By Hilda Maggie Weisberg, , Bellingham I am the grandmother of Emily Weisberg, whom you recently dubbed the “enemy,” (“Letter to the enemy,” Dec. 24) I am appalled you believe that someone who protests Israeli policy must be anti-Israel, brainwashed or an “apostate.” Since when is critical thinking and compassionContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist I called Tzachi Litov just to get a comment or two on a seminar he attended in November. My simple inquiry about how he got into his current job led me to the story of his interesting, yet somewhat circuitous career, which I will shareContinue Reading
By Rabbi Avremi Yarmush, Chabad Jewish Center of Whatcom County As a child growing up, my father would always repeat an epithet of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (the author of the Tanya), that “One must live with the times.” He meant that when one learns the weekly Torah portion,Continue Reading
By Richard Fruchter, President, Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Ron Leibsohn, Board Chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, As we all know, the economy is taking its toll on every segment of our community. We all hear or read daily about the needs of Jewish people locally, in Israel andContinue Reading
By Edward Alexander, , Seattle The most pertinent comment on the slanderous accusation approved by Metro for display on some of its buses was made by Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, in his testimony earlier this year before the UN Human Rights Council investigating IsraeliContinue Reading
By Carolyn Hathaway, Co-Chair, StandWithUs Northwest, Bellevue Your article on “The hard conversation” at Evergreen State College is important (“Evergreen: The hard conversation not taking place,” Dec. 10). Anti-Israel rhetoric is so pervasive at Evergreen that intellectual discourse is not possible. Steve Niva, quoted in your article, heads a MiddleContinue Reading
By Robert Kaufman, , Seattle I am glad to see the JTNews giving the Evergreen issue the coverage it deserves (“Evergreen: The hard conversation not taking place about Israel,” Dec. 10). In an op-ed I wrote (“The tragic indoctrination of Rachel Corrie,” June 25), I referred to a student whoContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, The good news is that we are well past our frantic winter gift-giving, overeating holiday. The bad news is that the challenge of this year’s calendar is about to begin: What to do with the end of December? I know intellectually thatContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Albert Feldmann approached me a few months ago with some news we don’t often hear in these economic times. He wanted me to know — and to let you, dear reader, know — that our local Hebrew Free Loan Association has money! An engineer byContinue Reading
By Dan Brown , eJewishPhilanthropy.com The Jewish communal world has a problem. Well, several, but today let’s focus on one: The continuing gender gap in North American Jewish organizations. A recently released study, titled “Jewish Communal Professionals in North American: A Profile,” provides an unprecedented look at more than 2,000Continue Reading
By Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation The character Larry David plays on TV is one of the most annoying, infuriating people any one of us could ever meet. He is self-centered to the point of absurdity and his need to be right about everything jeopardizes his closest relationships.Continue Reading
By Sheryl Kipnis, , Seattle “Jewelry is something which can make even an ugly one beautiful.” Seriously? I must be missing something here. Is this the best you can cull from the wisdom of the Ladinos (Ladino Lesson, Nov. 19)? I am appalled that something so trite and offensive wouldContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist 1 When Lauren Mayo left Seattle for the Young Judaea Year Course in Israel, the Ballard High School grad probably didn’t realize that she’d get to participate in an historic event. On Oct. 28, Lauren joined the first Susan G. Komen Race for the CureContinue Reading
By Ethan Felson , JTA World News Service NEW YORK (JTA) — What’s old is new, and unfortunately this holiday season, wrapped in a bow, is a boycott of things Israeli and Jewish. The relics of the past boycotts — from Nuremberg to Damascus — are back. Uninterested in reconciliation,Continue Reading
By Rabbi Zari Weiss, Congregation Kol HaNeshamah As the sun begins to set on Wednesday evening, Jews and their families throughout the world will light the first light of the Hanukkah menorah. They will recite the blessings, sing a medley of Hanukkah songs, enjoy potato latkes and/or sufganiot (fried jellyContinue Reading
By Dr. Rafael Medoff , Special to JTNews “What is there to give thanks for, anyway?” That was the provocative question posed by the featured speaker on Thanksgiving Day 1968 at Kehilath Jeshurun, one of the largest Orthodox synagogues in Manhattan. The provocateur was Elie Wiesel, recently turned 40 andContinue Reading
By Daniel S. Mariaschin , JTA World News Service WASHINGTON (JTA) — How’s this for a philosophical question: Can you hold a conference dedicated to the open debate of some of the biggest issues in society in a nation that is among the least amenable to any free and openContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, A friend of mine is going through a lot since being diagnosed with a serious illness. She and I have had a number of conversations about life and its messiness. I try, but I keep feeling there must be more that IContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist There’s little that’s more entertaining than talking to David Volk, unless it’s reading something he’s written. Now David brings his brand of humor to his new book, The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Seattle, part of a travel series from Globe Pequot Press. David hopes readersContinue Reading
By Carole Glickfeld, , Seattle While Robert Wilkes is entitled to his opinion, it is incumbent upon JTNews to correct the misinformation and falsehoods in his column (“Epiphanies and the search for truth,” Oct. 29). I looked all through that issue and could find nothing to counter the outrageous claimsContinue Reading
