By Diana Brement , JTNews Columnist 1 Just a couple of weeks ago, Eliana Rudee was part of a panel on the future of Jewish leadership at the Israeli Presidential Conference in Jerusalem. The Mercer Island High School grad, who friends and family call Ellie, was already in Israel. SheContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel , JTNews Correspondent Two of the latest studies to come out of Israel in June 2013 have given hope to sufferers of neuro-degenerative diseases and stroke victims alike, in two vividly different but successful research trials. For those who struggle with diseases like Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s, andContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, I am confused. The startling revelations around the National Security Agency’s surveillance are deeply disturbing. It turns out “Big Brother” is watching, more than we had imagined, though anyone with a bit of an astute sensibility has by now noticed the “serendipitous”Continue Reading
By Diana Brement , JTNews Columnist Susan Monas was inspired by her daughter. Shoshana Wineburg, the daughter in question, spent nine months on a service-learning project in Israel sponsored by the Israeli organization Yahel. Yahel places participants in Gedera, Israel, for nine months to live and work with its Ethiopian-immigrantContinue Reading
By Michael Natkin , JTNews Columnist This is the month when seniors say goodbye to high school and start to dream of life in college. Some of my favorite memories of college are impromptu dinner parties, sharing good, simple, inexpensive food. This week’s dish of Caribbean-inspired, coconut milk-scented rice, blackContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel, JTNews Columnist More and more, scientists are becoming intrigued by the possibility that dogs may be uniquely sensitive to the distinctive smell of a cancer cell and that they may someday play a crucial role in saving the lives of patients affected by cancer. Recently, an IsraeliContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist When I last spoke to Chelsea Garbell in early 2012, she had been named one of New York University’s most influential students. Now she’s garnered another honor: She was student commencement speaker at the all-school graduation ceremony at Yankee Stadium on May 22. The NorthwestContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, This year on Father’s Day, besides the regular celebrations, we are also commemorating a significant birthday for my father, the patriarch of our family. I have been tasked with the role of emcee at this event and must now face the dauntingContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, Jewish Sound Columnist At the book launch party for “Horatio’s One Wish,” held at Seattle’s Mockingbird Books, newly minted children’s author Joshua Kriesberg related that he’d written voraciously as a child. In writing “Horatio’s One Wish,” a book for middle-grade readers (ages 8 to 12) he triedContinue Reading
By Michael Natkin , JTNews Columnist Panna cotta is a classic Italian dessert, traditionally made from cream and milk set with gelatin, which isn’t vegetarian. The gelatin is what makes it different from flan (set with eggs) or pudding (set with starch and sometimes eggs). The best panna cotta isContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel , JTNews Columnist In Boston on April 15, as in Israel, when an improvised explosive device detonated onto a crowd of innocent civilians at the finish line of the city’s signature marathon, bystanders instinctively and immediately rushed in to help the injured, tying improvised tourniquets on thoseContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist 1 I suspected Seattle-area traffic reporter Sprince Arbogast was Jewish because I assumed “Sprince” was a variant of the Yiddish name Shprintze. Then one really messy traffic night this winter I heard her mutter on KPLU, “Oy vey, the traffic,” and I was sure. Sprince,Continue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, The Boston Marathon bombing is just devastating and shocking, one more tragic life-changing milestone in our country’s loss of innocence. This has been just a dreadful year of violence what with the shootings at the opening of the Batman movie and thenContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist The words “Jewish” and “homeschooling” are not frequently seen together, especially outside of the Orthodox community, but the idea appealed to North Seattle resident Deb Harrick the moment it was planted in her head. “It was such an unusual thing…I was always explaining [it],” saysContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel, JTNews Columnist In 2010, Rabbi Rafael Shmuelevitz, head of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem and a three-decade career educator, could hardly speak, breathe, or walk due to the deadly effects of his advanced stage Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. This neurodegenerativeContinue Reading
By Michael Natkin, JTNews Columnist Sabich was a popular Shabbat food for Iraqi Jews, and when they immigrated to Israel and set up a community in Ramat Gan, the sandwich came with them. It has since gained widespread popularity. There is something about the creaminess of the egg and theContinue Reading
By Diana Brement , JTNews Columnist When I called Spokane resident Julie Morris just before Passover, she was hands deep in matzoh ball batter and revealed she makes two recipes in advance, half fluffy and half “bombs,” to suit the whole family’s tastes. A long-time member of the national boardContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Year after year at the seder all is going well, then — there it is — the paragraph that unsettles me every time, that dire dramatic pronouncement of deep Jewish pessimism: “In every generation they rise up against us to destroy us.”Continue Reading
By Michael Natkin, JTNews Columnist Braising is something of a lost art, which is a shame because it isn’t at all difficult to do. Learn a couple of basic moves and you’ll be rewarded with a succulent, richly flavored, rustic dish perfect for Passover. A proper braise is composed ofContinue Reading
By Diana Brement , JTNews Columnist A friend with cancer says her doctor is “the singing oncologist.” Recently, he sang the Misheberach (prayer for healing) with her. Intrigued, I called Dr. Sheldon Goldberg of Minor and James Medical in Seattle to ask if he sings to all his patients. HeContinue Reading
