By Eileen Weintraub, , Seattle Your column in defense of kaparot was so upsetting I am just getting the strength to write now (“What’s Your JQ?” Sept. 11). How can inflicting pain on a helpless creature make us better people? Do you know that many people who inflict pain becomeContinue Reading
By , Referendum 71, which if passed will enact into law Senate Bill 5688, giving same-sex couples and domestic partners over the age of 62 the same benefits given to married couples, is supported by a large number of Jewish institutions. It’s a list that includes many synagoguesContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Why North Bend? That was the foremost question in my mind when I heard renowned concert violists Emanuel and Lenore Vardi had moved to Seattle’s far east side. There is a story, of course, with two parts. In 1992 Manny, as he’s called, injured hisContinue Reading
By Edwin Black , Special to JTNews During the first months of the Hitler regime, in 1933, leaders of the Zionist movement concluded a controversial pact with the Third Reich, which, in its various forms, transferred some 60,000 Jews and $100 million — almost $1.7 billion in 2009 dollars —Continue Reading
By Rabbi Daniel Weiner, Temple De Hirsch Sinai One of the most memorable scenes in Judd Apatow’s morality tale of male maturation, Knocked Up, is a brief barroom discussion of the film Munich. The mostly Jewish characters celebrate the “turning on its head” of the stereotypical role of Jew asContinue Reading
By Josh Basson, , Seattle Ron Kampeas’s insightful front page column was quite informative (“Iran policy reveals split between U.S. Jewish and Israeli left,” Sept. 11). It is not surprising that there is this split. U.S. Jews do not live in Israel and have not been the target of violentContinue Reading
By Janice E. Tufte, Islamic Civic Engagement Coalition, Seattle During this reflective time around your Yom Kippur and just after my Islamic Eid Al Fitr, I would like to send my sympathies and regrets regarding the hate crimes incidences that occurred recently (Sept. 12) in one of our Seattle neighborhoods.Continue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Seven Washington residents are among hundreds of volunteers nationwide nominated for the first United Jewish Communities local heroes award. (UJC is the national umbrella body that serves local Jewish federations). We’ve got profiles of each here. Margot Kravette is the only local volunteer to beContinue Reading
By Alison Eisinger and Sally Kinney , JTNews Columnist Our Jewish traditions are deeply rooted in the concept of home. Our most beloved holidays center around the home, both literally and metaphorically. On Passover, we gather at home — not in the synagogue — to celebrate our release from EgyptContinue Reading
By Mark Richard Schuster , Special to JTNews Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur provide a time for each of us each year to reflect upon ourselves and our place in the world. It is during these times we address issues within ourselves that are not necessarily pleasant or easy. However,Continue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Ilana Long is a funny person; and if you saw her perform stand-up comedy in the days before she had kids, you know this. For those who have missed those days, Ilana has written a book, The Binky Conspiracy: True Tales of Mommydom, so youContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, A non-Jewish person I work with came in this week with a very harsh criticism of a Jewish practice that I found myself ill-equipped to handle or explain. She went on to describe something I had never heard of — the swingingContinue Reading
By Rabbi Yechezkel Kornfeld , Congregation Shevet Achim Everything in Judaism is both constant and unique. The reason for this seeming paradox is that Torah is our life. Just as we want our life to be constant and also unique, the same applies to our Torah behavior. The New YearContinue Reading
By Kayla Weiner, Ph.D. , , Seattle I was shocked and offended by the letter to the editor (“Broad Goals,” Aug. 21). To the best of my knowledge the teachings of the Torah, which I take as the primary goals of the Jewish people, do not require procreation. Love, compassionContinue Reading
By Sasha Parsley, Western Washington University student, Kirkland I am deeply disturbed that the JTNews chose to publish the objectionable and narrow-minded message written by Edith Isaacs Ervin, “Broad Goals,” in response to the article “Gay Israelis Reeling After Shooting Attack.” It is comments such as these that further divideContinue Reading
By Margaret Lemberg, , Seattle All of the evidence that I know of strongly supports the notion that sexual orientation is not a choice, but inborn. So, gays and lesbians who marry would still be gay and lesbian, but simply attempting to repress their true selves. Do we really haveContinue Reading
By Susan Benyowitz, , Los Angeles, Calif. In your article “First Stop: Seattle” (Aug. 21) you neglected to mention that Federal Election Commission filings show that J Street has Muslims and Arabs as donors, as well as people connected to Palestinian and Iranian advocacy. Jeremy Ben Ami admits that atContinue Reading
By Jack Fackerell, , Redmond I would like to remind Edith Isaacs Ervin that the recent murders of gays in Tel Aviv were tragic losses to our entire community (letters, Aug. 21). That they were targeted due to being gay should be shocking and very concerning to every Jew, becauseContinue Reading
By Jeffrey Weiser , , Redmond It isn’t easy to be a Jewish liberal these days. You agree with all your non-Jewish liberal friends on everything: Government control of health care, turning the world green, the mainstreaming of homosexuality, silencing Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly, banishing religion from the publicContinue Reading
By Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, Kavana Cooperative Although the month of Elul is my busy season as a rabbi, I really love this time of year. For me, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are accompanied by meaningful customs, beautiful melodies, and a sense of new possibility. For a number of myContinue Reading
