Tagged HEADLINES

Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she plans to spend 5 more years on Supreme Court

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg preparing to administer the Oath of Allegiance to candidates for U.S. citizenship at the New-York Historical Society in New York City, April 10, 2018. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

(JTA) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she hopes to remain on the court for another five years. “I’m now 85,” Ginsburg said, according to CNN. “My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so think I have about at least five… Read more »

The Western Wall ‘spit out a stone,’ and some see a message from above

A crane works to remove a large chunk of stone dislodged from the Western Wall in Jerusalem at the mixed-gender prayer section, July 25, 2018. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The heavy stone that fell out of the Western Wall and came crashing down on a platform set aside for egalitarian prayer has been removed for examination and restoration, but the conversation about the reason for its sudden sky dive — including hints of divine intervention… Read more »

For Teen Vogue, bashing Israel has become the fashion

A column in Teen Vogue unflatteringly compares policing of minority communities in the United States and Israel. (Lily Hong/Flickr)

(JTA) – Once a must-read for young fashonistas, Teen Vogue in 2016 expanded its coverage, shifting the magazine more aggressively into “covering politics, feminism, identity and activism” from an apparently liberal lens. Now, among articles on makeup, celebrities and clothing trends, Teen Vogue would like to give Israel a… Read more »

How the cast of a new ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ production learned Yiddish in only a month

Steven Skybell, center, as Tevye and ensemble in the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's Production of "Fiddler on the Roof." (Victor Nechay/ProperPix)

NEW YORK (JTA) — The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s new production of “Fiddler on the Roof” enacts a familiar story in an unfamiliar language. The actors sing about joy and hardship, and argue about the importance of tradition, in the language their characters would have spoken in the Old… Read more »

Comedian Orny Adams talks about his Jewish background (just not on stage)

Orny Adams is headlining the "Ethnic Show" at Montreal's prestigious Just For Laughs festival. (Courtesy of Just For Laughs)

(JTA) — Despite a career of more than two decades kvetching incessantly about life’s absurd little annoyances, comedian and actor Orny Adams insists he’s an optimist who’s always been an early riser, eager to tackle anything that confronts him. “When I wake up,” he says, “I find myself to… Read more »

Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook won’t delete Holocaust denial posts

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the F8 Facebook Developers conference in San Jose, Calif., May 1, 2018. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

(JTA) — Mark Zuckerberg says he wants to give everyone in the world a voice. But what happens when some of those wishing a voice are Holocaust deniers? That question was posed to the Facebook founder in an interview Wednesday with Recode, a tech news site, about the social… Read more »

Israel passes controversial law that cements it as country for Jews

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Knesset passed controversial legislation making Israel the “nation-state of the Jewish people,” angering groups in Israel and the Diaspora. The so-called Nationality Law enshrines in Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Law that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people. It passed early Thursday morning after hours… Read more »

The Neurotic Jewish Mom’s Guide to Summer

(Kveller via JTA) — Summer is known for being a lazy, carefree time — but for anxious moms like me, summer can be seriously scary. There’s a host of hidden dangers to worry about, from sunburn to tick bites to water accidents. During the school year, I’m a pretty… Read more »

This Jewish professor beaten by police says he’ll keep coming back to Germany

Yitzhak Melamed was beaten by a Palestinian and then by German police officers in a Bonn park. (Courtesy of Melamed)

(JTA) — Yitzhak Melamed was accosted by an anti-Semite and then beaten by German police while in the city of Bonn for a lecture last week. The attacks left the Jewish professor’s face bleeding, his glasses broken — and his will untouched. In October, Melamed will return to Germany.… Read more »

Does Israel need a law to define itself as the nation-state of the Jewish people?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seated second from left, leading a Likud faction meeting in the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, July 16, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel is debating legislation that supporters say states the obvious. Critics, meanwhile, say the measure will divide Israeli society and damage its relationships with the rest of the democratic world, especially Jews in the United States. The premise of the so-called Nationality Law is simple: It… Read more »

New flavors and fresh ideas raise hopes for a revival of Chicago area’s kosher restaurant scene

Chicago's kosher restaurant scene could be getting a boost. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

This city’s kosher restaurant scene has long lagged behind other metropolises like New York and Los Angeles — but changes might be coming. A bold forthcoming restaurant, an authentic taqueria and reports that two established neighborhood eateries are looking to change hands are raising hope for kosher diners who… Read more »

ANALYSIS Draymond Green says his trip to Israel wasn’t about politics. Here’s why Israel’s critics won’t accept that.

Draymond Green, right, shown before a playoff game between his Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center in Houston, May 28, 2018. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)

NBA star Draymond Green on his recent visit to Israel got to meet the nation’s president and take some shooting practice — with guns, not basketballs — on a military base. Green’s visit, particularly his jovial use of Israeli military weaponry, prompted criticism from notable figures on the American… Read more »

Sacha Baron Cohen’s newest character is an Israeli gunslinger taking aim at pro-Israel conservatives

Sacha Baron Cohen at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., May 23, 2016. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sacha Baron Cohen is back, and he is taking aim at a strain of “pro-Israel” thought that has both delighted and unsettled many American Jews: the unconditional love engendered by the country among deeply conservative Americans. In “Who is America?,” a show that made its debut… Read more »