Tagged HEADLINES

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 »

A Yad Sarah volunteer prepares a wheelchair to be loaned to a client.

AJP Associate Editor Sheila Wilensky was in Israel in January with the American Jewish Press Association. From inhalers and humidifiers to walkers and wheelchairs, Israel’s Yad Sarah provides homecare services to thousands of people — all for free. Founded in 1976 in one room, Yad Sarah now has 100… Read more »

Rabbi Richard Address

Rabbi Richard F. Address, author of “Seekers of Meaning: Baby Boomers, Judaism, and the Pursuit of Healthy Aging,” will bring his quest to Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging on Tuesday, April 23. In a free public lecture at 7 p.m., Address — a baby boomer himself — will… Read more »

Dan Siegel, M.D.

Dan Siegel, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, exemplifies the mission of the Cindy Wool Memorial Seminar on Humanism in Medicine. Siegel is the author of “Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation,” an in-depth exploration of the power of the mind to integrate… Read more »

Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris, third from left, leading the march in his city from Liberty Square to the Old Railway Station, March 2013. (Michael Thaidigsmann/WJC)

THESSALONIKI, Greece (JTA) — Antonis Samaras stood in the pale morning light coming through the stained glass windows of the only Thessaloniki synagogue to survive World War II and vowed, “Never again.” For Greek Jews marking the 70th anniversary of the destruction of this city’s historic Jewish community, the… Read more »

Yityish Aynaw, Miss Israel, meets President Barack Obama during his visit to Israel, March 2013. (Avi Ohayon/GPO/JTA)

TEL AVIV (JTA) — When Yityish Aynaw immigrated from Ethiopia to Israel at age 12, she was thrust into an Israeli classroom. An orphan lacking Hebrew skills, Aynaw says she relied on other kids and her own sheer ambition to get through. Ten years later Aynaw, 22, is the… Read more »