthole into 200 years of Judaism's culture and spirituality. (Courtesy "Hava Nagila The Movie")

NEW YORK (JTA) — May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a commemoration first recognized by President George W. Bush in 2006. Since then, hundreds of programs have taken place nationwide annually to honor the rich contributions of Jews to American culture and society. President Obama added to the annual… Read more »

Pascale Bercovitch, an Israeli handcyclist who competed in the 2012 London Paralympics, has overcome the loss of her legs to become a world-class athlete. (Courtesy Pascale Bercovitch)

TEL AVIV (JTA) – Pascale Bercovitch has a firm handshake and a ready smile. She’s hard to keep up with as she takes an elevator to a cafe on the ground floor of her gym in northern Tel Aviv and talks about her hopes to compete in 2016 in… Read more »

Peter Likins moderates a panel discussion on higher education in Arizona sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council and Hadassah Southern Arizona, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on April 26. (Simon Rosenblatt)

Our system of higher education hasn’t changed in the last 60 years, University of Arizona President Emeritus Peter Likins said at a breakfast and panel discussion April 26 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. As the moderator of the discussion on “The Future of Higher Education in Arizona,” when… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Until recently, I thought of Ruth, the heroine of Shavuot, as a positive role model, a woman who made good choices, was strong and fulfilled. But lately I’ve been rethinking this and focusing on the strange dynamics of what appears to be an unhealthy, possibly abusive,… Read more »

The Arab League made some headlines this week, when its representative, Sheik Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar’s prime minister, conveyed in Washington something that looks like a softening of the traditional Arab hard line towards the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead of returning to the pre-1967 borders, he… Read more »

Lorraine Mackstaller, M.D.

Lorraine Mackstaller, M.D., is devoted to educating the public, especially women, about heart disease. She will present “Knowledge is Power” at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s luncheon on Sunday, May 19, at noon at Skyline Country Club. Mackstaller is a clinical associate professor of medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center,… Read more »

Rabbi Jack Parisi

Jack Parisi, an evangelical Christian pastor who became a rabbi, will speak as part of Chabad of Tucson’s 2013 lecture series on Sunday, May 19, at 7 p.m. at Congregation Young Israel. Parisi’s life-changing journey began when he and his wife, Sally, co-pastors of a church in the Bible… Read more »

More than 4,000 people attended the Israel 65 Festival on Sunday, April 21, enjoying food, games, the shuk marketplace, music and dance. Special guests included Dana Erlich, consul for public diplomacy, Consulate General of Israel, Los Angeles; U.S. Rep. Ron Barber; Tucson City Councilwoman Karen Ulich; and Mayor Jonathan… Read more »

Ricotta flan with raspberry sauce is a lighter alternative to the traditional Shavuot cheesecake. (From "Helen Nash's New Kosher Cuisine")

NEW YORK (JTA) — With its tradition of dairy meals, Shavuot is one of my favorite holidays. Arriving later in the spring — an ideal time to find delicious fruits, herbs and vegetables — it’s perfect for using fresh and seasonal ingredients. The four dishes I have selected for… Read more »

The Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv, a museum dedicated to the memory and lifework of the slain Israeli prime minister. (Courtesy Rabin Center)

TEL AVIV (JTA) — The museum dedicated to the memory of Yitzhak Rabin raises nearly half its money from labor leaders. It’s just not the labor you think. Members of U.S. labor unions raised $1.4 million for the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv last year, 45 percent of… Read more »

Gene Sperling, the chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, speaking at the Reform movement's Consultation on Conscience, April 23, 2013. (Courtesy Religious Action Center)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — In the battle to end the across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration, it’s all hands on deck. Increasingly for the Obama administration, which is deadlocked over the budget with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, that means reaching out to Jews. In conference calls and in appearances… Read more »

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chairwoman of the Republican Conference in the U.S. House of Representatives, at the center of a Jewish leaders roundtable in Washington, April 12, 2013. (Courtesy House Republican Conference)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — He had them until abortion. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) was addressing the Reform movement’s Consultation on Conscience conference about his passion, human rights and success in creating mechanisms to combat human trafficking and shine a light on global anti-Semitism. The crowd gathered in a large… Read more »

As a child of Holocaust survivors, I have always managed to avoid visiting Germany. Part of my parents’ legacy was never to visit the country, with its dark past — not even to own any products in our home that were made in Germany. Despite my reluctance to visit… Read more »

Mary Peachin, right, with fishing boat captain, Adolpho, and a rooster fish she caught in Zihuatenejo, on the Pacific coast of Mexico. (Courtesy Mary Peachin)

Mary Peachin is proud to be a third-generation Tucsonan, a granddaughter of the pioneer Jewish Levy family. She’s also forged her own path. At 72, she can count flying her own plane, sky diving, bungee jumping and swimming with sharks among her experiences. Her life of adventure traveling began… Read more »

A Boston Marathon runner embracing another woman near Kenmore Square after two bombs exploded in the area, April 15, 2013. (Alex Trautwig/Getty)

(Jewish Exponent) — “It was a beautiful day. I was so excited to run and having such a good run. The crowd was unbelievable. The whole experience was amazing. It was almost magical.” That’s how the Boston Marathon began for Rabbi Benjamin David, head rabbi at Adath Emanu-El in Mount… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – A legislative effort led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to enable Israelis to enter the United States without visas may be stymied by the government – Israel’s government. The hitch is Israel’s inability or unwillingness to fully reciprocate, something required for visa-free travel to… Read more »

Iran watchers are worried that the reckless gamesmanship of North Korea's Kim Jong-un, shown in an Oct. 9, 2010 photo, will provide a model for the Islamic Republic. (Creative Commons)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — If you have nuclear weapons, all sorts of bad behavior will be tolerated. That’s the lesson some are worried Iran may be learning from North Korea’s increasingly confrontational stance against South Korea and the United States. Pyongyang has stepped up its belligerent rhetoric in recent days,… Read more »

Chadwick Boseman playing Jackie Robinson getting ready to take the field in the new film "42." (Legendary Pictures)

NEW YORK (JTA) — Moviegoers who head this weekend to the AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9 for the opening of “42” will see the story of how Jackie Robinson displayed legendary courage, class and talent in the face of immense pressure and racial hatred as he broke down baseball’s color barrier.… Read more »