Tagged New York City

Some New York City yeshivas are operating in the shadows

Orthodox children watch as protesters march through Brooklyn, June 3, 2020. Some yeshivas have provided instructions for parents to bring their children back to yeshiva three months after schools closed due to the pandemic. (Angela Weiss/Getty Images)
June 17, 2020 / Shira Hanau JTA

(JTA) – As Orthodox lawmakers were brazenly cutting the locks off a New York City playground on Tuesday morning, Orthodox children were settling in for a school day just nine blocks away. The classes at Yeshiva K’tana Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn were the first held in the school building… Read more »

First I sat shiva for my mom. Then I ran a marathon.
September 12, 2018 / Andrea Stagg, Kveller

(Kveller via JTA) – When a Jewish person dies, the traditional way to grieve includes sitting shiva, a seven-day mourning period when visitors arrive to comfort and care for the bereaved. At the end of the week, the mourners “get up” and resume more of their normal activities. Some people… Read more »

On Broadway, an Israeli-American plays an Egyptian romantic in ‘The Band’s Visit’

Ari'el Stachel, right, plays matchmaker to two shy Israelis, played by Rachel Prather and Etai Benson, in "The Band's Visit." (Matt Murphy)
November 13, 2017 / Steve North, JTA

(JTA) — There’s a long and poignant story behind the T-shirt that Ari’el Stachel often wears these days. It says, in Hebrew letters, “Totzeret Teman” —  “Product of Yemen.” The unexpected juxtaposition of two cultures, Israeli and Arab, is as fascinating and complex as Stachel himself. Stachel, 26, is an… Read more »

An Israeli chef in New York wants to shake up the way you think about spices

Lior Lev Sercarz teaches spice blending classes and sells spices at La Boite in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. (Josefin Dolsten)
October 27, 2017 / Josefin Dolsten, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — For many home cooks, spices are an afterthought, sprinkled on a dish lacking in flavor. Israeli-born, French-educated chef Lior Lev Sercarz wants to change that. “If you want to make good food and beverages you need to know about spices, and I would like to… Read more »

This Jewish man was once New York’s toughest cop. Now he’s a TV star.

Ralph Friedman stars in "Street Justice: The Bronx" on the Discovery Channel. (Courtesy of the Discovery Channel)
September 13, 2017 / Curt Schleier, JTA

(JTA) — There are almost as many reality cop shows on television as there are Real Housewives. “Cops” is the granddaddy of them all, in its 30th season, plus there’s “Night Watch” and “Live PD,” to name just a few. The newest is “Street Justice: The Bronx,” which premieres… Read more »

‘Holocaust tourism’ is probed in a compelling documentary

A scene from "Austerlitz," a documentary that chronicles the tourist experience in two former concentration camps. (Courtesy of Austerlitz/Loznitsa)
February 20, 2017 / Gabe Friedman, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — How do people behave when they visit a concentration camp or a Holocaust memorial? Do they act as if there are in place of reverence or mourning? Or do they behave as crowds do at any tourist attraction — taking selfies, goofing around, snacking and drinking… Read more »

Reform movement’s challenge: Protesting Trump and remaining inclusive

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the Union for Reform Judaism president, speaks at the movement's biennial conference in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 7, 2015. (URJ)
February 13, 2017 / Ben Sales, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — Reform Jewish leaders largely oppose President Donald Trump’s policies — and they haven’t been shy about saying so since his election. They’ve marched in the streets by the thousands. They’ve protested at airports. And last week, some were arrested in front of a Trump hotel… Read more »

Hanukkah sweaters are now a thing — and I love them

Launched in 2012, Geltfiend was an innovator in the Hanukkah sweater scene. (Jay Diebel/Carin Agiman/Geltfiend)
December 19, 2016 / Lior Zaltzman, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — Ever since I moved here from Israel, every late November felt like the beginning of a month-long assault. Every store, business and doctor’s office blared Christmas songs, streets were decorated with ostentatious light shows and seemingly everything became green and red — which, as an… Read more »

A Syrian Jew’s message to Aleppo: Keep tradition and don’t lose hope

Syrians fleeing violence in Aleppo arrive in the city's Fardos neighborhood after government troops retook the area from rebel fighters, Dec. 13, 2016. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
December 19, 2016 / Ben Sales, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — Although Poopa Dweck has never been to Aleppo, her New Jersey home evokes the smells of a kitchen in the now-ravaged Syrian city. Dweck was born after her parents left the once-bustling metropolis in 1947, but she still calls it her “homeland.” She has dedicated herself… Read more »

Protesting Trump and Jewish organizations, IfNotNow brings young left-wing Jews to the streets

IfNotNow activists march to demand that President-elect Donald Trump fire Stephen Bannon, Philadelphia, Nov. 22, 2016. (Courtesy of IfNotNow)
December 14, 2016 / Ben Sales, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — “This Jew says no to white nationalism,” one sign read. “Silence is akin to consent,” another said, quoting the Talmud. A third displayed a lyric from a Yiddish song: “We will outlive them.” The signs, along with chants like “Donald Trump, it’s your fault; Stephen… Read more »

The Jewish story behind the Broadway hit ‘Falsettos’

Clockwise from left: Anthony Rosenthal, Betsy Wolfe, Tracie Thoms, Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, Brandon Uranowitz and Stephanie J. Block performing in the musical "Falsettos." (Joan Marcus)
December 12, 2016 / Linda Buchwald, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — The opening number in the Broadway musical “Falsettos” — currently being revived on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre — is called “Four Jews in a Room Bitching.” Featuring sample lyrics like “I’m neurotic, he’s neurotic, they’re neurotic, we’re neurotic. Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch,” it… Read more »

Anti-Semitism unleashed by Trump followers chills Jewish voters

Bend the Arc protesters demonstrate outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City, Sept. 29, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
November 7, 2016 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) – Pieties? Out. Passports? In. Paranoia? On its way. Jewish Americans have never been ones to sit out an election, whether it comes to voting, political fundraising or dinner table punditry. But even for a community grown used to the political fray, the 2016 campaign was different.… Read more »