Steven I. Weiss interview with Republican primary candidate Newt Gingrich on The Jewish Channel stirred a media buzz and some criticism from GOP rivals over Gingrich's remarks, Dec. 9, 2011. (The Jewish Channel) NEW YORK (JTA) — It is a strange irony: Jews have been successful in the television business — but Jewish TV, not so much. It’s not for lack of trying. Right now, no fewer than three Jewish-focused national cable channels are trying to carve out a viable niche within… Read more »
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, part of the 5th Fleet, transits through the Strait of Hormuz, Oct. 9, 2011. Iran has threatened to shut off the strait, through which much of the world's oil travels, if it faces new sanctions. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Betsy Knapper) WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Obama administration is engaged in a full-court press to persuade Israel that Iran’s nuclear threat can be contained short of war. The U.S. lobbying has received a mixed reception from Israel, where the Netanyahu government has not ruled out a unilateral strike on Iran. Iran,… Read more »
Shlomo Fuchs, a haredi Israeli accused of harassing a female soldier for her refusal to move to the back of a bus, is released on bail in Jerusalem, Dec. 30, 2011. (Miriam Alster/Flash 90/JTA) (JTA) — The cascade of condemnations started pouring in almost as soon as the Israeli TV report aired. It’s subject was an 8-year-old girl harassed by haredi men on the way to her Modern Orthodox girls’ school in the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Shemesh. The Israeli prime minister and… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — A man arrives at an airport for a flight, and as he goes through security the agent asks some questions. Did anyone help him pack his suitcase? What is the purpose of his trip? Is anyone accompanying him? During the conversation, the agent enters answers… Read more »
Ernie Blake, founder of Taos Ski Valley, with his wife, Rhoda, in an undated photo. (Courtesy Taos Ski Valley) TAOS, N.M. (JTA) – One of the most wonderful things about skiing is the sense of seclusion, the incomparable quietude and serenity of standing atop a 12,000-foot peak surveying miles and miles of snow-covered emptiness. Somehow the prosaic concerns of the everyday world don’t seem to reach there. So… Read more »
After I offered parenting advice to Jewish mothers in these pages a while back, a couple of readers asked if I had advice for Jewish fathers. One asked whether there was a stereotypical “Jewish Father.” I dislike all stereotypes whether based on gender or religion so I prefer to… Read more »
Rabbi Stephanie Aaron What does healing mean in our tradition? How do we understand “remembering”? How are these two concepts forever linked in our tradition? The Mishebeirach prayer for healing moves us into the profound depths of what healing means in Jewish belief. When we recite this prayer, we begin by remembering:… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on Dec. 12, 2011 at the Israeli Business Conference held at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv. (Flash 90/Marc Israel/JTA) JERUSALEM (JTA) — He may be a lightning rod for criticism abroad, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is consolidating power at home. On Dec. 5, Netanyahu announced that elections for leadership of his Likud Party would be held Jan. 31. The decision came as something of a surprise; primaries… Read more »
PALMA, Spain (JTA) — A stone’s throw from the majestic Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, commonly referred to as La Seu, is a dusty cobblestoned alleyway that serves as a hidden reminder of Mallorca’s complex Jewish past. Carrer de Monti-Sion, or Mount Zion Street, has borne witness to… Read more »
YITZHAR, West Bank (JTA) — Charred tires and boulders pushed to the sides of the road leading to Yitzhar, a West Bank Jewish community near Nablus, were among the signs that residents had made an effort to prevent Israeli soldiers and police from entering the settlement. Patches of grease… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — New sanctions targeting Iran’s financial sector and its sale of crude oil give President Obama leeway to moderate their possible impact on oil markets and to use carrots as well as sticks to sway third parties into isolating the Islamic Republic. The sanctions target any foreign… Read more »
BOULDER, Colo. (JTA) — When Matisyahu, the 32-year-old Chasidic reggae superstar, appeared onstage for the first time since shaving his trademark beard, no one in the audience at the Boulder Theater seemed surprised. The news of his shaving had been widely discussed since the star tweeted a photo of… Read more »
Samer al-Issawi spent five time in five Israeli prisons for shooting at Israeli soldiers before he was released in the first phase of the swap for Gilad Shalit. (Linda Gradstein) OFER, West Bank (JTA) — When Israel releases 550 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday in the second phase of the Gilad Shalit exchange deal, the freed men and women will be leaving behind thousands of fellow Palestinians in Israeli jails. According to the Israeli Prison Service, there are 6,640 Palestinian… Read more »
A sex essay that appeared in a Yeshiva University student publication has prompted an intense debate about reproductive health, Orthodox Jewish modesty and freedom of speech. (Illustration by JTA) NEW YORK (JTA) — It wasn’t your typical college sex scandal. There were no accusations of molestation, inappropriate faculty-student relationships or date rape charges. Instead, the precipitating incident was the publication by a student-run newspaper of a female student’s first-person account of a premarital sexual encounter. But this is… Read more »
Do you, your family, neighborhood, Jewish agency or synagogue engage in a tikkun olam (repairing the world) project for Chanukah? Tell us about it! Send your story — no more than 300 words — to [email protected] by Dec. 14. If we print it in the Dec. 23 AJP, you’ll… Read more »
This fall, the Jewish Education Tax Credit Organization (JETCO) added another kindergarten to the list of schools that receive scholarships from Tucson’s only Jewish private school tuition tax credit program. Temple Emanu-El’s Olga and Bob Strauss Center for Early Childhood Education and Kindergarten joins Congregation Anshei Israel’s Esther B.… Read more »
Tel Aviv (N.Y. Jewish Week) — Israelis are watching elections in Egypt with the same ambivalence they have viewed the Arab Spring: historic images of Egyptians casting ballots for the first time were accompanied by troubling commentary by officials and analysts that the election is likely to empower an… Read more »
Six members of an El Al Airlines crew spoke with students at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., as part of a new program, Nov. 28, 2011. Shown with the crew is Lehi Rothschild, third from right, the Jewish Agency fellow who organized the event. (Dan Klein) NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (JTA) — A good flight crew requires a certain amount of charm to keep passengers calm during turbulence, emergencies or pretzel shortages. Five El Al Airlines flight attendants and a pilot put those skills to the test Monday at Rutgers University in New Jersey as they… Read more »
Israeli designer Dorit Bar Or, center, acknowledging applause with models at the close of her show at Tel Aviv Fashion Week, Nov. 21, 2011. (Meir Partush/Flash 90) TEL AVIV (JTA) — For Israeli fashionistas, last week’s inaugural Tel Aviv Fashion Week proved what they’ve known for years: Israeli fashion is creative, current and worthy of worldwide attention — and, hopefully, sales. “I wanted to help my business and help my country,” said organizer Ofir Lev, deputy… Read more »
Miriam Rosenbaum (Princeton University, Office of Communications) NEW YORK (N.Y. Jewish Week) — In the fading November light of Shabbat, Miriam Rosenbaum walked from the West Side to the East Side, and then to a building on Park Avenue where she walked up 18 flights — Shabbat had more than an hour to go — to… Read more »
