By Emily K. Alhadeff, Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound Rabbi Kenneth Brander took a part-time, two-year job as rabbi of a 60-family congregation in Boca Raton, Fla. with the idea that he’d have lots of time to write about his experiences living with and assisting Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik during theContinue Reading
By JTA World News Service JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli military to “take off the gloves” against Hamas, as Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon prepared the public for a long campaign in Gaza. “Hamas chose to escalate the situation and it will pay a heavy priceContinue Reading
By Ron Kampeas, JTA World News Service WASHINGTON (JTA) — For many Israelis, eyes are turning south watching yet another conflict unfold with Hamas. Yet thoughts are also turned inward, contemplating the sense of national solidarity occasioned by the abduction and murder of three teenagers and then shattered by theContinue Reading
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the father of the Palestinian teen allegedly murdered by Jews in a revenge attack.Three of the six suspects arrested in the July 2 kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Mohammad Khdeir of eastern Jerusalem to avenge the slaying of three Israeli teensContinue Reading
By Emily K. Alhadeff, Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound On Thursday night, July 3, a community-wide memorial service was held at Minyan Ohr Chadash for Gilad Shaar, Naftali Fraenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, the three Israeli teens found dead 18 days after allegedly being abducted by two Palestinian men. After the newsContinue Reading
By Michael Natkin, Jewish Sound Columnist Chimichurri is the quintessential sauce of Argentina, and deserves to be better known in the northerly climes. It is somewhat like an Italian pesto, but made from parsley, and without the cheese or nuts to thicken it. Like pesto, it comes together in aContinue Reading
By Linda Gradstein, The Media Line It has been a difficult week for everyone in Israel and the Palestinian territories. First the discovery of the bodies of three Israeli teenagers and their emotional funerals. Then the calls for revenge and the rampage of hundreds of extremist Jewish youths in downtownContinue Reading
(JTA) — Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the father of the Jewish Renewal movement, has died at age 89. A maverick rabbi who started out in the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, Schachter-Shalomi transitioned over time toward a New Age, neo-Hasidic approach, gaining a substantial following on his own but also influencing other Jewish denominations.Continue Reading
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The full recording of the emergency call placed by one of three abducted teens, in which the kidnappers can be heard celebrating, was released. Wednesday’s release of the full audio, which is 2 minutes, 9 seconds, comes a day after the first 49 seconds were released. InContinue Reading
By Rita Berman Frischer, Special to The Jewish Sound As the grandmother of cross-cultural Jewish children, I’m especially interested in how this phenomenon plays out in Jewish Seattle, with its seemingly open doors and open minds. So when I recently received three children’s books for review, all dealing with howContinue Reading
By Uriel Heilman, JTA World News NEW YORK (JTA) — What does a fervent religious movement do after the death of its singular leader? That was the existential question the Chabad-Lubavitch movement faced 20 years ago this week when its charismatic rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, died with no heir. AmidContinue Reading
By David Shayne, Special to the Jewish Sound A while back, I heard Palestinian academic Nadia Elia brag that the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is so effective that Israel’s very existence is threatened. “Empty bravado from the side that is clearly losing,” I thought. Afterward, I heard some pro-IsraelContinue Reading
By Joel Magalnick, Editor, The Jewish Sound This morning, they flipped the switch, and the most recent cohort of crowd-sourcing projects launched for six projects that its organizers hope will provide positive engagement for the Seattle area’s Jewish community. J-Kick, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s version of the popularContinue Reading
By JTA World News Service WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that a privately held business may refuse to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives to employees. Jewish groups had closely watched the case that Hobby Lobby, a crafts chain, and Conestoga Wood Specialties, a cabinet maker, hadContinue Reading
By Rami Almagheiri and Linda Gradstein, The Media Line Gaza City, Gaza Strip — The 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza are bracing for Israeli retaliation after the bodies of three Israeli teenagers, who had been kidnapped on June 12, were found in the West Bank. Two operatives from the IslamistContinue Reading
By Ben Sales, JTA World News Service TEL AVIV (JTA) — A national ordeal here ended in tragedy as three Israeli teenagers kidnapped earlier this month were found dead near Hebron. The discovery of their bodies Monday night by the Israeli army and volunteer searchers brings to an unhappy conclusionContinue Reading
By Gary M. Bretton-Granatoor, JTA World News Service NEW YORK (JTA) — The Jewish world has been shaken by the decision of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to divest from three companies that it claims “further the Israeli occupation of Palestine.” The denomination has placed itself squarely on the side ofContinue Reading
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The bodies of three kidnapped Israeli teens have been found in a field north of Hebron. Israeli media announced at about 8:30 p.m. Monday that the families of Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel, and Eyal Yifrach had been notified of the discovery. The bodies have been positively identified.Continue Reading
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two West Bank Palestinian men affiliated with Hamas have been identified as the alleged abductors of three Israeli teens. Israel’s Shin Bet security service and the Israel Defense Forces on Thursday identified Amer Abu Aysha and Marwan Kawasme as the alleged kidnappers. The suspects, who live inContinue Reading
By Linda Gradstein, The Media Line [Beersheva, Israel] — The eager students and their projects are all over campus — some with posters, some with models, and some with prototypes. “This system works in conjunction with your air conditioning system,” Idan Admon, a student in electrical engineering said Line enthusiasticallyContinue Reading
