By Wendy Rosen , Special to JTNews With the presidential election campaign in full swing, that quadrennial question arises once more — how will the Jews vote? The majority of American Jews have been voting Democratic for some 80 years, often overwhelmingly so. Before each national election the Republicans tryContinue Reading

By Akiva Kenny Segan , Special to JTNews On Sept. 25 The New York Times published an op-ed of significance to Jews everywhere, including Jews throughout Puget Sound and Washington State. Titled “The Sin of Sowing Hatred of Islam,” by the new president of the Union for Reform Judaism, RabbiContinue Reading

By Janis Siegel , JTNews Columnist Motherhood can be one of the most joyous times in a woman’s life. However, a small, somewhat controversial 2012 study from Tel Aviv University published in the June issue of the Israel Medical Association Journal found that nearly one-third of the 89 post-partum womenContinue Reading

By Rabbi Rick Harkavy , Congregation Bet Chaverim Picture your grandparents. Try to visualize them. Now try to picture your great-grandparents. Try to visualize them wherever they came from and, if you can, set them in a synagogue. Imagine them singing while holding the Torah scroll in their arms duringContinue Reading

By Rabbi Anson Laytner , Special to JTNews A response from the Jewish Federation can be found at here. Although the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s new allocations model has broadened the breadth of beneficiaries, it also presented a dilemma: More mouths around the table to feed but less foodContinue Reading

By Executive Committee , Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle The article to which this column is responding can be found here. “Whither the Jewish Federation” raises several critically complex questions and offers insightful inquiry. But it hasn’t been “business as usual” at the Federation — quite the contrary. A closerContinue Reading

By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist If you’ve been to a San Francisco 49ers football game in Candlestick Park, then you’ve heard Matt Crevin’s voice as he calls the plays in the stadium. “I’m up in the press box,” he explains. “I’m the voice up there.” Matt riffed on that part-timeContinue Reading

By Joel Magalnick , Editor and Acting Publisher, JTNews As we begin our new year and reflect on the one drawing to a close, we often use this as a time to think about how we can better support our Jewish community. One way to support your community, and atContinue Reading

By Janis Siegel, JTNews Columnist It might come as a surprise to most people under the age of 50 that one of the fastest growing online user groups ranges from 51 to 65 years old and over. This demographic is joining online sites to schmooze with peers in growing numbers,Continue Reading

By Michael Natkin, JTNews Columnist On Rosh Hashanah, tradition suggests we eat apples dipped in honey for a sweet new year, and a “new fruit” to celebrate the season — often a pomegranate, which is apocryphally claimed to have 613 seeds, the same as the number of mitzvot. This recipeContinue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Maybe it was the madeleine on the cover of his book, “Proust was a Neuroscientist.” Who knows? But I was a huge fan and follower of Jonah Lehrer. Now I have a quandary. Why would someone so bright and talented risk hisContinue Reading

By Rabbi Shalom D. (Berry) Farkash, Chabad of the Central Cascades A few weeks ago, the children were all home after the last day of school, and we were getting ready for the start of a long summer vacation. After dinner we had a roundtable discussion regarding the upcoming monthsContinue Reading