Carlos Galindo-Elvira On Aug. 12, 2017, the nation was gripped by the shocking scene of hundreds of white supremacists taking to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, bellowing racist and anti-Semitic chants. While some wore polo shirts and others waved Nazi flags, their message was clear: non-whites and minorities have no place… Read more »
The Tucson Jewish community will hold its annual Project Isaiah food drive benefiting the Community Food Bank from Aug. 24-Sept.20. The project, timed to coincide with the High Holy Days, is named for the Prophet Isaiah. When asked why we fast on Yom Kippur, he responded, “Is it not… Read more »
Thirteen members of the Tucson Jewish Artists will present a group show, “Simcha,” in the Fine Art Gallery at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Aug. 26-Oct. 3. The group, which numbers around 25 visual artists, meets several times a year under the auspices of the Tucson Jewish concierge.… Read more »
Michael McDonald Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona CEO and President Michael McDonald will be the guest speaker during the annual Taste of Or Chadash, which starts next week. On Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m., McDonald will discuss how nonprofits navigate paradoxes to accomplish charitable missions. “Feeding Tzedakah: Charity and… Read more »
Esther Becker will present the annual Women’s Academy of Jewish Studies women’s book brunch on Sunday, Sept. 16 at Congregation Chofetz Chayim. She found this year’s book by a happy accident. “Several weeks ago in Jerusalem, Rabbi and I were searching for a specific bookshop with the… Read more »
"BlacKkKlansman" tells the story of two cops -- a black and a Jew -- infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan in 1972. (Screenshot from YouTube)
Spoilers for “BlacKkKlansman” below. NEW YORK (JTA) — In 1965, two young Jewish men, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, were murdered along with black activist James Chaney by Ku Klux Klansmen in a Southern horror memorialized in the 1988 film “Mississippi Burning.” My own Jew-adjacent summer camp showed the film to… Read more »
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu understands that Israel’s “hasbarah” can only get the country so far. (Illustration by Charles Dunst/JTA; photo: Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty)
(JTA) — The first mention in JTA of the Hebrew word “hasbarah” was in 1988, at the height of the first intifada. The article focused on Israelis and American Jews and their deep concern that the media were distorting the unrest and showing the Israeli military in a bad… Read more »
Ronald Lauder helped make Benjamin Netanyahu prime minister. Now he's publicly opposing him.
(JTA) — It’s gotta hurt when the guy who used to fund your political career writes two op-eds criticizing you in The New York Times. Benjamin Netanyahu would know — that’s what’s happening to him right now. On Monday, Netanyahu was the target of a scathing column by Ronald… Read more »
(JTA) — A Missouri Republican who has made anti-Semitic and other bigoted statements handily won a primary for the state’s House of Representatives. Steve West, who promotes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on a radio show he hosts, defeated three other candidates Tuesday in the bid for a seat representing Clay… Read more »
Sarah Jeong's anti-white tweets prompted a debate over the definition of racism and, subsequently, anti-Semitism. (Illustration by Charles Dunst/JTA; photo: Wikimedia Commons)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Are Jews too powerful to be considered “victims” of racism? Some progressives think so and have been downplaying accusations of anti-Semitism in light of a debate over prejudice and power. This week, The New York Times took heat for hiring Sarah Jeong, a technology writer,… Read more »
(Kveller via JTA) – On Nov. 22, 1909, at a massive workers meeting held at Cooper Union, Clara Lemlich Shavelson made herself known. In Yiddish, she declared, “I am tired of listening to speakers who talk in general terms. … I move that we go on a general strike!”… Read more »
Bob Shamansky brought his Jewish sensibility to Congress. (Illustration by Charles Dunst/JTA; photo: Wikimedia Commons)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — There’s a nail-biter in Ohio’s 12th District, if you haven’t noticed. Danny O’Connor, a Democrat, has refused to concede to Republican Troy Balderson following Tuesday’s hair’s-breadth special election for the seat encompassing Columbus and its environs. The winner will succeed longtime Republican incumbent Pat Tiberi, who… Read more »
Blueberry Honey Cake (Emanuelle Lee)
(The Nosher via JTA) – Rosh Hashanah has a way of sneaking up on you, and it’s a bittersweet feeling when it does. Bitter because it means the summer is over, but sweet because the Jewish New Year is a sweet and delicious time of year to spend with… Read more »
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, President Reuven Rivlin and the head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, at an awards ceremony in Jerusalem to recognize 13 employees of Israel's intelligence agency, Dec. 13, 2017. (Kobi Gideon/Wikimedia Commons)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Aziz Asbar was a leading Syrian rocket scientist, working with Hezbollah and Iran to develop systems that could reach deep inside Israel. Now he’s dead, blown up in a car. The natural inclination in the Middle East and even farther afield is to blame the Mossad,… Read more »
Jacob Wohl describes himself as a conservative, a Zionist and one of President Trump’s most loyal supporters. (Screenshot from YouTube)
NEW YORK (JTA) — If you scroll down the Twitter feed of Jacob Wohl, former teenage hedge fund manager and current pro-Donald Trump provocateur, you’ll see a stream of insults directed at Robert Mueller, liberals and a proposed plastic straw ban. And that was just Friday morning. To his… Read more »
Amos Yadlin (Courtesy of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies) TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel’s new “nation-state” law, which is widely viewed here as clumsy, unnecessary and unwise, must be amended. That’s why I was proud to join tens of thousands of Israelis on Saturday night in a peaceful, unifying protest led by the Druze community. I came to… Read more »
A Palestinian man walks by Israeli troops standing guard in the West Bank city of Hebron, April 13, 2017. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
(JTA) – When Samuel Green talks about Israel’s West bank security barrier with the Birthright groups he guides, he first explains the Israeli view that the barrier was built to prevent Palestinian terrorists from breaching Israeli territory and that Israelis generally feel it has saved lives. But then he’ll… Read more »
Cantor Philip Sherman has appeared in more than a dozen roles in commercials, TV series and movies, mostly playing a religious Jew.(Courtesy of Sherman)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Cantor Philip Sherman gives me a call after having finished two circumcisions before noon on Tuesday. That’s a light day, he explains. On Thursday, he will be performing circumcisions for four baby boys; on Friday, he’ll do five. Sherman, 62, is a mohel (in… Read more »
Chocolate Babka Challah (Chaya Rappoport)
(The Nosher via JTA) – There’s nothing more comforting than a slice of babka and a glass of milk to break a long fast on. In my family, it’s pretty much all we eat. But I don’t always make babka, and I do always make challah, especially during the… Read more »
Rep. David Kustoff, a Jewish Republican, is running for re-election in Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District. (Ron Kampeas)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — David Kustoff, running for re-election in Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District, had three things in his favor: incumbency, a solid Republican district and President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Kustoff was not taking anything for granted, though: In the Republican primary on Thursday, he faced a challenger, George Flinn,… Read more »
