By Maayan Jaffe, JNS.org In southern Israel, the next generation of Jewish pioneers is making the desert bloom. A group of young, Zionist, idealistic adults are cultivating a previously uninhabited area in the northwest Negev on Israel’s borders with Egypt and Gaza—growing tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, cauliflower, pomegranates, olives, and more.Continue Reading

By Rabbi Bernie Fox, Northwest Yeshiva High School Jewish education should no longer be marketed as the foundation of Jewish continuity. I have been professionally engaged in Jewish education for over 35 years. Until recently, I believed that we should promote intensive Jewish education as the only proven means ofContinue Reading

Pariser

Benjamin and Brooke Pariser announce the birth of their son, Emet Hale, on August 6, 2014, at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Emet weighed 8 lbs., 5 oz. and measured 19.5 inches. Emet’s grandparents are Iantha and Stan Sidell of Mercer Island, and Gail Pariser of Las Vegas, Nev., and PaulContinue Reading

Salitra

Samuel will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah November 1, 2014, at Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue. Samuel is the son of Judy Spunt and Richard Salitra of Bellevue, and the brother of Isaac and Aviva. His grandparents are Reva Spunt of Toronto, Ontario, and Eleanor and Joe Rodriguez of Fort Lauderdale,Continue Reading

fisher

Paige will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah November 13, 2014, at Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation on Mercer Island. Paige is the daughter of Kimberly and Craig Fisher of Mercer Island and the sister of Drew. Her grandparents are Jeanie and Alfred Benaroya of Kirkland, Edward Fisher of Clyde Hill, and theContinue Reading

engage-goldberg

Emma Orbach and Jack Goldberg announce their engagement. Emma is the daughter of Martin and Susan Orbach of Novato, Calif. Her grandparents are Donald and Carrol Cluck of Morrow Bay, Calif., and Tony Orbach of Johannesburg, South Africa and the late Glenda Orbach. She will graduate from Boston University withContinue Reading

Radinsky Sharin

October 15, 1913–October 13, 2014 Anne Radinsky Sharin, born Oct. 15, 1913, daughter of Benjamin and Celia Radinsky, passed peacefully on Oct. 13, 2014 in Annapolis, Md. She would have turned 101 years on Oct. 15. Anne was born in the Ukraine and arrived in Seattle at the age ofContinue Reading

(JNS.org) The White House on Wednesday attempted to distance itself from comments by an anonymous senior U.S. official who called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “chickenshit.” “Certainly that’s not the administration’s view, and we think such comments are inappropriate and counter-productive,” Alistair Baskey, a spokesman for the National SecurityContinue Reading